Algeria Startup Challenge 2025: Inside the Country’s Biggest Competition

On November 27, 2025, three government ministers took the stage in Algiers to close the 7th edition of the Algeria Startup Challenge. The occasion — a final ceremony that drew startups, corporate partners, institutional backers, and press — marked the largest annual gathering in Algeria’s entrepreneurship calendar.

Nine open innovation partnership agreements were signed that evening between winning startups and major companies including Djezzy, BNP Paribas El Djazaïr, FADERCO, CASH Assurances, and SAA. Sixteen startups walked away with something more durable than a trophy: a documented relationship with a customer, investor, or commercial partner.

For founders wondering whether competition wins translate into real outcomes, the Algeria Startup Challenge (ASC) offers an increasingly convincing answer — with important caveats.

What Is the Algeria Startup Challenge?

Launched in 2018 by Leancubator — an Algerian innovation hub specializing in incubation and acceleration programs — the Algeria Startup Challenge is co-organized with COSOB and formally sponsored by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, Startups and Micro-enterprises. It is the country’s largest startup program by reach and institutional weight.

Over seven editions, the program has supported more than 1,800 startups and projects across 12,000+ project holders, running more than 300 coaching sessions. Across those editions, participating startups have collectively generated over 120 million DZD in contracts and subsidies — the program’s headline cumulative impact figure.

The ASC model is not a pure pitch competition. It is structured as an open innovation program: corporate partners define specific challenges they want startups to solve, and the competition selects startups best positioned to address those challenges. The prize is not cash — it is access.

The 7th Edition: Format, Numbers, and Tracks

The 2025 edition ran from May to November, with applications collected through the Solovit.com platform. Of the applications received, 375 participants advanced into the program. Sixteen startups emerged as laureates. The cohort represented 39 wilayas — a national footprint that few other Algerian programs can match.

The five challenge tracks in 2025 were:

• Greentech — sponsored by BNP Paribas El Djazaïr (focus: climate resilience, urban sustainability)
• Harm Reduction — sponsored by Philip Morris International (focus: risk reduction, alternative products)
• Impact Challenge — sponsored by Djezzy (focus: digital inclusion, infrastructure innovation)
• Smart Care — sponsored by FADERCO (focus: healthcare, hygiene technology)
• Insurance & Innovation — sponsored by CASH Assurances, SAA, and UAR (focus: insurtech, claims digitization)

This sector mix reflects the priorities of the sponsoring corporations, not an abstract committee view of “what matters.” Founders should understand this: the 7th edition was effectively designed around what Djezzy, BNP Paribas, FADERCO, and insurance companies wanted to discover. That alignment is the program’s strength and its constraint simultaneously.

Each finalist startup received more than 70 hours of support: 10 group training sessions, three individual one-to-one coaching sessions, and access to Learning & Immersion Days with over 15 participating organizations and 18 workshops.

The 16 Winners: Who Got In and What They Built

The 7th edition’s winning startups spanned cleantech, healthtech, logistics, insurtech, and digital services:

InspecOps built a smart security platform for industrial risk prediction and management — the standout performer of the cohort, signing partnerships with both FADERCO and CASH Assurances. Tahwissa, an e-tourism aggregator for Algerian travel activities, signed with Djezzy. CleanTrack brought IoT-based hygiene monitoring to public and industrial facilities, securing a FADERCO partnership. SanoX developed a healthcare chatbot for patient triage; Mindcare built a teleconsultation platform for mental health — both selected under the Harm Reduction track.

On the green side, Woven produces organic fertilizer from sheep wool, Alami Perma integrates urban development with waste recovery, and GNOVEX delivers AI-powered waste monitoring. MARTECE designs fishing and aquaculture equipment tailored to Algerian coastal conditions. Coosta automates car accident reporting and insurance claims processing online.

The breadth is deliberate. The ASC’s sector-agnostic intake means the 16 winners represent genuinely different problems — not five variations on the same fintech use case.

Past Winners: Where Are They Now?

Looking back at earlier cohorts illustrates the program’s real-world utility.

The 1st edition (2018) launched Livri Xpress, a mobile goods delivery app, and SauviTech, a real-time road accident detection system — both early proofs of concept that helped their founders build traction.

The 3rd edition (2021) focused on fintech and produced Amentech (insurance dematerialization) and a global cash management solution for micro-credit — a direct response to the COSOB partnership’s financial services mandate.

The 5th edition (2023) brought out Shams Wa Tabrid (solar refrigeration) and Sachiya (ecological initiative platform), both in the Greentech and impact categories that have become ASC staples.

The 6th edition (2024) is the most instructive recent cohort: Moustafid (waste collection), Think Touch Solution (pharmacovigilance), Qareeb (AI in agriculture), Opticarbone (emissions tracking), and HR Technologies (natural hazard data) all represented post-COVID maturity in the ecosystem — startups with clearer business models, sector expertise, and deployment plans.

No public data tracks post-ASC venture funding raises specifically attributable to the competition. But the program’s commercial model — partnership agreements signed at the final — means the relevant outcome metric is revenue, not follow-on capital.

How to Apply and What Judges Look For

Applications are submitted via Solovit.com during the May–August window. The process moves through an initial pre-screening followed by interviews and pitches in September.

The selection profile the ASC looks for is specific: commitment and professionalism, purpose-driven solutions aligned with a challenge track, collaborative spirit, and execution capability. The program is open to startups, SMEs, researchers, students, and professionals — meaning it is not restricted to registered legal entities, which lowers the barrier for early-stage teams.

The practical advice from reviewing seven editions of winners is this: alignment with the specific challenge track beats generic innovation. The winning startups in the Insurance & Innovation track built products that insurance companies could immediately recognize as addressing their operational problems. Tahwissa won the Djezzy Impact Challenge because its e-tourism model had direct implications for mobile data and connectivity use cases. Judges are corporate representatives alongside independent experts — they evaluate fit with their specific challenge, not just the quality of the idea in the abstract.

Founders who map their product explicitly to the sponsoring company’s problem — and can articulate a working prototype or early deployment — consistently outperform teams presenting concepts.

Does Winning Actually Help?

Honestly: yes, but not in the way founders expect if they are hoping for cash.

The ASC does not award cash prizes as its primary output. What it awards is commercial relationships at scale. Nine partnership agreements signed at the 7th edition closing ceremony is not symbolic — InspecOps gaining simultaneous commitments from both FADERCO and CASH Assurances is a validated commercial outcome that would take most B2B startups months to generate independently.

The 120 million DZD in cumulative contracts and subsidies across all editions is real economic value, even if it is spread across dozens of companies over seven years. The ministerial presence at every final creates government-level visibility that matters for startups seeking public sector clients or regulatory approvals.

The limitations are real too. The ASC is not a substitute for venture capital. The mentorship is intensive but time-limited. Corporate partnership agreements are commitments to explore, not guaranteed revenue contracts. And the program’s open innovation model means startups must fit the sponsor’s agenda, not just build the best product.

For founders who understand that, the calculus is straightforward: 70 hours of expert coaching, a national stage, ministerial credibility, and a direct line to a Djezzy or BNP Paribas relationship — all for the cost of a structured application — is among the highest-return opportunities in the Algerian startup ecosystem.

Sources & Further Reading

• Algeria Startup Challenge — 7th Edition — Official Program Page
• Algeria Startup Challenge 2025: Highlights from the Final of the 7th Edition — Leancubator
• Algeria Startup Challenge — Winners 7th Edition — Official Website
• 9 Accords entre Start-up et Opérateurs Économiques signés à la 7e Algeria Startup Challenge — Africa News Agency
• Algeria Startup Challenge — About the Program — Official Website
• Leancubator — Algeria’s Innovation and Startup Incubation Hub
• Leancubator Overview — Startup Algeria