ADVERTISEMENT

60 Startups selected for the second cohort of Google for Startups Black Founders Fund for Africa

Google has announced that 60 eligible black-founded startups across Africa have been selected for the second cohort of Google for Startups Black Founders Fund (BFF) for Africa. The startups joining the program will receive a total of $4million in funding and support to enable them to scale up their ongoing work.

Google Black Founders Fund

Each of the selected startups will receive support in the form of a 6 month training programme that includes access to a network of mentors to assist in tackling challenges that are unique to them.

They will also be part of tailored workshops, support networks and community building sessions. The 60 grantees will also get non-dilutive awards of between $50,000 and $100,000 and up to $200,000 in Google Cloud credit.

The grantees, made up of 50% women-led businesses, hail from Botswana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda. They specialize in sectors such as fintech, healthcare, e-commerce, logistics, agtech, education, hospitality and smart cities.

The top five countries with the most startups selected for the program are Nigeria with twenty-three grantees, Kenya with twelve grantees, Rwanda with six grantees, South Africa with five grantees and Uganda with four grantees. Botswana and Senegal have one selected startup each, Cameroon and Ghana both have three grantees each while Ethiopia has two selected grantees.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Africa is a diverse continent with massive opportunity but the continent is faced with the challenge of limited diversity in venture capital funding flow. We hope that the Black Founders Fund program will be able to bridge the gap of disproportionate funding between expat startups over local and black-led companies.”, says Folarin Aiyegbusi, Head of Startup Ecosystem, SSA.

Launched in April 2012, the Google for Startups program has created over 4,600 jobs and raised more than $290M in funding. The Google for Startups Black Founders Fund program will introduce the grantees in Africa to Google's products, connections, and best practices which will help the founders to level the playing field as they build better products and services that add value to the Africa economy.

"Programs like the Black Founders Fund enhance the African ecosystem - where we currently have gaps in funding and infrastructure. Google getting involved and throwing its might behind thriving entrepreneurs in Africa is a beautiful thing, and I am very happy that Google has continued the Black Founders Fund in Africa initiative in 2022." says Abimbola Adebakin , CEO, MyMedicines and alumni of the 2021 BFF program.

Funding for the Google for Startup Black Founders Fund will be distributed through Google’s implementation partner, CcHUB. “The equity-free cash assistance to startups will enable them to take care of immediate needs such as paying staff, funding inventory, and maintaining software licences. This is to help the grantees buffer the cost of taking on debt in the early stages of their business as many of them do not have steady revenue streams yet”, Aiyegbusi concludes.

Funding Black founders in Africa fuels generational and systemic change. The Google for Startups Black Founders Fund for Africa program reinforces Google’s commitment to empowering entrepreneurs and startups in the region as a vital prerequisite to driving employment and growth on the continent.

ADVERTISEMENT

Below is the list of the 60 startups that were selected for the second cohort of the Black Founders Fund in Africa.

1. Agrikool  South Africa Agrikool is an agritech platform that connects farming producers and buyers to a fair and reliable market. 
2. Ajua Kenya Ajua is an end-to-end operating system for SMEs to build a credible online presence, get feedback on their businesses and manage the relationship with their customers
3. Awabah Nigeria Awabah is a digital pensions platform for Africa's workforce
4. BAG Innovation  Rwanda BAG Innovation is a virtual and gamified platform that offers real-time access to experiential learning for university students and recent graduates
5. Bailport  Rwanda Baliport is a cross-border, multi-currency payment platform focused on enabling intra-Africa & Africa outbound money transfers through blockchain.
6. Bee  Cameroon Bee finances motorcycles to drivers while also providing training and access to jobs.
7. Bookings Africa Nigeria Bookings Africa enables Africa's gig workforce to digitise and monetize their skills by connecting clients efficiently and transparently to skilled talent across Africa.
8. Brastorne Botswana Brastorne connects the unconnected in Africa, enabling rural villages to have access to the digital world without smartphones or data.
9. Built  Ghana Built enables access to business and financial tools for Sub-Saharan African small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).
10. BuuPass   Kenya BuuPass is a travel startup - building digital rails for Africa’s intercity transport industry and supporting bus, train & flight transportation
11. Cauri Money  Senegal Cauri Money is a cashless remittance platform helping African migrants move money from around the world into mobile wallets in Africa. 
12. Clafiya  Nigeria Clafiya connects individuals, families, and businesses to health practitioners - enabling access to convenient, quality, and affordable, on-demand primary care from their mobile phones
13. ClinicPesa Uganda ClinicPesa provides an easy-to-use platform where low-income users can set aside funds as low as $0.30 daily dedicated towards healthcare and get access to healthcare loans
14. COVA  Cameroon COVA is a digital insurance platform that enables partner businesses to easily and seamlessly deliver insurance products to their users
15. CreditAIs  South Africa CreditAIs provides credit scoring tools for micro-businesses and individuals that do not fit the existing traditional credit scoring models
16. DohYangu Kenya DohYangu enables end consumers in Africa to shop FMCG products & get cashback rewards at various retail stores, saving up to 25%
17. Easy Matatu Uganda Easy Matatu provides a mobile platform that allows commuters to book and pay for scheduled rides on vetted and inspected minibuses
18. Eden Life  Nigeria Eden Life provides an operating system for receiving and rendering essential services in Africa - focused on offering food, cleaning, laundry, and beauty services to their customers.
19. Estate Intel  Nigeria Estate Intel  provides reliable data to businesses that are investing or operating in the African real estate space.
20. Eversend  Uganda Eversend is a neobank, providing critical financial products in Sub-Saharan Africa - including cross-border financial services.
21. Exuus Rwanda Exuus empowers informal saving groups with a digital ledger, digital wallet, decentralised social credit score, and instant micro-loans to both groups and individuals.
22. Flex Finance Nigeria Flex Finance helps businesses in Africa to manage approval workflow, access credit, issue corporate cards to employees and make disbursements all from one platform.
23. FlexPay  Kenya FlexPay is a merchant-embedded digital savings platform that rewards customers for saving up for purchases - a save now buy later (SNBL) solution at checkout.
24. Gamr  Nigeria Gamr is an eSports tournament aggregation platform, helping African gamers discover tournaments they can play in and get rewarded for.
25. Garri Logistics  Ethiopia Garri Logistics matches shippers looking to move cargo with vehicle owners and drivers, while finding optimal route pairings to reduce empty miles.
26. Haul 247 Nigeria Haul247 is a logistics platform that connects manufacturing companies and farmers with trucks and warehouses.
27.  Healthlane Cameroon Healthlane provides advanced comprehensive health screening and personalised plans, biometric monitoring, genetic analysis as well as in-person and virtual visits with top-rated doctors .
28.  Healthtracka  Nigeria Healthtracka is a platform that allows users access on-demand healthcare services in the comfort of their homes.
29.. HerVest Nigeria HerVest offers a highly secured, women-focused financial platform that enables women to participate in key financial services, with a focus on female farmers.
30. Kapsule Rwanda Kapsule is a data as a service company that helps healthcare providers, insurers, and pharmaceutical companies to make better decisions
31. Keep IT Cool  Kenya Keep IT Cool is an early-stage, fast-growing social enterprise that leverages technology to strengthen the African aquaculture and poultry value chain through cold chain and storage
32. KUDIGO  Ghana KUDIGO offers an omni-channel digital commerce platform to empower micro and small businesses in Africa
33.  Kyshi  Nigeria Kyshi provides multi-currency accounts and remittance services to and from Africa
34. Leja Kenya Leja is an Android/USSD application enabling African micro-entrepreneurs to digitise all their business transactions and manage all their finance in one place
35. LifeBank  Nigeria LifeBank leverages technology to provide value in multiple segments (production, marketplace and distribution) of the healthcare supply chain such as blood, oxygen and medical supplies
36. Mapha  South Africa Mapha provides delivery as a service to businesses in peri-urban & township areas
37. Norebase  Nigeria Norebase provides a single digital platform and technology tools for entrepreneurs and businesses to start, scale, and operate in any African country and the United States.
38. OneHealth  Nigeria OneHealth is an online pharmacy & healthcare platform that provides access to medicines, healthcare information, and solutions (Laboratory services & Doctors)  to the last mile patient.
39. PesaChoice Rwanda PesaChoice bridges the gap in liquidity for low-middle income earners across the continent and drives access to financial services.
40. Pindo Rwanda Pindo is a cloud communication platform for businesses, optimised for developers.
41. Pivo Nigeria  Pivo is a credit focused digital bank for trade, supporting businesses across Africa
42. QShop Nigeria QShop is an easy to use DIY e-commerce platform designed to help small and medium-sized businesses scale and sell better online.
43. Rekisa  South Africa Rekisa helps businesses create their e-commerce websites and assists them with various digital marketing activities
44. Scrapays Inc  Nigeria Scrapays is creating operating system infrastructure for the recycling value chain in developing nations.
45. Shiip Nigeria Shiip leverages web, mobile and API technology to connect individuals & businesses to delivery services in and out of Africa
46. Solutech (Kenya):  Kenya Solutech helps field-sales teams to sell more  efficiently by leveraging powerful insights while providing FMCG companies with real-time data for day-to-day and strategic decision-making.
47. Spleet  Nigeria Spleet leverages a ‘Rent Now, Pay Later’ model to drive its mission to ensure that every African can afford a space to live in.
48. Stears  Nigeria Stears is a financial intelligence company providing subscription-based content & data to global professionals. Its mission is to build the world's most trusted provider of African data.
49. Synnefa  Kenya Synnefa is building Africa's first mini-farm ERP connected to IoT sensors that provide soil data which is combined with farmer activity data to create a farmer experience score that is passed on to financial partners to use on their credit score.
50. Technovera  South Africa Technovera is an innovative tech startup focused on technology inclusion through the development of simple technologies aimed at improving last mile access in Africa. 
51. TERAWORK  Nigeria TERAWORK is an online freelance marketplace focused on matching freelancers to service buyers.
52. TIBU Health  Kenya TIBU Health is an omnichannel healthtech company connecting patients to healthcare services and professionals at a time and location of their choosing.
53. Topset Education  Nigeria Topset Education is an edtech platform that makes quality education accessible to Africans everywhere.
54. TopUp Mama  Kenya TopUp Mama enables restaurants in Africa to purchase food supplies, access financial services and manage their business.
55. Wellahealth  Nigeria Wellahealth provides technology and financial tools to healthcare providers and patients to enable affordability and accessibility of healthcare in emerging markets.
56. Xente Uganda Xente is a digital financial platform with in-built spend management to support businesses across Africa
57. Zanifu  Kenya Zanifu enable SMEs to purchase inventory and pay later
58. ZayRide Ethiopia ZayRide is a customer centric on-demand taxi service offering fast, convenient service throughout local areas in Ethiopia
59. Zuberi  Ghana Zuberi is a fintech platform based out of Accra, built to provide financial products and services to salaried workers in a way they have never experienced before
60. Zuri Health Kenya Zuri Health provides affordable and accessible healthcare services to patients across Sub-Saharan Africa via mobile app, website, Whatsapp chatbot and SMS service. 

JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!

Unblock notifications in browser settings.
ADVERTISEMENT

Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:

Email: eyewitness@pulse.ng

Recommended articles

Oscar Heman-Ackah releases 'Finding Messiah' teaser — it's too good

Oscar Heman-Ackah releases 'Finding Messiah' teaser — it's too good

Sony’s Creators Convention redefines creative landscape for content creators

Sony’s Creators Convention redefines creative landscape for content creators

Eniola Ajao apologises for naming Bobrisky best-dressed female at movie premiere

Eniola Ajao apologises for naming Bobrisky best-dressed female at movie premiere

NFVCB wants to stop skits, Nollywood films from encouraging crimes

NFVCB wants to stop skits, Nollywood films from encouraging crimes

Ebuka Obi-Uchendu knew he'd marry his wife a month into their relationship

Ebuka Obi-Uchendu knew he'd marry his wife a month into their relationship

Candy Bleakz raises her artistry on 'Better Days' EP

Candy Bleakz raises her artistry on 'Better Days' EP

Whoopi Goldberg has confirmed a 'Sister Act 3' is in the works

Whoopi Goldberg has confirmed a 'Sister Act 3' is in the works

Mardeee set to release highly anticipated single 'AWAY' on February 23

Mardeee set to release highly anticipated single 'AWAY' on February 23

Adesua Etomi pens heartwarming note to hubby Banky W on his birthday

Adesua Etomi pens heartwarming note to hubby Banky W on his birthday

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT