Startup Wise Guys (SWG), Europe’s most experienced startup accelerator and one of its most active investment funds, has selected the second batch of participants for its €7.5 million fund for African startup investment.
The program, the first-ever African, B2B SaaS-focused accelerator, opened to applicants in October 2021, with the first batch of successful participants graduating in June 2022.
The second round generated almost 500 applications. SWG selects and works with approximately 10 startups per batch, with plans to invest in 30 startups through 2023.
Selected startups are each eligible for €65,000 support for up to a 12% equity stake, as well as an intensive five-month accelerator program.
They also have the chance to pitch for follow-on funding of up to €250,000. Startups were eligible to apply from Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda, with the first successful applicant from Tanzania in the new batch.
The nine startups selected to join batch two are driving innovation across Fintech, Proptech, Data analytics and Retailtech. Noticeable trends across the total range of applicants include:
- Fintech and embedded finance solutions continue to boom. Access to finance for the informal market remains popular, as do neobanks.
- Mobilitytech still needs a lot of digitalization with embedded financing components for operators heavily needed in the market.
- Software for SMBs and e-commerce platforms is prominent. Applicants are looking to help SMBs manage their businesses and centralize communication in one platform from different messaging systems.
The selected startups for the second batch of SWG’s Africa fund are:
- Built Financial Technologies
- Tunzaa Fintech
- Hisa
- DT2 Technologies
- Sortika
- Naivera
- Bunce
- Zemo Card
- Shipbubble
Despite a high media profile, meaningful support programs remain thin on the ground for very early-stage African startups, according to SWG, with mainstream funding still focused on scale-ups.
In contrast, SWG is focusing in Africa on its central mission – startups still in the very early stages of business evolution with a B2B business model. Its strategy is to be startups’ “first believers” and also a catalyst for ecosystem development.
To date, SWG’s total investment in African start-ups, including follow-on investments, already exceeds €1.2 million.
The accelerator has trained 102 startups from the continent in acceleration and pre-acceleration programs, benefiting an estimated 6,100 people.
SWG is actively working with six startups from Nigeria, six from Kenya, two from Ghana, and one each from Namibia, Uganda, Tanzania, and Ivory Coast.