Tech in Africa
Google has unveiled the 20 startup ventures who will participate in the Google Startup Accelerator programme. Out of the chosen few, startups owned by Nigerian co-founders took 8 out of the 20 positions. The startups occupied different sectors ranging from Insurance, Fintech, Law, and Agritech.
There are some noteworthy changes in this year’s Google accelerator programme. First, it will take place exclusively virtually. It is also scheduled to run from June 29 to 11 September. The new changes are occasioned by the travel restrictions attributed to the pandemic. All selected startups will participate remotely.
Here are the 8 Nigerian startups shortlisted:
Judy Innovative Technologies was founded in Bright Oleka, and Sadiq Okocha as a legaltech startup. The search engine uses Artificial intelligence to solve complex legal research within the African space. The company received a $100,000 grant from the Meltwater Foundation based in Switzerland back in 2019.
Curacel is founded by John Dada and Henry Mascot, who began their venture in 2017. The startup uses an AI-driven platform to process claims and help insurance providers detect fraud. Curacel has been fortunate to benefit from the Tony Emolelu foundation.
Send Technologies was founded by Larry Oti and Kingsley Oti back in 2017. The startup has specialized in cargo shipping via air and land. They also deliver cargo from suppliers, handle customs clearance, warehousing, and trucking.
Smarthub was founded by Are AbdulHafiz in 2018 with the intention to provide quality training in the form of online courses and services related to food, health, automobile design, and digital marketing. The hub provides accelerator programs for young entrepreneurs.
Stears was started in 2017 by Preston Ideh. The digital media company provides quality information on the African continent. They have thus far raised $640,000 in two rounds. Their pre-seed round was in December 2018 while the seed round was in April 2020.
Festival coins is led by co-founders Nosa Oregun and Folayemi Agusto. As an event technology company, they provide tech solutions that minimize revenues, reduce costs while harvesting granular data. Among the solutions are cashless payments, online ticketing, event reporting, and cashless payments.
Crop2cash was launched in Emem Essien, Seyi Paul and Michael Ogundare in 2018. They mainly tackle the issue of an undigitized supply chain within the agricultural sectors. In 2019, they closed a $100,000 round.
Credpal is a Nigerian fintech startup offering modern credit solutions across Africa. It allows you to buy consumer goods at an instant and pay later.
