Four months since its launch, Accelerate Africa, a new accelerator program striving to become the "Y Combinator of Africa," has revealed its inaugural cohort of ten African startups. This initiative was founded by Iyin Aboyeji, the founder of the Pan-African VC firm Future Africa, and Mia von Koschitzky-Kimani, a general partner, to support early-stage African businesses.
Initially skeptical about the need for an African-specific accelerator, Aboyeji shared his change of heart at the launch: "For a long time, I told anyone who cared to listen that the YC of Africa is YC and there was no need for an African accelerator. I've changed my mind. Before now, we have mostly run successful pre-accelerator programs to help get founders into actual accelerator programs like YC and Techstars. Now we are getting into the accelerator arena ourselves."
Following the demo day on Friday at the Marriott Hotel in Lagos, decisions will be made regarding pre-seed or seed funding for some of the selected startups. Angel investors and venture capitalists will provide investments ranging from $250,000 to $500,000. However, unlike Y Combinator, participation in the Accelerate Africa program does not guarantee funding directly from the accelerator.
The first cohort showcases a diverse group of startups, with six from Nigeria, two from Kenya, and one from Egypt and Eswatini. These companies are involved in various sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI), cleantech, proptech, healthtech, automotive technology, HRTech, logistics, and fintech.
Here are the selected startups:
* Afriskaut (Nigeria): This AI and data startup, led by Nmandi Emefo, Buggu Ussa, Joshua Osazuwa, Ogunkola Obafemi, and Eby Emenike, utilizes proprietary technology to identify Africa's top sporting talent.
* Agrails (Kenya): Co-founded by Mwenda Mugendi, Agrails is a cleantech company that builds AI-powered data systems to help organizations address and price climate risks and opportunities in Africa.
* Campus (Nigeria): Founded by Remi Dada, Campus is a proptech startup creating a workspace-sharing platform akin to Airbnb, simplifying office discovery, booking, and management for mid-sized and large teams across Africa.
* CDIAL AI (Nigeria): Led byOlayinka Iyinolakan and Shona Olalere, CDIAL is developing a conversational AI system that understands and speaks African languages.
* Checkups (Kenya): Moka Lantum and Renee Ngamau are behind Checkups, a healthtech company offering affordable and accessible healthcare to the uninsured and underserved through micropayments.
* Flickwheel (Nigeria): Henry Okafor is the CEO, Steve Amire is the COO, and Paul Edwards is the CTO of Flickwheel, an autotech startup that helps car owners maintain their vehicles through on-demand repair credits, vetted technicians, and automated repair tracking.
* Juiceme (Eswatini): Juiceme, founded by Sandile Diamini, is an HRTech startup partnering with organizations employing blue-collar workers to provide access to earned wages via WhatsApp, eliminating the need to wait for payday.
* Messenger (Nigeria): Amanda Etuk and Essien Etuk created Messenger, a logistics startup that empowers delivery drivers to become entrepreneurs by offering ownership opportunities alongside income. Drivers can acquire their delivery vehicles through financing, developing a stake in the value chain.
* PipeOps (Nigeria): Founded by Samuel Ogbonyomi, Alex Idowu, and Taye Odunfa, PipeOps is a DevOps provider that enables companies without cloud expertise to manage their cloud applications through automation.
* SETTLE (Egypt): Settle, founded by Kamil Sayour and Mostafa Mobarak, is a fintech startup that automates B2B payments, allowing clients to pay all their suppliers efficiently.
With this diverse group of startups, Accelerate Africa aims to significantly impact the continent's entrepreneurial ecosystem, fostering innovation and growth among early-stage businesses.
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