The intrinsic value of startups in Africa lies in their ability to build fast and effective solutions to pressing challenges. Over the years another key aspect has come to the fray; scaling across borders. The ASIP Accelerator has managed to help founders fine-tune their business models while also facilitating entry into new markets such as Senegal.
This has been possible through a historic partnership with DER/FJ (https://DER.sn), which was established to advance Entrepreneurship for Women and Youth in Senegal by the President of the Republic, His Excellency Macky Sall. Giving a keynote at the event, Senior Innovation Lead Adrien Schwarz said;
“We are impressed with the work that the ASIP and Startupbootcamp AfriTech are doing and are excited that there were three times more Francophone founders compared to the previous years. This validates the caliber of startups in Francophone countries and shows that their exposure to acceleration has improved. It is also wonderful to see the progress that the past Senegalese startups namely Proxalys, Parcsmart, and Yobante have made”
Founded by telecom giant Telecel, the Africa Startup Initiative Program (ASIP) aims to support the next generation of early-stage African tech startups that are disrupting key industry verticals that include FinTech, InsureTech, AgriTech, Climate-tech, eCommerce, Digital Health, and CleanTech, Mobility, Micro-leasing, and digitizing the informal economy.
Eleanor Azar, Executive Deputy of the Group and ASIP Director said:” we are very proud of the great effort that was put into this cohort 3 of the ASIP Accelerator Program powered by SBC AfriTech – we have exceptional startups with innovative and positively disruptive ways of treating the African challenges that they have set out to solve and build their Startups around. We are also exceptionally proud that the number of female founders has increased. And to those who did not make it into the top 10, we wish you all the luck, you should be very proud that you have come out on top of more than 2,000 applications received into the program in cohort 3.
Other partners include the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO) (https://www.FMO.nl), AWS (https://go.AWS/3J40ZMX), Freshworks (https://bit.ly/3HmRsPu), Google (https://startup.
Participants will receive an intensive three-month coaching and support program to accelerate their growth and benefits worth $750,000 USD. Startups will also have access to the global Accelerator Squared (https://www.
The program will take place in Dakar, Senegal and startups will be hosted at the D-hub, – a space commissioned by DER/FJ.
“We’re excited by the quality of startups in this cohort,” commented Program Director Henry Ojour. ”About 30% of them have applied before, 60% applied on the recommendations of an alumni founder and 50% of them have monthly revenues above $50,000.00. Cohort 3 companies are building in over 12 verticals we have a 30% female-founder ratio. It’s going to be 13 weeks of far-reaching progress & impact.” He added.
We are honored to announce that the following startups will be joining the 2023 ASIP cohort 3:
Kyanda Africa (https://Kyanda.co.ke) is a revolutionary Kenyan fintech platform that provides businesses and individuals with convenient and reliable money transfer solutions. The startup has a network of agents, API gateway, and various access channels such as USSD, Mobile App & WhatsApp Chatbots making the services customizable dependent on the users’ needs
PharmaServ (http://www.PharmaServ.ng) is a Nigerian SaaS product, which automates the process of sales orders, tracking sales team performance, and reconciling incoming purchase orders, payments, and invoices for health brands. This is a labor-intensive process that is still predominantly manual for most local companies in emerging markets.
Sodishop (https://www.Sodishop.com) is a Malian marketplace, an online sales and purchase platform, present in 4 countries in West Africa, we deliver thousands of orders per month across Mali, Senegal, Guinea, and Côte d’Ivoire.
BD Waste (https://bit.ly/3iQ0hrY) is a Ghanaian GreenTech startup that combines fintech and sustainability to recover Plastic waste from communities. Their Digicycle product allows customers to directly deposit plastic waste into their digital wallets and receive credit for it. This credit can be used to purchase data packages, airtime, food items, stationery, and health insurance.
Limawa (https://bit.ly/3XOQAZk
Parkwell (https://www.Parkwell.ng) is a Nigerian online sharing platform that matches drivers with available, safe parking spaces and helps property owners list their parking spaces for optimum use. The digital parking platform integrates parking facilities and connects it to mobile for a seamless experience.
Jand2Gidi (https://www.Jand2Gidi.com.ng)
Moja Ride (https://MojaRide.net) from Côte d’Ivoire (https://bit.ly/
SafeTrack (http://www.SafeTrack.ma) is a Moroccan technology startup that allows a 75% reduction in water consumption for irrigation at 20% of the price of its competitors. Their IoT solution of geolocation and monitoring is 100% mobile, has simple maintenance and does not require any IT infrastructure. Composed of revalued smartphones and sensors and other affordable devices, and a cloud software platform developed internally.”
Chestify AI Labs (https://www.ChestifyAI.com) from Ghana provides an AI platform that gives a highly accurate algorithm for diagnosing chest X-Ray pathologies. Two-thirds of the world’s population of over 5 billion people with no access to a radiologist and radiologic diagnostic support tools and Chestify’s mission is to aggressively tackle the socio-economic and health distress created by inadequate radiology Infrastructure and the presence of fewer radiologists in Africa.
Yoonema (https://sn.Yoonema.com/fr) is a Senegalese social e-commerce platform that offers a frictionless, unique, and simplified experience to e-buyers who desire quality products and B2B players who offer a full global e-commerce experience to their clients.
The ASIP Accelerator powered by SBC AfriTech will culminate in a Demo Day on 25 May 2023 where startup founders will pitch their disruptive solutions to a broad audience of media, investors, corporate partners, and industry stakeholders.
About Startupbootcamp AfriTech:
Startupbootcamp AfriTech was launched in 2017 as the first multi corporate-backed pan-African startup accelerator. We run world-class accelerator programs, working with some of the most disruptive startups on the continent. We provide access to our global network of corporate partners, investors, and mentors. For more information visit: www.Startupbootcamp.org
About Africa Startup Initiative:
ASIP is a program founded by Moh Damush, Telecel Group CEO as a CSR activity. ASI Program contributes in a meaningful way to the African Continent to support young startups whose innovative ideas are creating a difference in their communities, exposes them to international organizations, and bridges the knowledge and expertise to allow them to attract partners that can add value to their startups. For more information on the ASIP, visit www.ASIProgram.com
About Telecel Group:
Telecel Group operates in four different lines of business all under the telecom industry: (1) Telecel Mobile, owns and operates several mobile operators in Africa and Europe; (2) Telecel Global Services, provides wholesale, enterprise, and digital security services to telecom operators and enterprises worldwide; (3) Telecel Play, a digital platform that is digitizing mobile users; and (4) Africa Startup Initiative Program supports innovative startups in Africa and offers them funding and guidance to scale and For more information on the Telecel Group program, visit http://TelecelGroup.com
About DER/FJ:
DER/FJ is an institution under the authority of the Presidency of the Republic of Senegal, and it was launched by President Macky Sall in 2018 in order to support entrepreneurs throughout Senegal. This support is given through both financial and non-financial services, with an emphasis on sectors that include technology and innovation, hence the creation of the D-hub incubator. For more information about DER/FJ visit https://DER.sn/
About FMO:
FMO is the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development bank. As a leading impact investor, FMO supports sustainable private sector growth in developing countries and emerging markets by investing in ambitious projects and entrepreneurs. FMO believes that a strong private sector leads to economic and social development and has a close to 50-year proven track record of empowering people to employ their skills and improve their quality of life. FMO focuses on three sectors that have a high development impact: financial institutions, energy, and agribusiness, food & water. With a committed portfolio of EUR 9.3 billion spanning over 85 countries, FMO is one of the larger bilateral private sector development banks globally. For more information: please visit www.FMO.nl
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Startupbootcamp AfriTech