Entrepreneurship in Africa
Starting with a real need, finding the first markets and building lasting relationships.
Entrepreneurs, students and innovation ecosystems
Vital Sounouvou is an entrepreneur, angel investor and founder of Exportunity. He builds ventures in commerce, market access and artificial intelligence, and personally invests in projects he believes in, including AGOOJIYE, an electric vehicle project in Benin. Featured by NPR in 2014 and selected for Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 in 2016, he shares his experience of entrepreneurship in Africa and building new ventures.
I connect ideas, people and markets. Explore my journey, discover my ventures or prepare an invitation to your next event.
Vital Sounouvou is an entrepreneur and the founder of Exportunity, established in 2012. His journey connects African trade, technology and access to international markets. Trained in telecommunications and computing, he completed the Mandela Washington Fellowship at the University of Texas at Austin in 2014 and the Disruptive Strategy certificate in 2022. He was included in Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 in 2016. Explore his experience, commitments and speaking engagements in the full biography.
Explore the full journeyVital founded Exportunity to develop trade and market access. His ecosystem includes Exportunity Operations for AI at work, Exportunity Machinery for industrial projects, AGOOJIYE for electric mobility, Maison en Terre for construction, Bourse de l’Or for physical gold and Fenouland for stories, games and family discovery. He personally invests in AGOOJIYE, whose physical prototype has arrived at GDIZ. Further development and testing remain. Explore each venture in the portfolio.
Discover the venturesVital shares his experience of entrepreneurship in Africa, trade, AI at work and personal investment. To propose a conference, panel or team discussion, share the organisation, theme, date, location or online format, audience and preferred language. Talks can be prepared in French or English. Our team will help shape an intervention suited to your event.
Prepare an invitationStarting with a real need, finding the first markets and building lasting relationships.
Entrepreneurs, students and innovation ecosystems
Exploring AI agents, choosing useful tasks and keeping human judgement at the heart of business.
Leaders, teams and organisations navigating change
An entrepreneur and angel investor’s perspective on ventures, teams and diversification.
Founders, investor networks and incubators
French or English. In person or online, subject to availability.
Prepare an invitationTrade & market access
My founding venture: connecting producers, businesses and buyers, from sourcing to international trade.
Discover the group · Explore the platformArtificial intelligence
A workspace to help businesses organise operations and use AI agents in their day-to-day activities.
Explore the AI workspaceElectric mobility
My investment in an electric shuttle project led by Exportunity Machinery. The physical prototype has arrived at GDIZ, with further development and testing still required. The 3D model remains available to explore.
Explore the shuttle and the projectReport published on 10 August 2014, republished by VPM.
Selection published on 6 June 2016.
Interview published on 5 April 2026. The discussion reflects experiences and the context at the time.