A Look at the 15 Startups Selected for the Inaugural ‘Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders Africa Programme’

15 African startups have been selected to to join the inaugural Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders Africa Programme.

This is an extension of the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa programme established in 2017 but with a focus on women to empower and support women founders by providing resources and opportunities to help them scale.

Beginning in March 2023, the 12-week program will launch and will consist of one bootcamp per month. Selected participants will be given access to Google’s products, resources, tools, and technology. They will also receive mentoring from industry experts, networking opportunities, and connections with investors to help support the growth of their startups.

Google has also announced Hustle Academy, a bootcamp-style training programme designed to help entrepreneurs increase revenue, position themselves for investment, and build sustainable businesses for the future.

The company plans to host six women-focused cohorts of the Hustle Academy programme in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa throughout the month of March 2023.

Women entrepreneurs in these countries are invited to apply to join these cohorts here.

Successful startups selected for this inaugural cohort come from:

• Kenya (5)
• Nigeria (3)
• Rwanda (2)
• Congo (1)
• South Africa (1)
• Tanzania (1)
• Cameroon (1)
• Ghana (1)

Below are the 15 selected startups:

1.) eWaka (Kenya)

eWAKA is a platform for commuter and commercial micro-mobility fleets from Kenya.

According to its website, eWaka combines hardware, software and servicing to respond to the increasing urban transportation needs on the continent while addressing the major climate challenges of this critical sector.

The startup has an integrated platform solution approach that is said to eliminate many of the operational challenges that normally occur for the e-mobility business.

2.) Farmer Lifeline (Kenya)

Farmer Lifeline is a Kenyan startup behind the Crop Pest and Disease Detection Device (CDD).

The CDD detects crop pests and diseases early enough and sends a text message to the farmer. The device is connected to an online API database to enable it send a recommendation of the fertilizer or chemical to apply for the detected pest or crop disease.

3.) MosMos (Kenya)

Also from Kenya is MosMos, a startup that lets users make purchases on installments basis. MosMos has partnerships with various sellers to give users the best deals.

The startup also operates a digital commerce website.

4.) GoBeba (Kenya)

GoBEBA is an on-demand retailer of essential household goods. The service delivers daily instant needs e.g. cooking gas, water, drinks, and other groceries, to customer’s doorstep in under an hour.

GoBeba operates a network of dark stores (micro-fulfillment centers) around popular areas to make sure that orders get to you quickly.

5.) Zydii (Kenya)

Zydii provides firms like MasterCard Foundation, Uber with virtual training and digital learning solutions to help develop a skilled, competent, and experienced team.

Services offered include:

• Localized African courses
• Training course conversion
• Online and offline learning platforms

6.) Alajo App (Nigeria)

Alajo is a Nigerian savings app with the mission for the unbanked and under-banked population in Nigeria to experience financial opportunities and convenience.

• Alajo uses mobile technology and agency banking to improve cash flow, eliminate errors, and increase profit for its users
• Using the USSD infrastructure to simplify saving
• Agent system with agents on-boarded through the platform

7.) Maxibuy (Nigeria)

Maxibuy enables individuals and businesses to buy in bulk or share their purchases with other shoppers. Products are sourced directly from farmers, distributors, and manufacturers making them fresher and much cheaper.

8.) Tyms Africa (Nigeria)

Tyms creates products and solutions spanning across intelligent (AI-powered) financial tools, community-based savings (ROSCA), investment and microcredit platforms.

9.) Hepta Pay (Rwanda)

Hepta Analytics’ is a startup from Rwanda whose work touches on various practice areas under data science and analytics to transform data into decisions that drive business growth.

“We move our clients to the intersection of Infrastructure, Data Science and Software Engineering where the true value of data can be realized.”

10.) Smart Ikigega (Rwanda)

Smart Ikigega has created a database system which makes it easy for agriculture sectors to be linked with other sectors in different ways which will make agriculture more digitized.

Farmers added to the database are assigned a ‘farmercode’ which makes it possible to interact with other offerings of the Smart Ikigega’s system.

Some of the startup’s product offerings include:

• Harvesting insurance
• Direct mobile loans
• Receiving harvesting payments digitally

11.) Afriwell Health (Congo)

Afriwell Health offers an application connecting patients with their healthcare professionals in a quick and efficient manner. The platform provides access to patients in remote location and helps overcoming scarcity of both generalists and specialists.

Telemedicine is also among its offerings.###

12.) Jem HR (South Africa)

The South African startup has built a HR system for both employees and employers, with the ‘deskless’ worker in mind. According to Jem, 80% of the world’s workforce does not sit at a desk, and they’re 2.7 billion strong across industries like manufacturing, agriculture, retail, hospitality, logistics and more.

The system can be integrated with existing HR systems while it allows integration with other digital tools like Whatsapp.

13.) Kola Market (Ghana)

Kola Market leverages AI and other digital tools to provide marketing and consistent sales for SMEs.

“We solve the costliest problem for any SME: inventory that is not selling. We expose your business to cost effective ways of reaching customers and making sales. Let’s help you clear out your shop or warehouse!”

14.) Mipango (Tanzania)

Mipango is described as a financial data analysis, education, money management & recommendations software for Financial Institutions and mobile application for the unbanked.

The app provides users with multiple wallets option e.g. Utilities, mortgage, Transfer between wallets, Spend from specific budget/ goal wallets, View spend and income analysis.

15.) Suitch (Cameroon)

Suitch is a fintech startup with various offerings for both companies and individuals.

Services include:

• P2P transfers
• Cash in/Cash out
• Physical or virtual cards
• Instant loans

Companies can also benefit from instant payroll lendings, MSE’s lendings, gift cards, mobile point of sales.

In conclusion…

“We are thrilled to announce the selected startups for the inaugural class of our Google for Startups Accelerator Africa: Women Founders Cohort. These women are tackling some of Africa’s most pressing challenges, and we’re excited to support them as they build the future,” said Folarin Aiayegbusi, head of startup ecosystem for Africa at Google.