Startupbootcamp AfriTech Hosts Profitable ASIP Demo Day in Dakar

 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 outstanding 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, buyers, 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, steering, and entry to an enormous community of consultants and buyers.

“The highest 11 of ASIP Cohort 3 are spectacular, Telecel Group is proud to be a part of their journey to scale and broaden their companies, these startups are the way forward for the continent, tackling the native challenges and discovering innovatively disruptive methods to resolve them. We stay up for working collectively to broaden this ecosystem and to establish extra synergies between Telecel entities and the group of the 30 startups which have graduated this system to this point,” stated Eleanor Azar, Government Deputy of Telecel and ASIP Director. 

The ASIP Accelerator Program is funded by its founding accomplice Telecel Group and different key companions, notably the Senegalese authorities by means of DER/FJ and Enrich in Africa, a three-year challenge funded beneath the European Union’s Horizon 2020 analysis and innovation program. The Program can also be supported by the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank (FMO) by means of 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 introduced their revolutionary services and products to a captivated viewers. The various vary of sectors represented included FinTech, AgriTech, HealthTech, Local weather-Tech, and extra, showcasing the immense potential for development and influence inside the African tech panorama.

Talking in regards to the occasion, Henry Ojuor, Program Director of Startupbootcamp AfriTech, expressed nice pleasure within the achievements of the collaborating startups. “In the present day we witnessed the way forward for Africa. We noticed startups fixing a number of the largest issues in Africa, disrupting whole industries. We noticed startups poised to vary 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, they usually did all this whereas creating over 9000 jobs and placing girls on the middle of their work. It’s a record-breaking cohort!”

The Demo Day additionally supplied a platform for startups to have interaction with potential buyers and forge strategic partnerships. Famend enterprise capitalists, angel buyers, 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 geared toward fixing probably the most difficult points Africa faces. Their shows generated vital curiosity from buyers, and the startups at the moment are poised to speed up their development with the help of key trade gamers.

Senegalese social promoting startup Yoonema introduced a brand new partnership with fellow SBC AfriTech Alumni, Yobante Specific, to supply seamless logistics between the sellers, and the shoppers.
“This collaboration has allowed us to broaden our community to over 400 new social sellers who 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 area – Interswitch and Contact and Pay offers us entry to their person base of over 15 million individuals.”

“We’ve made unbelievable progress in the course of 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 offline-capable distribution administration software program for medical suppliers additionally made large progress. “We’re at present finalizing negotiations with a public listed firm that 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 in its mission to provide a seamless and trackable logistics resolution that eliminates uncertainty and reduces transit occasions for transport throughout Africa. “We not too long ago launched a Shopify plug-in that provides 1.7million sellers the world over entry to a seamless transport resolution to Africa shoppers”, introduced the COO of the Nigerian startup Ujama Akpata.

“As a way to supply the most effective 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 significant alternative to hundreds of sellers throughout Mali, Guinea, Senegal, and Ivory Coast by means of value-added providers similar 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 can be acknowledged as a number of the most closely polluted areas within the nation,” says CEO Emmanuel Danso. “Based mostly on our preliminary assessments, we are able to acquire 40 tons per thirty days, and cut back the garbage on the bottom by 90%.”

This can be a nice feat within the firm’s endeavor to allow a related waste administration and recycling ecosystem by means of know-how.

Chestify, additionally hailing from Ghana is at present finalizing a partnership with Checkup Labs in Kenya to report their medical photographs. “They at present course of greater than 6 000 medical photographs per thirty days, and we can be lowering 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 accomplice hospitals throughout rural Ghana,” he added. The corporate pivoted in the course of the ASIP Accelerator and is dedicated to connecting healthcare services to their system to gather CT scans, X-rays, MRIs, and pathology experiences.

When Ivorian startup Moja Ride joined the cohort, they have been effectively on their method to making a monetary resolution for taxi drivers who are sometimes denied automobile loans as a result of banks deem them too dangerous. They launched Sobridge, an entity that gives a drive to personal options to those unbanked drivers. They evaluation drivers’ historic revenues to point out monetary establishments that these drivers will not be a credit score threat. “We drastically cut back the danger of default by means of our pay-to-use mannequin together with our skill to gather funds straight from the client fare, says co-founder Michelle Allade. Sobridge not too long ago finalized a partnership with Yango, the main Experience-Hailing firm in francophone Africa, and introduced a partnership with the Metropolis of Parcelles to fund a brand new fleet of 100 Klando vehicles.

Kenyan fintech constructed for Gen Z,  Kyanda additionally made unbelievable 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 accessible 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 can generate $90k in income this yr. CEO Seydina Issa Seck and his workforce present photo voltaic refrigeration options that rework the best way meals is preserved and transported. ASIP powered by ”Startupbootcamp AfriTech gave us an unbelievable alternative to remodel our enterprise mannequin from merely constructing photo voltaic coolers for shoppers”, he says. In the present day, Limawa makes income by means of quick 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 world community of mentors, buyers, and company companions, this system performs a vital function in fostering entrepreneurship and catalyzing sustainable development 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 proficient 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 method to the African Continent to help younger startups whose revolutionary 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 applications, working with a number of the most disruptive startups on the continent. We offer entry to our international community of company companions, buyers, and mentors. The SBC AfriTech portfolio at present has 60 African startups spanning 13 international locations and working in sectors that embrace FinTech, InsureTech, Logistics, Mobility, AgriTech, and Digital Well being.

With our help, 95% of SBC AfriTech alumni are nonetheless operational 2+ years after this system, they usually have an combination valuation of practically $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 completely different strains of enterprise all beneath the telecom trade: (1) Telecel Cellular, owns and operates a number of cell operators in Africa and Europe; (2) Telecel World Providers, gives wholesale, enterprise, and digital safety providers to telecom operators and enterprises worldwide; (3) Telecel Play, a digital platform that’s digitizing cell customers; and (4) Africa Startup Initiative Program helps revolutionary startups in Africa and affords them funding and steering 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 with the intention to help entrepreneurs all through Senegal. This help is given by means of each monetary and non-financial providers, with an emphasis on sectors that embrace know-how 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 personal sector development in growing international locations and rising markets by investing in formidable tasks and entrepreneurs. FMO believes {that a} robust personal sector results in financial and social growth and has a near 50-year confirmed monitor report of empowering individuals to make use of their abilities and enhance their high quality of life. FMO focuses on three sectors which have a excessive growth influence: monetary establishments, vitality, and agribusiness, meals & water. With a dedicated portfolio of EUR 9.3 billion spanning over 85 international locations, FMO is among the bigger bilateral personal sector growth 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 carry collectively core stakeholders from Africa and Europe with the intention to help and strengthen the European and African innovation ecosystem. Its principal targets are to supply capability upgrading and help to incubators and accelerators throughout each areas and facilitate the expansion of concepts and profitable outcomes by constructing a robust neighborhood with a basis within the supply of high quality providers. After the challenge ends, actions and providers can be continued by the ENRICH in Africa Centre, which has not too long ago been launched. For extra info: please go to www.enrichinafrica.com