Techstars, a prominent investor in African startups, has unveiled the 12 startups selected for its second cohort in the Lagos-based innovation program in collaboration with ARM Labs. This diverse cohort includes startups from Ghana, Nigeria, and East Africa, featuring four teams with at least one female co-founder. Each participating startup receives up to $120,000 in funding, along with access to over $400,000 in cash-equivalent hosting, accounting, legal support, and additional benefits exceeding $5 million.
For its inaugural cohort, the program initially emphasized companies in the FinTech and PropTech sectors. However, this year, it has broadened its focus to encompass entrepreneurs making significant impacts on Africa and the world. These entrepreneurs leverage technology, data, and intelligence to serve an expanding population characterized by its growth in size, youth, income, and digital access. The sectors receiving investments now include FinTech, Logistics, E-commerce, HealthTech, Renewable Energy, and the Future of Work.
Our second cohort truly showcases and perhaps epitomizes, the wealth of talent, innovation, and ingenuity within the African tech ecosystem.
Oyin Solebo, Managing Director, ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator.
“Our second cohort truly showcases and perhaps epitomizes, the wealth of talent, innovation, and ingenuity within the African tech ecosystem. Supporting this group in reaching their full potential feels like the perfect segue following the close and success of the inaugural cohort,” remarked Oyin Solebo, Managing Director, ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator.
The current dynamics of the market underscore the need for founders to have a blend of financial support, technical assistance, and access to networks to construct resilient businesses. We are delighted to offer comprehensive support that spans this entire spectrum,” Salebo added.
The startups selected will undergo a 14-week immersive program, receiving tailored mentorship, top-tier company-building support, lifetime access to the extensive Techstars global network, and targeted interactions with potential investors to ensure a continuum of follow-up capital as they grow. By collaborating with ARM Labs, founders gain exposure to ARM’s local network, research insights, and decades-long financial advisory expertise.
The selected startups are:
- 24Seven, founded by Olufemi Idowu, is an asset-light marketplace that enables small businesses and convenience stores to order inventory on credit with one-hour doorstep delivery
- Beauty Hut leverages technology to bridge the gap between beauty brands and consumers through efficient product distribution and marketing channels, via their e-commerce web-store and mobile app. It is founded by Subuola Oyeleye
- Eight Medical, by Dr. Ibukun Tunde-Oni, is an end-to-end platform that connects users in need to emergency medical resources (such as hospitals, ambulances, personnel, information & credit), reducing waiting times from an average of 3 hours to 10 minutes or less
- GetEquity facilitates access to investment opportunities by SEC-accredited providers, reducing entry barriers through investment aggregation across various asset classes. It is founded by Jude Dike, Temitope Ekundayo and Chigozirim Ugochukwu
- JumpnPass, by Tunde Ademuyiwa and Qudus Quadry, is a mobile self-checkout platform for modern retail in Africa. They enable shoppers to use their smartphones to effortlessly scan product barcodes, pay for items, and skip long queues
- One Plan helps workers in Africa’s informal economy create affordable financial plans, making it easier to start a retirement plan, access low-interest credit, and access health + life insurance coverage. It was founded by Harold Awuah-Darko.
- PBR Life Sciences offers pharmaceutical, consumer healthcare, and medical device companies fast and easy access to high-quality market data and insights, helping them make objective decisions on product pricing, volumes, and company strategy. The company was founded by Ayodeji Alaran
- PressOne Africa provides African businesses with deeper insights into phone conversations with customers through a communication platform that provides conversation intelligence and call monitoring. It is led by Mayowa Okegbenle, Opeyemi Shokunbi and Unoma Adeyemi
- Rana democratizes access to clean and reliable solar systems for SMEs and residential customers through affordable long-term solar subscriptions, replacing the need for expensive, unreliable, and toxic backup generators. The company was founded by Abraham Mohammed and Mubarak Popoola.
- Surge Africa, founded by Kumar Shourav and Ebrahim Essop, allows individuals, micro-entrepreneurs, and MSMEs in Africa to make instant cross-border transfers and pay up to 80% less in fees
- Swoove empowers logistics companies in emerging markets to digitize and scale their businesses with dispatch automation, fleet management, tracking and telematics, and a wide delivery network. It is led by Kwaku Tabiri, Kingsley Amponsah, Gloria Pascucci, Robert Quainoo and Kevin Blankson
- Veend, founded by Olufemi Olanipekun and Ebenezer Ajayi, enables individuals and businesses with verifiable income to access funds on-demand, addressing their needs for emergency funds or working capital
The ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator will conclude with an invite-only Demo day on February 22nd, 2024 where founders will showcase their progress.
