Innovation Takes Heart Stage: Telecel Group Africa Startup Initiative Program “ASIP” powered by Startupbootcamp AfriTech Hosts Profitable Demo Day

ASIP powered by Startupbootcamp AfriTech, a number one accelerator program for African tech startups, efficiently concluded its extremely anticipated ASIP Accelerator Demo Day occasion in Dakar, Senegal. The occasion, which came about alongside the AfricArena Summit, showcased the exceptional progress and cutting-edge improvements of this system’s newest cohort of entrepreneurs.

Tomi Davies, the Founding President of the Africa Enterprise Angel Community, gave the keynote speech and Demo Day was additionally attended by different trade leaders, traders, and key stakeholders within the African tech ecosystem. The occasion marked the fruits of an intense three-month acceleration program throughout which the startups obtained mentorship, steering, and entry to an unlimited community of consultants and traders.

“The highest 11 of ASIP Cohort 3 are spectacular, Telecel Group is proud to be a part of their journey to scale and develop their companies, these startups are the way forward for the continent, tackling the native challenges and discovering innovatively disruptive methods to unravel them. We stay up for working collectively to develop this ecosystem and to determine extra synergies between Telecel entities and the group of the 30 startups which have graduated this system to date,” mentioned Eleanor Azar, Government Deputy of Telecel and ASIP Director. 

The ASIP Accelerator Program is funded by its founding companion Telecel Group and different key companions, notably the Senegalese authorities by way of DER/FJ and Enrich in Africa, a three-year venture funded beneath the European Union’s Horizon 2020 analysis and innovation programme. The Program can be supported by the Dutch entrepreneurial improvement financial institution (FMO) by way of MASSIF, the monetary inclusion fund FMO manages on behalf of the Dutch authorities, AWS, Google for Startups, and Firstbase.

The Demo Day witnessed a formidable show of entrepreneurial expertise, because the startups introduced their revolutionary services to a captivated viewers. The varied vary of sectors represented included FinTech, AgriTech, HealthTech, Local weather-Tech, and extra, showcasing the immense potential for progress and affect throughout the African tech panorama.

Talking in regards to the occasion, Henry Ojuor, Program Director of Startupbootcamp AfriTech, expressed nice pleasure within the achievements of the taking part startups. “As we speak we witnessed the way forward for Africa. We noticed startups fixing a number of the largest issues in Africa, disrupting total industries. We noticed startups poised to alter the world. However what we’re most happy with by far is how deeply this cohort has engaged within the native ecosystem. A staggering 90% of the startups you’ve simply seen are actively working in Senegal, and so they did all this whereas creating over 9000 jobs and placing girls on the middle of their work. It’s a report breaking cohort!”

The Demo Day additionally supplied a platform for the startups to interact with potential traders and forge strategic partnerships. Famend enterprise capitalists, angel traders, and company companions actively participated within the occasion, demonstrating their dedication to supporting and nurturing African startups.

The startups stood out with their groundbreaking options geared toward fixing essentially the most difficult points Africa faces. Their displays generated vital curiosity from traders, and the startups at the moment are poised to speed up their progress with the help of key trade gamers.

Senegalese social promoting startup Yoonema introduced a brand new partnership with fellow SBC AfriTech Alumni, Yobante Categorical, to supply seamless logistics between the sellers, and the purchasers.
“This collaboration has allowed us to develop our community to over 400 new social sellers which at the moment are onboarding into our platform,” famous CEO Mame Fatou Ba.

Nigerian mobility firm Parkwell additionally partnered with 2019 alumni Curacel to assist in giving their prospects peace of thoughts. “We’re constructing the Airbnb for parking in Africa,” says founder Philip Ogunaike. “Our new distribution partnerships with two main gamers within the mobility area – Interswitch and Contact and Pay provides us entry to their consumer base of over 15 million folks.”

“We’ve made unimaginable progress throughout the cohort,” says SafeTrack CEO Mahir Chekkoury Idrissi. The Morrocan startup introduced a partnership with the affiliation of citrus producers in Berkane, Morocco and pilots with the directorate of horticulture and Senegal’s Ministry of Agriculture.

PharmaServ, a Nigerian firm that gives an offline-capable distribution administration software program for medical suppliers additionally made super progress. “We’re presently finalising negotiations with a public listed firm which plans to implement our system throughout their gross sales unit of 200 brokers in Nigeria,” introduced CEO Emeka Anyaorah.

Within the logistics sector, Jand2Gidi which rebranded to CargoPlug throughout this system made strides of their mission to provide a seamless and trackable logistics answer that eliminates uncertainty and reduces transit occasions for transport throughout Africa. “We just lately launched a Shopify plug-in that offers 1.7million sellers the world over entry to a seamless transport answer to Africa customers”, introduced COO of the Nigerian startup Ujama Akpata.

“With the intention to supply the most effective costs to our prospects, we’re excited to announce our partnership with Nestle, the main FMCG model in Mali,” introduced Sodishop CEO Boubacar Biro Balde. The startup’s interconnected market presents a serious alternative to 1000’s of sellers throughout Mali, Guinea, Senegal and Ivory Coast by way of worth added companies akin to E-mail & SMS advertising and marketing and Categorical Supply.

Ghanaian local weather tech BD Waste continues to remodel how communities understand waste. “Now we have began pilot initiatives in 3 communities in Dakar which might be acknowledged as a number of the most closely polluted areas within the nation,” says CEO Emmanuel Danso. “Based mostly on our preliminary assessments, we are able to accumulate 40 tons monthly, and cut back the garbage on the bottom by 90%.”

It is a nice feat within the firm’s endeavor to allow a linked waste administration and recycling ecosystem by way of know-how.

Chestify, additionally hailing from Ghana is presently finalizing a partnership with Checkup Labs in Kenya to report their medical photos. “They presently course of greater than 6 000 medical photos monthly, and we shall be lowering their turnaround time by 80%,” says CEO Mustapha Zaidan. “We’re additionally excited to announce that on June twenty fifth, we are going to begin deploying Chestify into dozens of UNICEF companion hospitals throughout rural Ghana,” he added. The corporate pivoted throughout the ASIP Accelerator and is dedicated to connecting healthcare services to their system to gather CT scans, X-rays, MRIs, and pathology studies.

When Ivorian startup Moja Trip joined the cohort, they have been nicely on their technique to making a monetary answer for taxi drivers who are sometimes denied automotive loans as a result of banks deem them too dangerous. They launched Sobridge, an entity that provides a drive to personal options to those unbanked drivers. They evaluation drivers’ historic revenues to indicate monetary establishments that these drivers should not a credit score danger. “We drastically cut back the chance of default by way of our pay-to-use mannequin together with our capability to gather funds immediately from the client fare, says co-founder Michelle Allade. Sobridge just lately finalized a partnership with Yango, the main Trip-Hailing firm in francophone Africa, and introduced a partnership with the Metropolis of Parcelles to fund a brand new fleet of 100 Klando automobiles.

Kenyan fintech constructed for Gen Z,  Kyanda additionally made unimaginable strides throughout their time within the ASIP Program. They expanded into South Africa and have rolled out and are finalizing particulars on partnerships that may make Kyanda accessible at greater than 20,000 Spaza outlets. “With our interoperable pockets as a service, we’re making funds and transactions seamless throughout the African continent,” mentioned Senior Tech Lead Victor Muriithi confidently.

In simply two months of being within the cohort, Ivorian startup Limawa was in a position to safe a pilot with Auchan which can generate $90k in income this 12 months. CEO Seydina Issa Seck and his workforce present photo voltaic refrigeration options that remodel the way in which meals is preserved and transported. ASIP powered by ”Startupbootcamp AfriTech gave us an unimaginable alternative to remodel our enterprise mannequin from merely constructing photo voltaic coolers for purchasers”, he says. As we speak, Limawa makes income by way of brief and long-term rental fashions.

ASIP powered by Startupbootcamp AfriTech is dedicated to empowering African startups and driving innovation on the continent. By connecting startups with a world community of mentors, traders, and company companions, this system performs a vital function in fostering entrepreneurship and catalyzing sustainable progress within the African tech ecosystem. Purposes for Cohort 4 will open within the subsequent few months.

The success of the Demo Day in Dakar highlights the colourful startup tradition in Senegal and showcases town as a burgeoning hub for tech innovation. With its strategic location, supportive ecosystem, and gifted pool of entrepreneurs, Dakar is poised to change into a key participant within the African tech revolution.

About Africa Startup Initiative 

ASIP is a program based by Moh Damush, Telecel Group CEO as a CSR exercise. ASI Program contributes in a significant technique to the African Continent to help younger startups whose revolutionary concepts are making a distinction of their communities, exposing them to worldwide organizations and bridging the information and experience to permit them to draw companions that may add worth to their startups. For extra info on the ASIP, go to www.asiprogram.com

About Startupbootcamp AfriTech

Startupbootcamp AfriTech was launched in 2017 as the primary multi-corporate-backed pan-African startup accelerator. We run world-class accelerator packages, working with a number of the most disruptive startups on the continent. We offer entry to our world community of company companions, traders, and mentors. The SBC AfriTech portfolio presently has 60 African startups spanning 13 international locations and working in sectors that embrace FinTech, InsureTech, Logistics, Mobility, AgriTech, and Digital Well being.

With our help, 95% of SBC AfriTech alumni are nonetheless operational 2+ years after this system, and so they have an combination valuation of almost $1 Billion, and  22% have feminine co-founders.

For extra info go to: http://bit.ly/sbcafritech

About Telecel Group

Telecel Group operates in 4 completely different traces of enterprise all beneath the telecom trade: (1) Telecel Cellular, owns and operates a number of cellular operators in Africa and Europe; (2) Telecel World Providers, gives wholesale, enterprise, and digital safety companies to telecom operators and enterprises worldwide; (3) Telecel Play, a digital platform that’s digitizing cellular customers; and (4) Africa Startup Initiative Program helps revolutionary startups in Africa and presents them funding and steering to scale and For extra info on the Telecel Group program, go to http://telecelgroup.com

About Der/FJ

Der/FJ is an establishment beneath the authority of the Presidency of the Republic of Senegal and it was launched by President Macky Sall in 2018 in an effort to help entrepreneurs all through Senegal. This help is given by way of each monetary and non-financial companies, with an emphasis on sectors that embrace know-how and innovation, therefore the creation of the D-hub incubator. For extra details about DER/FJ go to https://der.sn/

About FMO

FMO is the Dutch Entrepreneurial Growth Financial institution. As a number one affect investor, FMO helps sustainable non-public sector progress in growing international locations and rising markets by investing in formidable initiatives and entrepreneurs. FMO believes {that a} sturdy non-public sector results in financial and social improvement and has a near 50-year confirmed observe report of empowering folks to make use of their abilities and enhance their high quality of life. FMO focuses on three sectors which have a excessive improvement affect: monetary establishments, vitality, and agribusiness, meals & water. With a dedicated portfolio of EUR 9.3 billion spanning over 85 international locations, FMO is among the bigger bilateral non-public sector improvement banks globally. For extra info: please go to www.fmo.nl

About ENRICH in Africa

ENRICH in Africa is a three-year venture funded beneath the European Union’s Horizon 2020 analysis and innovation programme designed to convey collectively core stakeholders from Africa and Europe in an effort to help and strengthen the European and African innovation ecosystem. Its fundamental targets are to supply capability upgrading and help to incubators and accelerators throughout each areas and facilitate the expansion of concepts and profitable outcomes by constructing a robust group with a basis within the supply of high quality companies. After the venture ends, actions and companies shall be continued by the ENRICH in Africa Centre, which has just lately been launched. For extra info: please go to www.enrichinafrica.com