Structuring Home Services in Côte d’Ivoire: A Conversation with Kevin Sesse
In this conversation, Kevin Sesse, founder of Mon Artisan, explains how the platform improves access to trusted artisans for repairs, renovation and maintenance services in Côte d’Ivoire, while bringing more structure to a fragmented market.
In Côte d’Ivoire, finding a reliable artisan remains a recurring challenge for households and businesses. Plumbing, electricity, painting, carpentry and renovation services are essential, yet access to trusted professionals is often still driven by informal referrals and fragmented networks.
Mon Artisan was launched in Abidjan in 2017 to address that gap. The platform creates a clearer entry point for customers seeking artisans, while giving skilled workers stronger visibility in a market where demand exists but trust and discoverability remain major constraints.
- Home services are essential, but trust remains a core market bottleneck.
- Digitization can improve access, speed and visibility in fragmented service sectors.
- Platforms help artisans reach customers beyond informal word-of-mouth networks.
- Better matching mechanisms can improve reliability for both clients and workers.
- Mon Artisan shows how technology can modernize everyday urban services, not only high-growth sectors.
What problem was Mon Artisan created to solve?
Mon Artisan was created to solve a simple but widespread problem: in Côte d’Ivoire, finding a reliable artisan is often difficult, especially when the need is urgent. People may need a plumber, an electrician or a carpenter, but they do not always know who to call or whether the person recommended will actually deliver quality work.
At the same time, many skilled artisans struggle to make themselves visible beyond their immediate networks. The issue is not the absence of know-how. It is the lack of structured access between demand and supply. That is the gap Mon Artisan set out to close.
How does the platform work in practice?
The platform gives customers a more direct way to request services for repairs, maintenance or renovation. Instead of depending only on personal recommendations, they can use Mon Artisan to identify professionals suited to the task.
For artisans, the platform creates visibility and access to a larger customer base. In practice, Mon Artisan serves as an interface between people looking for dependable execution and service providers looking for more structured commercial opportunities.
Why is trust such a central issue in this market?
Because home services are not only about technical skill. They are also about confidence. When someone invites a technician into a home or office, the decision depends on reliability, responsiveness and the expectation that the work will be completed properly.
In fragmented markets, that trust is often informal and difficult to scale. A digital platform helps reduce uncertainty by making access to service providers more visible and more organized.
What do Mon Artisan’s public milestones say about the company’s trajectory?
Mon Artisan was launched in Abidjan in 2017. The company gained wider visibility in 2019 when Kevin Sesse won the RFI Challenge App Afrique, a recognition that highlighted the relevance of the platform’s model in improving access to artisans through digital tools.
At the time of that recognition, Mon Artisan had already facilitated thousands of services. That early traction pointed to a clear reality: the demand for more accessible and more reliable home services was already there.
What does Mon Artisan suggest about the future of service platforms in African cities?
It shows that digital platforms do not only transform sectors such as finance, transport or commerce. They also reshape everyday services that are fundamental to urban life. Repairs, maintenance and renovation may attract less attention, but they are part of the infrastructure people depend on every day.
When these services become easier to access and easier to trust, the benefits go beyond convenience. They support livelihoods, improve customer experience and help move fragmented markets toward more professional standards.
Looking ahead, what role can Mon Artisan play in this ecosystem?
The long-term opportunity is to become a stronger coordination layer for the home services economy. That means making it easier for customers to identify trusted professionals, while giving artisans better access to opportunities in a more visible and more structured environment.
As African cities continue to grow, the need for reliable service infrastructure will grow with them. Platforms like Mon Artisan point to a broader shift: using digital tools to bring more order, accessibility and professionalism to everyday service markets.