A Senegalese startup has been selected as one of 20 finalists in global acceleration programme BigBooster, and will travel to Boston, United States, for a four day immersion into the local startups ecosystem.
Disrupt Africa reported the international non-profit Big Booster acceleration programme targets startups in bio and health, informative tech and global impact, and looks to empower businesses to cross borders and go global.
The programme saw 92 international early-stage startups – including 16 from Africa – selected to take part in an intensive “Booster Camp”, in Lyon, France, where they worked with top-level mentors and experts to test and improve their proposition value, strategy and pitch.
The Lyon camp culminated in a pitching competition, where 20 startups were selected to progress to the Boston “Booster Camp”, which will be hosted in partnership with local accelerator MassChallenge.
Of those selected as finalists, one of the African startups – mobile payments and digital services aggregator, InTouch, from Senegal – made the cut.
“We are delighted to see that the Boston Booster Camp arises fruitful international synergies. Our partners have been deeply involved in the design of this programme that is especially thought to answer the needs of startups willing to go global,” said Anne-Marie Graffin, chief executive officer (CEO) of BigBooster.
During the Boston camp, startups will benefit from a mix of theory and practice. US-based CEOs, mentors, experts and judges will challenge the entrepreneurs on their development strategies.
The camp also features plenary sessions on issues relevant to the US ecosystem and market; one-on-one mentoring sessions and workshops with local experts, networking events, as well as roundtables and site visits of BigBooster partner companies.
Following the Boston trip, three startups will be crowned winners at a final award ceremony in April.
