World Bank accelerator XL Africa yesterday announced the 20 startups it has selected for the first cohort for its scale-up accelerator programme.
The 20 include startups in sector such as edtech, fintech, healthtech, transportation and human resources.
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The accelerator will help the startups gain access to investors and will assist in raising up to $1.5-million in capital. The accelerator will also offering mentoring by global and local experts for the next four months.
The startups will also take up a two-week residency in Cape Town between 6 and 17 November which will entail more interaction with mentors, partners and peers. The residency will culminate in the XL Africa Venture Showcase in November where the entrepreneurs will pitch their businesses to a selection of investors.
The showcase will coincide with the Africa Angel Investor Summit between 15 and 17 November and telecoms conference AfricaCom between 7 and 9 November.
Nine of the XL Africa finalists are from Nigeria with five coming from Kenya and three from South Africa
The cohort comprises startups from Senegal, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria. The 20 are:
Aerobotics (SA): On demand satellite and drone analytics startup launched in 2014
Asoko Insight (Nigeria): Corporate data and analytics platform
CoinAfrique (Senegal): Peer-to-peer mobile marketplace launched in 2015
Electronic Settlement Limited (Nigeria): Payment solutions and mobile financial services startup which owns CashEnvoy and Paypad
Jamii (Tanzania): Insurtech startup focusing on mobile micro-health insurance, it aims to cut down administration costs and sells health insurance at $1 per month
Lynk (Kenya): Job site catering for the informal sector
Max (Nigeria): Mobility platform applying machine learning on on-demand transportation and delivery
Ogavenue (Nigeria): Events booking platform founded in 2015
Ongair (Kenya): Customer relationship management platform for conversational and social commerce through instant messaging
Pesabazaar (Kenya): Comparison platform for financial products and services
PrepClass (Nigeria): An elearning platform offering test and exam preparation launched in 2014
Printivo(Nigeria): Online printing company founded in 2013
Rasello (Tanzania): Enteprise software company founded in 2011
Rensource (Nigeria): Distributed energy company employing a Power-as-a-Service model where it rents out and maintains solar systems
Sendy (Kenya): On-demand delivery platform founded in 2014
Snapplify (SA): Digital content distribution platform specialising in educational content and ebooks
Sokowatch (Kenya): Last-mile ordering and distribution platform for small retail shops in emerging markets
Talentbase (Nigeria): Human resources platform for small businesses
Timbuktu (SA): Interactive travel platform that enables tourists to design and customise trips to Africa
Tizeti (Nigeria): Wireless network provider using a network of Wi-Fi solar base stations
XL Africa was launched in April and is backed by the Swedish, Finnish and Norwegian governments.
Read more: World Bank launches accelerator programme for African digital startups
Featured image: XL Africa finalists
