The Baobab Network, an accelerator located in Nairobi that invests in early-stage technology firms across Africa, has revealed its newest cohort of startups, which will each get investment of $50,000.
Two South African startups, Lemon, which is a platform that makes it easier for businesses to purchase industrial supplies, and Local Knowledge, which is a TravelTech that helps digital travellers explore Africa and enrich the lives of locals, were both chosen to participate in the most recent cohort of Baobab’s accelerator programme.
Also chosen was Ethiopian startup Shemach, a B2B marketplace focusing on fast-moving consumer goods aiming to make it easier for small retailers in Ethiopia to order, store, and pay for inventory via a mobile app. Shemach was co-founded by Yihunsew Getahun and Dawit Nigusu.
The final company to be profiled hails from Nigeria and is called Oval Interactive. This company is the brains behind Trivia Billionia, an interactive marketing technology platform that allows users to learn new things while simultaneously earning money and providing businesses with the chance to interact with consumers.
Since the beginning of its accelerator, The Baobab Network has invested in a total of 25 different businesses, including the four new firms, each of which has now received money in the amount of $50,000 and will participate in an intensive programme designed to help their growth.
“We spent our first few years in the market trying to test our model and ensure that we are able to deliver real value to African founders and put in the prerequisite processes required to scale it. “Shares Christine Namara, Programme Lead at The Baobab Network. “Our companies have gone on to raise more than $50 million in follow-on funding since we first launched our accelerator in 2019, so the model is definitely working,” Namara added.
After making four additional investments, the Baobab Network has expanded its portfolio to include a total of 29 firms located across 11 African nations. Since 2019, the Baobab Network has been providing financial assistance to and investing in startups located across Africa.
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Applications are now being accepted for Cohort 1 of The Baobab Network, which will begin in 2023.
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexpert