name : Hamida Souraka
age : 17
location : Cotonou, Bénin 🇧🇯
role : Founder & Engineer
education : Digitalisation & Data Science — Sème City Institute (SCITI)
startups :
- Restafy → Food delivery · Events · West Africa super-app
- AfroSite → Web agency for African SMEs
selection : GCI World 2026 · Matsuo-Iwasawa Lab · Univ. of Tokyo 🎌
rank : Top 100 developers · GitHub Benin
mission : "Turn local constraints into global products."
philosophy : "I didn't apply because I was ready. I applied because I needed to be."● 2026 ── GCI World — University of Tokyo 🎌
│ Selected cohort · Matsuo-Iwasawa Lab
│ gci.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp
│
● 2025 ── Sème City Institute (SCITI)
│ Bachelor · Digitalisation & Data Science
│
● 2024 ── Founded Restafy 🍽️
│ Food delivery · POS · Event ticketing
│ Stack: React · Vite · Supabase · Mobile Money USSD
│
● 2024 ── Founded AfroSite 🌐
│ Web agency · Digitizing African SMEs
│
→ 2027+ ── Scale 🌍
Research → Product → Continent
Data & Science
Web & Product
Infrastructure
Most global platforms treat African markets as an afterthought.
No offline-first design.
No local payment rails.
No real understanding of how business moves on the ground.
I'm not building for Africa from the outside.
I'm building from inside — which means the constraints are the product.
"The gap between global tech and African needs
isn't a problem. It's the opportunity."
If you're a young African who thinks the best opportunities
are reserved for the right backgrounds — apply anyway.
🌍 The world is watching Africa.