Wise Guys SaaS – Africa acceleration program

Join the Wise Guys SaaS – Africa acceleration program to receive the first investment of up to €65K to accelerate your growth. The program is carried out by Europe’s leading B2B accelerator @Startup Wise Guys and is mainly focusing on East- and West-African early-stage digital B2B SaaS startups with initial traction, solid team, and a focus on one of these areas: FinTech, AgriTech, EdTech, CleanTech, HealthTech, or RetailTech.

Eligibility criteria

Our programs are meant for B2B startups. We do sometimes work with B2B2C companies, but we do not work with B2C startups. The program is focused on early-stage B2B startups from Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, and Ghana.

To be eligible for the full-time acceleration program you need to have:

• At least a working MVP;
• At least 2 co-founders/team members;
• Initial customer traction, MRR or revenues;
• Scaling potential across the African continent.

What you get

Throughout the program, there are four main focus areas on which we are working to help you build and grow your startup: Company building, Sales and marketing, Fundraising and Pitching, and Product building.

Work in these areas happens through intensive collaboration with almost 100 mentors at workshops, one-on-one sessions, and sprint weeks, as well as through a dedicated implementation time throughout the program.

You will also:

Get Funding
Up to €65K investment for up to 12% equity (45K cash + 20K program) with a follow-on possibility

Learn from the best
Benefit from meeting top-notch industry experts: 350+ mentors, 200+ investors, and 600+ alumni

Be challenged
Join our intensive 5-month startup accelerator program power-packed with cutting-edge industry knowledge and expertise

Continue to Grow
Accelerate your growth after the program with 1:1 support to boost sales, new market entry, and partnerships

Important dates & program format

Wise Guys SaaS Africa is a 5-month long acceleration program combining online modules with local and international experts and mentors.

Applications open
May 10, 2022

Live Q&A
July 12, 2022

Applications closed
September 15, 2022

Acceleration Program Starts
October 10, 2022

Graduation Day
February 2023

What does the selection process look like?

• After the submission of the application to the Dealum, the Scouting team evaluates the application for eligibility. It can take up to 2 weeks for us to get back to you after we have received your application.
• If the application fits our criteria we might ask you additional questions and invite you to take part in the pitch day to present the business to SWG General partners and team members.
• Pitch day is an internal event to evaluate the business idea and meet founders face to face, after the pitches SWG team decides how to proceed with the application. Decisions are: move forward with Due Diligence, offer Wise Guys Pre-accelerator program, reject or stay in touch until later.
• Due diligence process includes: the Tech call, Managing Director call, Partner/ expert call, and the Deal call.
• After the startup has successfully gone through the due diligence process they are invited to the Selection Bootcamp.
• TOP 10-12 teams are selected to participate in the acceleration program.