On September 30th 2022, Vodacom Tanzania and Smart Lab revealed the top 13 technology startups joining the acceleration program at an event held at the Serena Hotel in Dar es Salaam. The “Vodacom Digital Accelerator Season 2” acceleration phase officially began with the announcement, which included startups from the fintech, health, e-commerce, education, agriculture, and cybersecurity industries.

In April 2022, the Vodacom Digital Accelerator Season 2 opened applications to all Tanzanian tech startups with creative solutions with the potential to scale. A media and hub tour of 7 Tanzanian regions, including Arusha, Moshi, Mwanza, Dodoma, Zanzibar, Mbeya, and Iringa, was then conducted to raise awareness of the program and engage innovators from across Tanzania. The Vodacom Digital Accelerator team chose 13 startups that will proceed to the acceleration phase following a two-month application window and one month of application analysis.

Over 200 startups applied to the Vodacom Digital Accelerator program, demonstrating the appetite for startup growth and corporate-startup partnerships. Of these, the education sector accounted for 8% of applications, e-commerce 11%, agriculture 12%, fintech 6%, health 5%, cyber security 4% and entertainment 5%. The program received applications from 18 regions in Tanzania, including Kigoma, Njombe, Bukoba and Mwanza.

“Congratulations to the 13 startups participating in the acceleration program.”

After three months of product development and acceleration, three top startups will move into a validation phase that will last another three months. During this phase, they will receive additional assistance in developing their marketing strategies, technical aspects, and connections with potential investors and partners.

The selected startups going through the acceleration phase are Shule Yetu Innovations, Smart Darasa, Lango Academy, and VijanaTech, under Edutech. Hack it Consultancy representing the cyber security space. Seto, Twenzao, Get Value and Spidi Africa under the e-Commerce banner. Others are Dawa Mkononi and Medpack representing Healthtech, and finally, BizyTech and Bizzy Pay on the Fintech side. 

“We would like to express our gratitude to Vodacom Tanzania for  realizing the importance of developing the next wave of success tales for African business people operating in Tanzania.”

Mr Edwin Bruno, the CEO of Smart Africa Group and a partner at Smart Lab, expressed his enthusiasm for season 2 of the program, saying, “We are thrilled to participate in the Vodacom Accelerator Season 2. Along with Vodacom, we hope to build a platform for tech-savvy people to build their brands and demonstrate that Tanzanian youth can compete not only on the continent but also globally in technology entrepreneurship. Once more, we would like to express our gratitude to Vodacom Tanzania for  realizing the importance of developing the next wave of success tales for African businesspeople operating in Tanzania.”

Intending to foster more startup success stories from the Tanzania ecosystem, Tanzania’s top telco launched the Vodacom Digital Accelerator Program in 2019 in collaboration with Smart Lab, the leading startup accelerator and innovation lab. The program’s first season was a success, as it saw 15 startups go through the acceleration phase and produce four winners. To name a couple, Ninsiima e-Dispensary (Healthtech) and MyHI (Healthtech), both of which are currently receiving additional support from Smart Lab to develop their products and generate income. With this program, Vodacom is advancing its vision to use technology to better people’s lives and bring Tanzania into the digital era.