CoinAfrique
CoinAfrique is a mobile-first classifieds marketplace connecting individual buyers and sellers across 15+ francophone African countries via free listings and direct WhatsApp/phone/SMS contact, monetizing through optional featured ad placements.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersGrand Baie, Mauritius
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What CoinAfrique does
CoinAfrique is a mobile-first classifieds marketplace operating across 15+ francophone African countries, founded in 2014 by Matthias Papet and Eric Genâtre and launched in 2015. Operational from Dakar, Senegal with legal domicile in Grand Baie, Mauritius, the platform enables peer-to-peer buying and selling across 13 categories — vehicles, electronics, real estate, appliances, fashion, jobs, services, child products, home goods, sports, animals, professional equipment, and food — with country-specific domains and local currency pricing. Users post free listings and contact sellers directly via WhatsApp, phone, or SMS, eliminating intermediary involvement.
The underlying technology is a mobile-first marketplace with country-specific web properties (sn.coinafrique.com, ci.coinafrique.com, bj.coinafrique.com, etc.) and a Google Play distributed Android app. The platform emphasizes frictionless posting and direct communication over integrated payments or escrow, and operates without a public API or developer ecosystem.
CoinAfrique's business model is freemium: basic listings are free, while revenue is generated from optional featured or sponsored "Top ad" placements visible across category filters. The company serves two segments — individual consumers (primary, for personal resale and local deal discovery) and small businesses and professionals (secondary, for vehicles, real estate, and professional equipment). The company raised €2.5 million in April 2018 from I&P, Mercure International, and French Partners, secured a media-for-equity partnership with Trace in November 2018, and received $100,000 from Kepple Africa Ventures in August 2021. As of November 2018, the platform reported 400,000 active monthly users with a stated target of 10 million by 2022.
CoinAfrique firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CoinAfrique
- Legal name
- CoinAfrique
- Website
- https://coinafrique.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- CoinAfrique is a mobile-first classifieds marketplace connecting individual buyers and sellers across 15+ francophone African countries via free listings and direct WhatsApp/phone/SMS contact, monetizing through optional featured ad placements.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
CoinAfrique industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Online Classifieds Marketplace
- NAICS
- All Other Miscellaneous Retailers (45999)
- SIC
- Retail-Nonstore Retailers (5960)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Local Services & Experiences Generalist Marketplaces (CRAFAAAD)
Keywords
Where CoinAfrique is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Grand Baie
- HQ country
- Mauritius
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices1 record
Markets served
CoinAfrique business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations
Revenue model
- Classified Listings: Free marketplace for users to post and browse classified ads across multiple categories including vehicles, electronics, real estate, and services. Revenue generation appears to come from optional featured/sponsored listings (Top ads).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free basic listings for all users |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels4 records
CoinAfrique product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CoinAfrique operates a mobile-first classifieds marketplace that connects individual buyers and sellers across 15+ francophone African countries. The platform enables users to post free local listings for new and second-hand goods across 13 categories (vehicles, electronics, real estate, home appliances, fashion, jobs, services, children, home, sports, animals, professional equipment, food), and to contact sellers directly via WhatsApp, phone, or SMS. The service is delivered through a free mobile app on Google Play and country-specific localized web domains, with revenue from optional premium "Top" featured listings.
Product overview
CoinAfrique is the leading classifieds marketplace in French-speaking Africa, operating as a mobile-first platform with a single core product — the CoinAfrique Mobile App. The platform enables users across 13 countries (Sénégal, Côte d'Ivoire, Togo, Bénin, Cameroun, Burkina Faso, Congo, Gabon, Guinée, Mali, Niger, RDC, and others) to post and browse classified ads in 13 categories (Véhicules, Électronique, Immobilier, Électroménager, Mode & Beauté, Emplois, Services, Pour l'enfant, Pour la maison, Sports & Loisirs, Animaux, Matériel Pro, Alimentation), covering both new and second-hand goods. Users can contact sellers directly via WhatsApp, phone, or SMS, and the platform supports local currency pricing per country. The company also operates country-specific website versions (e.g., ne.coinafrique.com for Niger, cd.coinafrique.com for DRC, ga.coinafrique.com for Gabon, ml.coinafrique.com for Mali) alongside its main portal at coinafrique.com.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- CoinAfrique Mobile App Free mobile marketplace application enabling users in French-speaking Africa to post, browse, and transact on classified ads for new and used goods across 13 product categories (vehicles, electronics, real estate, home appliances, fashion, jobs, services, children, home, sports, animals, professional equipment, and food). Users can contact sellers directly via WhatsApp, phone, or SMS and access country-localized pricing in 12+ countries.
Quantifiable outcome
- 400,000 active monthly users
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use CoinAfrique
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
CoinAfrique technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
CoinAfrique partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
CoinAfrique competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- OLX Africa: OLX operated one of the largest pan-emerging-market classifieds networks (now largely absorbed by Adevinta/Avito). Comparable as a broad incumbent that has historically attacked the same horizontal classifieds opportunity across multiple emerging markets including francophone Africa.
- Facebook Marketplace: Facebook Marketplace is the dominant horizontal peer-to-peer goods listing surface globally and is widely used in francophone Africa via Meta's apps. Although not specialized, its scale, free model, and integrated WhatsApp/Messenger flows represent the most important competitive substitute for CoinAfrique's listings.
Direct peers
- Leboncoin: Leboncoin is France's dominant horizontal classifieds platform, part of the Adevinta group. Directly comparable by product model (free classifieds with paid promotion tiers), category breadth (auto, real estate, jobs, goods), and consumer-trust-driven marketplace mechanics; serves as the mature benchmark for the CoinAfrique playbook in a francophone market.
- Tonaton: Tonaton is Ghana's leading horizontal classifieds marketplace, owned by OLX/Adevinta. Comparable peer serving individual sellers and small businesses in West Africa with the same freemium classifieds model and featured-listing upgrades.
- Jiji: Jiji is Africa's largest general horizontal classifieds marketplace, operating across Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and others. Most directly comparable peer to CoinAfrique by category, business model (freemium listings, featured upgrades), and target user (SMBs and individuals trading goods locally).
- Avito (Maroc): Avito is Morocco's leading horizontal classifieds platform, owned by Adevinta/OLX. Most comparable francophone peer: same French language UX, similar generalist categories (vehicles, real estate, electronics, jobs), and free-listings-plus-paid-promotion monetization.
Emerging players
- Cheki Africa: Cheki (part of the Cars45/CARS45 Africa group) is an African automotive vertical marketplace. Comparable as a specialized classifieds brand in the same continent with similar UX and trusted-dealer monetization, focused on the vehicle category that CoinAfrique also serves.
- Afrimarket / Afribaba: Afribaba was a pan-African generalist classifieds platform with a similar multilingual structure to CoinAfrique. Comparable as an early-stage horizontal marketplace targeting multiple African countries with similar free-listings economics.
Regional players
- Expat-Dakar: Expat-Dakar is a Senegal-focused classifieds portal serving the expatriate and local community with housing, jobs, services, and goods listings. Comparable regional peer operating in Senegal with overlapping categories and a similar online-only distribution model.
- Marktplaats: Marktplaats is the Netherlands' leading horizontal classifieds platform and a reference marketplace within the Adevinta portfolio. Comparable as a mature generalist classifieds operating in a single-language market, useful as a unit-economics and product benchmark for CoinAfrique's trajectory.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat2 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
CoinAfrique social profiles
Digital presenceCoinAfrique financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CoinAfrique leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
CoinAfrique funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors6 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CoinAfrique M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CoinAfrique
What does CoinAfrique do?
CoinAfrique operates a mobile-first classifieds marketplace that connects individual buyers and sellers across 15+ francophone African countries. The platform enables users to post free local listings for new and second-hand goods across 13 categories (vehicles, electronics, real estate, home appliances, fashion, jobs, services, children, home, sports, animals, professional equipment, food), and to contact sellers directly via WhatsApp, phone, or SMS. The service is delivered through a free mobile app on Google Play and country-specific localized web domains, with revenue from optional premium "Top" featured listings.
Is CoinAfrique a public or private company?
CoinAfrique is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was CoinAfrique founded?
CoinAfrique was founded in 2014. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is CoinAfrique based?
CoinAfrique is headquartered in Grand Baie, Mauritius, in the Africa region.
How does CoinAfrique make money?
One revenue line is on record: classified Listings.
Who are CoinAfrique's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are OLX Africa and Facebook Marketplace. Direct peers are Leboncoin, Tonaton, Jiji and Avito (Maroc). Emerging players are Cheki Africa and Afrimarket / Afribaba. Regional players are Expat-Dakar and Marktplaats.
Does CoinAfrique have an API?
No public API is recorded for CoinAfrique.
What industry is CoinAfrique in?
CoinAfrique's product category is Online Classifieds Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAFAAAD, Local Services & Experiences Generalist Marketplaces. Its NAICS code is 45999 and its SIC code is 5960.