TV5MONDE and WeMake Productions presented the second season of the pan-African competition "Les Nouveaux Boss" in Kinshasa on Thursday, September 17, 2026. This competition aims to promote African entrepreneurship. The new edition includes new sectors, such as health tech, and gives investors a more significant role in selecting and supporting candidates. Nearly 1,000 applications were received for this season.
The ambition of this second season is to go beyond the simple exercise of entrepreneurial pitching and focus on the viability of projects and the growth potential of enterprises. Bouchra Réjani, producer and CEO of WeMake Productions, highlighted the main innovations introduced this year, including the expansion of new sectors and the possibility for candidates to defend their projects in pairs during presentations.
Among the new features, the number of investor-jurors will be increased during the grand final. The last ten candidates selected will benefit from a support program to refine their projects before appearing before an international jury composed of investors. They will have to specify their financing needs and present their development strategy.
Nicole Sulu, mentor of the competition and founder of the Makutano network, believes that this second season marks a significant evolution in the program's philosophy. The selection of candidates will take into account several criteria, including the ability of projects to change scale, their social impact, particularly in terms of job creation, and their development potential on African markets.
The participants will also be evaluated on their mastery of figures, their knowledge of the market and customer needs, their growth strategy, and the precision of their financing needs. The competition will take place in three main stages: preselections, a support program organized at La Station, and the Grand Final, scheduled for October.
Four regional hubs have been set up in Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Benin, and Morocco to organize the preselections. At the end of this phase, sixteen candidates will be selected to continue the adventure. The second season's filming will begin in Kinshasa on Friday, September 18, after stops in Morocco and Benin.
The show is supported by several partners, including the Alliance of French-speaking employers, Bpifrance, and the French African Foundation. It is broadcast in 160 countries and had a significant impact during its first season, with 34% linear audience in French-speaking Africa and nearly 100 million online views. The organizers aim to highlight enterprises capable of sustainable development, attracting financing, creating jobs, and establishing themselves on African markets.
Key points
- The competition received nearly 1,000 applications for its second season.
- The show is broadcast in 160 countries and had a significant impact during its first season.
- The second season includes new sectors, such as health tech, and gives investors a more significant role in selecting and supporting candidates.
