Kenyan tech startups Lori Systems and Twiga Foods have been included on the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 2020 Technology Pioneers list which includes 100 tech firms from around the world.
WEF unveiled the list in a statement on Tuesday (16 June). The two Kenyan startups were the only names that were included from Africa.
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Twiga Foods is a mobile-based B2B distribution platform founded in 2014 by Peter Njonjo and Grant Brooke, while Lori Systems is a logistics startup founded in 2016 by South African Josh Sandler (pictured above) who is also the company’s CEO, Jean-Claude Homawoo and Ernest Gichini Ngaruiya.
Twiga Foods, Lori Systems were the only African firms on WEF’s New Technology Pioneers list
While Twiga Foods last year secured almost $30-million in an investment round led by Goldman Sachs (see this story), Lori Systems landed a Series-A round of an undisclosed amount, led by Asian private equity firm Hillhouse Capital and Beijing-based Crystal Stream Capital (see this story).
Following their selection, Njonjo and Sandler will be invited to participate at The World Economic Forum activities, events and discussions throughout the year.
The two will also contribute to The World Economic Forum initiatives over the next two years, working with policymakers and private sector leaders to help define the global agenda on key issues.
Njonga said in a blog post on 16 June that he was excited that his startup made WEF’s list.
“We want to be a one-stop shop for informal retail through technology in Africa. This recognition is a great endorsement to our strategic direction as we continue executing our mission of feeding and supplying Africa’s growing urban population with traceable, quality and affordable products,” he said.
Said Lori’s Sandler: “We are incredibly honoured to be acknowledged as a pioneer by the World Economic Forum, especially among such an impressive cohort”.
Past recipients that made it onto the list include Airbnb, Google, Kickstarter, Mozilla, Palantir Technologies, Spotify, TransferWise, Twitter and Wikimedia.
Read more: Lori Systems, a logistics startup headed by SA man, nets ‘undisclosed’ Series-A round
Read more: Kenyan startup Twiga Foods closes $30m Series-B round
Featured image: Lori Systems CEO and co-founder Josh Sandler (Facebook)
