Three African startups selected for Google for Startups Accelerator on SDGs

Google has selected three African startups for its Google for Startups Accelerator on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — Flare, mDoc and Solar Freeze. They were part of 11 startups selected for the inaugural cohort of the programme.

The five-month programmes kicks off on 21 April, and a second cohort will be selected later in the year.

It follows a call that Google put out in November for applications. In all, the tech company received almost 1200 applications from those in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Google said in an announcement on Tuesday (7 April) that the 11 selected startups address a wide range of social and environmental challenges, and are working toward at least one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals outlined by the UN.

The five-month Google for Startups Accelerator on the Sustainable Development Goals kicks off on 21 April

Flare (Kenya) offers software infrastructure and operational support for medical emergency response services in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Solar Freeze (Kenya) is pioneering mobile cold storage units powered by renewable energy for smallholder farmers, to help them reduce post-harvest loss in the developing world.

mDoc (Nigeria) uses a digital platform and in-person hubs to support people living with chronic diseases.

The remainder of the startups selected were: Apic.ai and Ororatech (both from Germany), Cervest.earth and Ellipsis.earth (both from the UK), Everimpact (France), Wondertree (Pakistan), Oko (Israel) and Skilllab (Netherlands).

Google said each startup founder will work closely with engineers from over 20 Google teams and other subject matter experts to address product, engineering, business development, and funding challenges.

In order to keep the program safe and accessible in light of Covid-19, the first two on-site events will now be digital, Google said.

Virtual training will cover topics such as creating Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), UX Research and Behavioral Economics, ML Data Pipelines and Data Visualization, SDG innovation for sustainable impact, and Strategies for Social Impact Fundraising.

Featured image: Free-Photos via Pixabay