Seed investments of €150k on offer at HSEVEN’s Disrupt Africa accelerator programme

Casablanca-based accelerator HSEVEN will offer 10 startups selected for its Disrupt Africa programme each seed investments of €150 000 in return for a five to seven percent equity stake in each.

In addition, at the end of the six-month programme the accelerator will provide an eventual investment of between €500 000 to €1.5-million.

HSEVEN, in a recent statement on its website, explained that €35 000 of the initial seed investment will be allocated to the cost of running the acceleration programme.

Applications for HSEVEN’s Disrupt Africa accelerator programme will close on 31 August

This while Moroccan investment fund management firm Azur Partners will invest €115 000 in each of the 10 startups selected for the programme.

In addition, HSEVEN said the programme will also benefit from funding by the Dutch Good Growth Fund (DGGF) and the Innov-Invest programme of the Central Guarantee Fund (CCG) with the support of the World Bank.

Applications for HSEVEN’s Disrupt Africa accelerator programme will close on 31 August. To be considered for selection, applicants must be building high-impact seed and early-stage startups with between two to five founders.

Disrupt Africa programme

HSEVEN’s Disrupt Africa programme will kick off on 4 November with a three-month programme which will focus on strategy, experiments and what it called “growth tactics”.

The accelerator’s team will work in collaboration with mentors and experts on participant’s product market fit, target market definition and traction building.

The second half of the programme will focus on developing partnerships with major corporations and investment readiness.

HSEVEN said it will actively initiate contacts with venture capitalists (VCs) in Africa and around the world.

“Also, we will set up one-on-one meetings with our network of influential leaders who will act as adviser, client, partner or investor,” it added.

In addition, startups selected for the programme will benefit from:

• Masterclasses and workshops with practitioners, technologists and experts from among HSEVEN’s partners.
• Connections to leading national and international corporates to develop, partner or sale.
• 15 mentoring sessions per startup
• Six months of residence at HSEVEN’s 1100m² campus in the heart of the Casablanca Marina
• Seven one-to-one meetings with 50 international VCs from within HSEVEN’s network
• Up to $100 000 in Amazon Web Services solutions credit
• Demo day event with over 100 investors, corporates, mentors and journalists

HSEVEN will embark on a startup selection roadshow between 2 and 18 September. The tour will cover New York City, Montreal, San Francisco, Shanghai, Dubai, London, Amsterdam, and Paris.

The roadshow will culminate in 20 high potential startups being invited to a three-day weekend between 27 and 29 September in Casablanca. Thereafter, the final 10 startups that will participate in the programme will be selected on 4 October.

HSEVEN CEO Amine Al-Hazzaz, commenting in another statement, said the accelerator will bring the best Moroccan, African and “African-at-heart entrepreneurs” from across the world to build “impactful world-class African startups”.