Impact Hub Accra has selected the top 8 startups innovating through fintech, mass market distribution, and the digitalization of the gig economy for the second edition of BetaRaise. Betaraise is an initiative in partnership with FMO Ventures Program and VC4A. The program is an accelerator designed as a launchpad for first-time founders with beta products who are seeking investment to build a strong network of relationships geared toward obtaining their first pre-seed round of funding.
Having screened nearly 150 applications by a team of judges, Impact Hub Accra, together with VC4A and FMO, is pleased to present the 8 qualified, tech-enabled startups selected to participate in the second edition of the BetaRaise accelerator.
Congratulations to the following shortlisted startups, in no particular order:
Afrigateway Limited’s B2B marketplace connects global buyers directly to verified wholesale exporters of Agro-based products in Ghana and across Africa. This connection gives MSME exporters the same “superpowers” (market access, financing) as bigger players in their respective industries.
Farmio leverages mobile and web technologies, precision farming techniques, and climate-smart agriculture principles to provide affordable greenhouse farms and end-to-end farming solutions to guarantee about 120% increased productivity for farmers.
The focus of Green Hopper is to connect the future of auto tech services to automobile experiences in Africa through a continent-wide automotive ecosystem. Their flagship product, the FITA app, uses mobile technology paired with subscription models to provide a seamless and vetted ecosystem of auto-related services while introducing greener forms of mobility.
Sayetech combines the advantages of IoT and Artificial Intelligence with robust hardware, ideally suited for small-holder farms in Africa. The company designs, manufactures, provides maintenance and training and empowers farmers with data that help increase their efficiency.
Ubadi is a modern financial management platform that helps families build essential financial habits through saving and tracking expenses. Ubadi seeks to transform the financial experiences of families and individuals through its beta platform.
Keva (BenBen) aims to unlock carbon market access to small-holder farmers (who own interests in 80% of Africa’s arable land) by serving as a land-rights verification platform and marketplace for small-holders to directly sell carbon credits on the global carbon finance market.
Srawa Mobility is building an ecosystem of solar power charging stations, battery swap stations, technology platforms, and the sale of electric vehicles, starting with motorcycles.
Sync! The premier product from Spurt! Enables multi-stakeholder collaboration via a digital workspace designed to optimize team interactions with effective project management. Spurt! is a powerful platform for businesses to access freelance and full-time talent and manage that talent to complete ad hoc and continuous projects.
What’s next for the top 8?
The program for BetaRaise second cohort is set to run for three months, from November to January. Selected entrepreneurs will participate in programs and projects to guide each startup to build a solid team and product and improve and firm up their beta rollout plan. In addition, they will receive support to acquire strong beta user numbers to close a pre-seed round of USD 100,000 after the duration of the program.
The shortlisted startups for the second cohort represent high-potential innovations in fintech, green energy, e-mobility, urban food systems, mass market distribution, and the gig economy.
Following the structure of BetaRaise first edition, The BetaRaise team will match the startups with seasoned pre-seed ‘venture partners’, whose primary responsibility will be to offer expert advice at both the management and board level. In addition, the second cohort will receive support with building a complete data room for investor engagement, Delaware incorporation, and negotiation of the close of their pre-seed round with relevant investors within the program’s network.
“Closing a round during the BetaRaise accelerator will rely on how unique a product is, the commitment of the founder, as well as his/her ability to excite investors”, adds William Senyo, co-founder of Impact Hub Accra concerning the structure and outcome of the accelerator.