Startupbootcamp AfriTech and Telecel Group have selected ten African startups to participate in the fourth edition of the Africa Startup Initiative Programme (ASIP), which offers participants access to funding, resources and networking opportunities during three months of mentoring.
Startupbootcamp AfriTech was launched in 2017 as the first pan-African multi-corporate startup accelerator. In March last year, it partnered with telecommunications company Telecel Group to launch the ASIP (Africa Startup Initiative Programme), which aims to support the next generation of early-stage African technology companies, involving a wide range of sectors.
According to the Disrupt Africa portal, the selected companies will now take part in the three-month programme, during which they will receive mentoring and access to a network of experts and investors in their sectors. The startups will also receive 18,000 dollars (around 1.1 million meticais) in equity investment.
Five of the selected companies are from Nigeria, namely 10mg Pharma, which employs an Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithm to match healthcare providers with financing partners; Betapawa Solutions, which offers an innovative solar-powered banking solution; Edusko, a web-based one-stop-shop platform that matches children with the right public schools; the end-to-end logistics platform Messenger; and the SaaS (Software as a Service) based hospital automation company, Primed EHealth.
Also selected were Babimo, from Côte d’Ivoire, which provides a professional digital wallet to its customers; Kori Tech, from Senegal, which developed KORIPASS, an electronic wallet linked to physical payment accessories such as wristbands, stickers or key rings; LyfPlus, from Tanzania, a telemedicine platform; Uganda’s Munakyalo Agrofresh, which provides solar-powered cold storage units known as COLD HIVES to small-scale farmers and market vendors; and Egypt’s Ostafandy, which enables homeowners and construction professionals to estimate and finalise building projects.
“The selection period for the fourth cohort of the Startupbootcamp Afritech ASIP Accelerator has definitely come with many surprises and many firsts,” said programme director Henry Ojuor. “For example, AI emerged as one of the main sectors in our group of applications. What’s more, 26 per cent of all the startups that applied are in the growth phase, a positive and important sign for the African tech ecosystem. However, this didn’t make our task of selecting the top ten finalists any easier, but we managed to do it. And I am optimistic that we have assembled and are ready to accelerate Africa’s future success stories.”
This edition of the ASIP Accelerator Programme is funded by the Senegalese government, through the DER/FJ, and by the Dutch Business Development Bank (FMO), through MASSIF, a financial inclusion fund that FMO manages on behalf of the Dutch government. Other partners include Telecel, AWS, Google for Startups and Firstbase.
The programme will take place in Dakar, Senegal, and the startups will be hosted at the D-hub, an innovation campus commissioned by the DER/FJ, and will culminate in a demo day on 8 February 2024.
