Four months post launch, Accelerate Africa, a budding African owned accelerator program with aspirations to become “Africa Y Combinator” has unveiled 10 African owned startups for its inaugural cohort.
After the demo-day on 1st June in Marriott Hotel in Lagos state, Nigeria, some of the selected startups are on the brink of receiving pre-seed or seed funding. Venture capitalists and angel investors are ready to invest amounts between $250,000 and $500,000. However, it’s important to note that, unlike YC, joining the Accelerate Africa accelerator program doesn’t guarantee direct funding from the accelerator itself.
The first cohort is impressively diverse and inclusive, it features startups across the continent: six from Nigeria, two from Kenya, and one each from Egypt and Eswatini. These companies operate in various industries including, AI, PropTech, HealthTech, HR Tech, FinTech, Logistics and CleanTech.
The selected startups are:
1. Flickwheel (Nigeria)
Founded by Henry Okafor (CEO) and Paul Edwards (CTO), Flickwheel is a tech-enabled automobile platform that provides sub-financing for all sorts of vehicle maintenance & repairs. Flickwheel is improving roadworthiness by optimizing vehicle repair and maintenance through financial technology, automotive technology and intelligence.
2. Agrails (Kenya)
Founded by Mwenda Mugendi, Agrails is a Kenyan cleantech startup that collects, organizes, and builds AI-powered data systems that enable organizations to respond to and price Africa’s climate risk and opportunities in real time.
3. Messenger (Nigeria)
Amanda Etuk and Essien Etuk created Messenger. Messenger is a one stop logistics platform that finances and aggregates end-to-end logistics and supply chain management. Messenger optimizes deliveries by providing financial services to logistics entrepreneurs. Drivers can acquire their delivery vehicles through financing, developing a stake in the value chain.
4. 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. Afrskaut offers football stakeholders a robust scouting tool to enhance their recruitment decisions for players in Africa.
5. Juiceme (Eswatini)
Founded by Samdie Diamini, is an HRTech startup collaborating with organizations employing blue-collar workers to provide access to earned wages via WhatsApp, eliminating the need to wait for payday.
6. SETTLE (Egypt)
Founded by Kamil Sayour and Mostafa Mobarak, is a cash management startup that automates B2B payments, allowing clients to pay all their suppliers efficiently. Settle is on a mission to build cash flow innovation for founders.
7. Checkups (Kenya)
Checkups is a Kenyan HealthTech startup founded by Moka Lantum and Renee Ngamu. Checkups provide affordable and accessible healthcare to uninsured and underserved through micropayments.
8. 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. PipeOps automates and abstracts complex DevOps workflows so anyone can take an app from code cloud in minutes without prior DevOps experience.
9. 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.
10. CDIAL AI (Nigeria)
Led by Yinka Iyinolakan, Soji Akinlabi, and Shona Olalere, CDAIL is developing a conversational AI system that understands and speaks African languages.
These startups highlight the innovative energy and potential of Africa’s growing startup ecosystem. Accelerate Africa plans to make a big impact on the continent’s entrepreneurial scene, promoting innovation and growth among early stage startups.
