ASIP powered by Startupbootcamp AfriTech, a number one accelerator program for African tech startups, efficiently concluded its extremely anticipated ASIP Accelerator Demo Day occasion in Dakar, Senegal. The occasion, which occurred alongside the AfricArena Summit, showcased the exceptional progress and cutting-edge improvements of this system’s newest cohort of entrepreneurs.
Tomi Davies, the Founding President of the Africa Enterprise Angel Community, gave the keynote speech and Demo Day was additionally attended by different trade leaders, traders, and key stakeholders within the African tech ecosystem. The occasion marked the end result of an intense three-month acceleration program throughout which the startups obtained mentorship, steerage, and entry to an enormous community of consultants and traders.
“The highest 11 of ASIP Cohort 3 are spectacular, Telecel Group is proud to be a part of their journey to scale and increase their companies, these startups are the way forward for the continent, tackling the native challenges and discovering innovatively disruptive methods to unravel them. We sit up for working collectively to increase this ecosystem and to establish extra synergies between Telecel entities and the group of the 30 startups which have graduated this system up to now,” stated Eleanor Azar, Government Deputy of Telecel and ASIP Director.
The ASIP Accelerator Program is funded by its founding associate Telecel Group and different key companions, notably the Senegalese authorities by DER/FJ and Enrich in Africa, a three-year challenge funded beneath the European Union’s Horizon 2020 analysis and innovation programme. The Program can also be supported by the Dutch entrepreneurial improvement financial institution (FMO) by MASSIF, the monetary inclusion fund FMO manages on behalf of the Dutch authorities, AWS, Google for Startups, and Firstbase.
The Demo Day witnessed a formidable show of entrepreneurial expertise, because the startups offered their progressive services and products to a captivated viewers. The varied vary of sectors represented included FinTech, AgriTech, HealthTech, Local weather-Tech, and extra, showcasing the immense potential for progress and influence inside the African tech panorama.
Talking concerning the occasion, Henry Ojuor, Program Director of Startupbootcamp AfriTech, expressed nice pleasure within the achievements of the collaborating startups. “Right this moment we witnessed the way forward for Africa. We noticed startups fixing a few of the largest issues in Africa, disrupting complete industries. We noticed startups poised to alter the world. However what we’re most happy with by far is how deeply this cohort has engaged within the native ecosystem. A staggering 90% of the startups you’ve simply seen are actively working in Senegal, and so they did all this whereas creating over 9000 jobs and placing ladies on the middle of their work. It’s a report breaking cohort!”
The Demo Day additionally supplied a platform for the startups to interact with potential traders and forge strategic partnerships. Famend enterprise capitalists, angel traders, and company companions actively participated within the occasion, demonstrating their dedication to supporting and nurturing African startups.
The startups stood out with their groundbreaking options aimed toward fixing probably the most difficult points Africa faces. Their displays generated important curiosity from traders, and the startups at the moment are poised to speed up their progress with the assist of key trade gamers.
Senegalese social promoting startup Yoonema introduced a brand new partnership with fellow SBC AfriTech Alumni, Yobante Specific, to offer seamless logistics between the sellers, and the purchasers.
“This collaboration has allowed us to increase our community to over 400 new social sellers which at the moment are onboarding into our platform,” famous CEO Mame Fatou Ba.
Nigerian mobility firm Parkwell additionally partnered with 2019 alumni Curacel to assist in giving their clients peace of thoughts. “We’re constructing the Airbnb for parking in Africa,” says founder Philip Ogunaike. “Our new distribution partnerships with two main gamers within the mobility house – Interswitch and Contact and Pay provides us entry to their consumer base of over 15 million folks.”
“We’ve made unimaginable progress through the cohort,” says SafeTrack CEO Mahir Chekkoury Idrissi. The Morrocan startup introduced a partnership with the affiliation of citrus producers in Berkane, Morocco and pilots with the directorate of horticulture and Senegal’s Ministry of Agriculture.
PharmaServ, a Nigerian firm that gives an offline-capable distribution administration software program for medical suppliers additionally made super progress. “We’re presently finalising negotiations with a public listed firm which plans to implement our system throughout their gross sales unit of 200 brokers in Nigeria,” introduced CEO Emeka Anyaorah.
Within the logistics sector, Jand2Gidi which rebranded to CargoPlug throughout this system made strides of their mission to provide a seamless and trackable logistics resolution that eliminates uncertainty and reduces transit instances for transport throughout Africa. “We just lately launched a Shopify plug-in that provides 1.7million sellers the world over entry to a seamless transport resolution to Africa shoppers”, introduced COO of the Nigerian startup Ujama Akpata.
“With the intention to supply the perfect costs to our clients, we’re excited to announce our partnership with Nestle, the main FMCG model in Mali,” introduced Sodishop CEO Boubacar Biro Balde. The startup’s interconnected market affords a serious alternative to hundreds of sellers throughout Mali, Guinea, Senegal and Ivory Coast by worth added companies akin to E-mail & SMS advertising and Specific Supply.
Ghanaian local weather tech BD Waste continues to remodel how communities understand waste. “We now have began pilot tasks in 3 communities in Dakar which might be acknowledged as a few of the most closely polluted areas within the nation,” says CEO Emmanuel Danso. “Primarily based on our preliminary assessments, we are able to acquire 40 tons per thirty days, and scale back the garbage on the bottom by 90%.”
This can be a nice feat within the firm’s endeavor to allow a linked waste administration and recycling ecosystem by expertise.
Chestify, additionally hailing from Ghana is presently finalizing a partnership with Checkup Labs in Kenya to report their medical photographs. “They presently course of greater than 6 000 medical photographs per thirty days, and we will likely be decreasing their turnaround time by 80%,” says CEO Mustapha Zaidan. “We’re additionally excited to announce that on June twenty fifth, we are going to begin deploying Chestify into dozens of UNICEF associate hospitals throughout rural Ghana,” he added. The corporate pivoted through the ASIP Accelerator and is dedicated to connecting healthcare amenities to their system to gather CT scans, X-rays, MRIs, and pathology stories.
When Ivorian startup Moja Journey joined the cohort, they have been properly on their strategy to making a monetary resolution for taxi drivers who are sometimes denied automotive loans as a result of banks deem them too dangerous. They launched Sobridge, an entity that provides a drive to personal options to those unbanked drivers. They evaluate drivers’ historic revenues to point out monetary establishments that these drivers aren’t a credit score threat. “We drastically scale back the danger of default by our pay-to-use mannequin together with our potential to gather funds instantly from the client fare, says co-founder Michelle Allade. Sobridge just lately finalized a partnership with Yango, the main Journey-Hailing firm in francophone Africa, and introduced a partnership with the Metropolis of Parcelles to fund a brand new fleet of 100 Klando automobiles.
Kenyan fintech constructed for Gen Z, Kyanda additionally made unimaginable strides throughout their time within the ASIP Program. They expanded into South Africa and have rolled out and are finalizing particulars on partnerships that can make Kyanda out there at greater than 20,000 Spaza retailers. “With our interoperable pockets as a service, we’re making funds and transactions seamless throughout the African continent,” stated Senior Tech Lead Victor Muriithi confidently.
In simply two months of being within the cohort, Ivorian startup Limawa was capable of safe a pilot with Auchan which is able to generate $90k in income this 12 months. CEO Seydina Issa Seck and his crew present photo voltaic refrigeration options that rework the best way meals is preserved and transported. ASIP powered by ”Startupbootcamp AfriTech gave us an unimaginable alternative to remodel our enterprise mannequin from merely constructing photo voltaic coolers for purchasers”, he says. Right this moment, Limawa makes income by brief and long-term rental fashions.
ASIP powered by Startupbootcamp AfriTech is dedicated to empowering African startups and driving innovation on the continent. By connecting startups with a worldwide community of mentors, traders, and company companions, this system performs an important position in fostering entrepreneurship and catalyzing sustainable progress within the African tech ecosystem. Purposes for Cohort 4 will open within the subsequent few months.
The success of the Demo Day in Dakar highlights the colourful startup tradition in Senegal and showcases the town as a burgeoning hub for tech innovation. With its strategic location, supportive ecosystem, and gifted pool of entrepreneurs, Dakar is poised to change into a key participant within the African tech revolution.
About Africa Startup Initiative
ASIP is a program based by Moh Damush, Telecel Group CEO as a CSR exercise. ASI Program contributes in a significant strategy to the African Continent to assist younger startups whose progressive concepts are making a distinction of their communities, exposing them to worldwide organizations and bridging the data and experience to permit them to draw companions that may add worth to their startups. For extra info on the ASIP, go to www.asiprogram.com
About Startupbootcamp AfriTech
Startupbootcamp AfriTech was launched in 2017 as the primary multi-corporate-backed pan-African startup accelerator. We run world-class accelerator packages, working with a few of the most disruptive startups on the continent. We offer entry to our international community of company companions, traders, and mentors. The SBC AfriTech portfolio presently has 60 African startups spanning 13 international locations and working in sectors that embody FinTech, InsureTech, Logistics, Mobility, AgriTech, and Digital Well being.
With our assist, 95% of SBC AfriTech alumni are nonetheless operational 2+ years after this system, and so they have an mixture valuation of almost $1 Billion, and 22% have feminine co-founders.
For extra info go to: http://bit.ly/sbcafritech
About Telecel Group
Telecel Group operates in 4 totally different strains of enterprise all beneath the telecom trade: (1) Telecel Cell, owns and operates a number of cell operators in Africa and Europe; (2) Telecel International Providers, offers wholesale, enterprise, and digital safety companies to telecom operators and enterprises worldwide; (3) Telecel Play, a digital platform that’s digitizing cell customers; and (4) Africa Startup Initiative Program helps progressive startups in Africa and affords them funding and steerage to scale and For extra info on the Telecel Group program, go to http://telecelgroup.com
About Der/FJ
Der/FJ is an establishment beneath the authority of the Presidency of the Republic of Senegal and it was launched by President Macky Sall in 2018 to be able to assist entrepreneurs all through Senegal. This assist is given by each monetary and non-financial companies, with an emphasis on sectors that embody expertise and innovation, therefore the creation of the D-hub incubator. For extra details about DER/FJ go to https://der.sn/
About FMO
FMO is the Dutch Entrepreneurial Growth Financial institution. As a number one influence investor, FMO helps sustainable non-public sector progress in creating international locations and rising markets by investing in formidable tasks and entrepreneurs. FMO believes {that a} robust non-public sector results in financial and social improvement and has a near 50-year confirmed monitor report of empowering folks to make use of their abilities and enhance their high quality of life. FMO focuses on three sectors which have a excessive improvement influence: monetary establishments, power, and agribusiness, meals & water. With a dedicated portfolio of EUR 9.3 billion spanning over 85 international locations, FMO is among the bigger bilateral non-public sector improvement banks globally. For extra info: please go to www.fmo.nl
About ENRICH in Africa
ENRICH in Africa is a three-year challenge funded beneath the European Union’s Horizon 2020 analysis and innovation programme designed to convey collectively core stakeholders from Africa and Europe to be able to assist and strengthen the European and African innovation ecosystem. Its essential objectives are to offer capability upgrading and assist to incubators and accelerators throughout each areas and facilitate the expansion of concepts and profitable outcomes by constructing a powerful group with a basis within the supply of high quality companies. After the challenge ends, actions and companies will likely be continued by the ENRICH in Africa Centre, which has just lately been launched. For extra info: please go to www.enrichinafrica.com