Today, Startupbootcamp AfriTech announced the top 11 teams picked from over 1,900 applicants that will attend a three-month accelerator in Cape Town. They will be linked to some of the fastest-moving corporates on the continent in order to learn how to scale their solutions for the global market.
Cape Town, 12 July 2019 – Startupbootcamp (SBC) AfriTech today announced the eleven best tech startups (three of whom are from South Africa) selected to be the latest cohort in the globally renowned, multi-corporate backed accelerator programme. SBC AfriTech is the African leg of a global family of industry-focused accelerators and this is the third year that it will be held on the continent.
The top 11 startups chosen for the SBC AfriTech 2019 cohort are:
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Convergenc3 Databotics – Incorporates Robotics Process Automation, giving customers a streamlined solution geared towards generating value for their client base with the least amount of operational effort.
South Africa -
Rentoza – Leverages the sharing economy to enable businesses and individuals to list their lazy assets whilst giving customers access to these via a low-cost rental model backed by insurance underwritten by Old Mutual Insure.
South Africa -
Snapslip Holdings – Is a digital receipting and analytics application that takes data from each receipt and produces spend, trend and predictive analytics for retailers, banks insurance companies and manufacturers to increase their revenue streams.
South Africa -
Asilimia – Digitises payments for small businesses to enable them to access formal financial services.
Kenya -
Weego – Is a user-based transport app that helps communities in emergent and developing countries commute, with real-time updates of bus, train and metro arrivals.
Morocco -
HouseAfrica Blockchain – Enables all Africans to participate in the real estate investment marketplace. In addition to solving housing deficits, it allows users to profit from sales, rentals or capital appreciation.
Morocco -
Curacel Systems – Provides intelligent fraud detection and claim fast-tracking technology for African health insurers.
Nigeria -
Yobante Express – Connects drivers with users, allowing anyone who owns a means of transportation to make money when providing shipping services.
Senegal -
Cinnamon Clubs – Improves the management efficiencies of social savings clubs through automated bookkeeping, ensuring accuracy, integrity and transparency of club financial activities to members.
Uganda -
Survey54 – Has created a mobile-first platform that uses channels such as voice, bots and SMS to collect data on emerging markets and create unique and robust consumer insights.
United Kingdom -
YouFarm – Provides farmers with access to collateral-free finance by getting people to invest in crops and livestock and share the profits with the farmers when the produce goes to market.
Zimbabwe
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- In 2018, 1,004 applications from 73 countries were received – double the number from the 2017 inaugural launch. Now, in 2019, thanks to intensified scouting efforts, there was an 80% increase in applications from across the globe.
- Twenty-two startup teams were shortlisted from the 1,900 applications accumulated. They were flown to Cape Town to pitch their businesses over two days to some of the most progressive leaders in the African innovation space, including corporate sponsors, mentors and investors. From these, the eleven elite teams were chosen. These teams have shown significantly more traction in the market than those in previous years and include mostly later-stage companies.
- SBC AfriTech Programme Director, Nsovo Nkatingi, says
This is the most diverse representation we have ever had with teams from seven different countries across the continent. Our corporate partners are becoming more sophisticated in their selection process and we are very excited about the potential for commercial agreements with these startups.
Zachariah George, SBC AfriTech Chief Investment Officer and Co-Founder adds:
Every entrepreneur who told their story at the pitching sessions is trying to build a legacy that he or she might not even live to see. It is our responsibility as mentors to help empower them to live that vision. We urge founders of disruptive startups all across the world to apply for opportunities like this to build a bigger, better and bolder future for the African continent.
SBC AfriTech is anchored and endorsed by heavyweight corporate sponsors Old Mutual, RCS, BNP Paribas Personal Finance, Nedbank and PwC. The programme also has local service partners Brevity Law, Cloudworx, Inner City Ideas Cartel, VC4A The Loudhailer and most recently, Dentons, and is globally supported by Amazon Web Services.
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For more information on this press release, Startupbootcamp AfriTech and the Top 10, please contact:
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- Mika Stanvliet | mika@theloudhailer.org | 081 534 6237
- About Startupbootcamp:
- Founded in 2010, Startupbootcamp is a global startup accelerator with 18 programs in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Chengdu, Istanbul, London, Mexico City, Miami, Mumbai, New York, Rome, Singapore and Cape Town. They take startups global by giving them direct access to the international network of the most relevant partners, investors and mentors in their sector in more than 30 countries. 79% of the Startupbootcamp alumni teams have a >70% success rate (actively operating or have been acquired/listed) and 64% have gone on to raise additional funding from many of the world’s leading VCs and angels.
- For more information visit: www.startupbootcamp.org
- About Startupbootcamp AfriTech:
- In 2017 the global Startupbootcamp network launched the first-ever Africa-based SBC programme in Cape Town.
- SBC AfriTech is a leading accelerator focused on high-growth startups in blockchain, connected devices, payment solutions, capital markets and asset management, integrated supply chain, e-commerce, FinTech, RetailTech, InsurTech, alternative financing, identity management, digital connectivity, data and behavioural analytics and enabling technologies.
- The accelerator is anchored by leading corporate sponsors Old Mutual, RCS, BNP Paribas, Nedbank, and PwC that will support and grow the program and selected startups. Global sponsors include Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud and Cisco.
- The programme is also supported by several service partners including: Cloudworx, VC4A, Inner City Ideas Cartel, Brevity Law and The Loudhailer.
- For more information, please visit: www.startupbootcamp.org/accelerator/afritech/
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