Your legal partner in Francophone Africa — from market entry to growth
What does the law expect of you, here, right now? That is the question nobody answers clearly. We answer it — OHADA law, Moroccan law, sector regulations — then we execute what follows: contracts, licences, market entry, compliance.
17
OHADA countries covered
24h
Contract review turnaround
15+
Partner incubators
Multidisciplinary team
Investment · Tech · Commercial · IP
Featured in the press · Trusted partners
Where are you today?
A specific contract to review
Send your contract and get a full analysis within 24h — risks, clauses to revise, negotiation levers. Fixed price, no call needed.
A legal project to structure
Setting up in the OHADA zone, fundraising, regulatory licence, due diligence. Bespoke engagements — we talk it through first, before any quote.
Continuous legal support
Start with the ALF Legal OS assessment: evaluate your legal maturity across 6 pillars and identify your priorities.
Three situations, three ways to work with us
A SaaS startup receives its first client contract to sign
It sends the contract to Legal Factory, receives the analysis within 24h with the clauses to negotiate, and signs with confidence — without ever needing a meeting.
A European fintech wants to set up in Côte d'Ivoire
A scoping call frames the project, the regulatory stakes and the timeline — before any quote, for a bespoke engagement.
A fast-growing scale-up signs contracts every week
The Legal OS assessment reveals the gaps in its legal function. Ongoing support with Mavouna Avocats takes over, with no hourly billing.
The same standard, whichever path you take
Choose your path
One-off contract, project to structure or ongoing support: identify what you need today.
We connect you to the right lawyer
Our pan-African network of OHADA lawyers takes over, with the same standard at every step.
You receive a clear result
Analysis report, engagement quote or support plan — always with actionable next steps.
A pan-African network of lawyers, not an anonymous platform
Every matter is led by one lawyer who knows it end to end — never invisible subcontracting. For multi-jurisdictional engagements, we coordinate a multidisciplinary team of local and international lawyers, specialised in investment, tech, commercial law and intellectual property — each one vetted in their own country, to the same standard everywhere.
The network covers the 17 countries of the OHADA zone, plus Morocco and Tunisia for trademark filings outside the OHADA zone.
A track record built case by case
African Legal Factory was founded in 2021, accelerated by Hills Accelerator and by the African Management Institute — a programme run in partnership with Stanford University. Since then, ALF has been training the entrepreneurs who want to operate in Francophone Africa, often in social impact, on the legal essentials.
Cross-border regulatory structuring
A Europe-based fintech that wanted to operate between its home country and West Africa: a full map of the licences to obtain and the compliance obligations, end to end.
Holding company & fundraising preparation
A West African startup weighing a holding company in the United States or in France: arbitrating the options and structuring the link between the two entities to prepare its round.
Market entry & entity incorporation
Fintechs from outside the UEMOA zone and a US company entering West Africa: incorporation of the legal entity, licence application, full contract review.
Trademark protection in the OAPI zone
Several brands already on the market in the OAPI zone: a filing strategy in the right classes and within the deadlines — including against competitors already using the mark.
Due diligence & structuring for investors
Many investors ahead of an equity investment: country-by-country regulatory due diligence, and support on the legal and tax structuring of their investment.
Contract infrastructure
A startup with a high volume of supplier and client contracts: building its entire template library.
What our clients say
ALF's involvement was highly structuring for JELANI from the earliest stages: legal scoping, intellectual property protection, and governance between founders. Sonia asks the right questions, anticipates risks and helps make clear legal decisions.
Whether as a client or as a mentee, Sonia's message is always clear and useful. Legal and accounting were a foreign language to me, but ALF's training and support helped me understand legal matters far better and contract with more confidence.
Sonia Mavouna
I help tech scale-ups avoid costly legal mistakes and operate at the standard investors expect. Because most growth blockers do not come from the product — they come from weak contracts, poor structuring and legal blind spots.
Eleven years of experience between France and Francophone Africa. I started at Clifford Chance in Casablanca, advising private equity funds (Actis, Amethis, Wendel, DPI, Helios) on investment and M&A transactions. I saw what makes a company investable — or not. I left Big Law to step in earlier and build solid legal foundations before things become problems.
Our most-read articles
Fundraising in Francophone Africa: understanding the round types
Seed, Series A, Series C — understanding the different types of rounds and what each one implies legally.
How to negotiate your Term Sheet under French law
The clauses to watch, the traps to avoid and the negotiation levers that protect your founder interests.
Protecting your trademark in Africa: OAPI, ARIPO and filing strategies
Everything you need to know to protect your trademark across the OAPI and ARIPO zones before it is too late.
Trusted across Francophone Africa
B2B legal training
Train your cohorts, students and portfolio companies on the legal essentials. Bespoke programmes for incubators, schools and funds.
Startups supported
Trademark filing, contract review, structuring — for African startups and their investors, at every stage.
Everything you need to know
African Legal Factory draws on a pan-African network of OHADA lawyers to cover three needs: fast one-off contract review, the structuring of complex projects (market entry, fundraising, due diligence) and continuous legal support. Every matter is led by a lawyer, from the first exchange through to delivery.
Start with the free ALF Legal OS assessment — it evaluates your legal maturity and points you to the right path. If your need is already clear (a specific contract, or a project to structure), use the matching link above directly.
Yes — in fact that describes most of our matters. Most of our clients are entrepreneurs or investors based in France, the UK, the United States or in Anglophone African countries, who want to enter or operate in the Francophone African market without having to decode local law on their own. Our network covers the 17 countries of the OHADA zone, plus Morocco and Tunisia for trademark filings.
Every matter is led by one lawyer who knows it end to end. For multi-jurisdictional engagements, we coordinate a multidisciplinary team of local and international lawyers — specialised in investment, tech, commercial law and IP — never invisible subcontracting.
You submit your contract through our form. A lawyer analyses the document, identifies the risks and the clauses to revise. You receive a structured response with concrete recommendations and negotiation levers.
It is a monthly subscription at €2,500/month including 10 hours of lawyer time, covering your contract review, compliance, support for your teams and the build-out of your legal infrastructure. Everything is included except exceptional transactions, which are quoted separately.
Yes. Documents you send are handled confidentially. Legal exchanges are governed by strict confidentiality standards, with particular attention paid to the protection of your data and your company sensitive information.
ALF combines speed, fixed pricing on standardised work, transparency on bespoke engagements, and legal validation by a network of lawyers who know your markets. The goal is to make law more accessible and more actionable, without losing the rigour it requires.
Choose the path that matches your need
One-off contract, project to structure or ongoing support — each path starts differently, but every one leads to a lawyer who knows your matter.
