The third edition of international non-profit accelerator BigBooster kicks off this week in Lyon, France, with 19 African startups selected to join the 100-strong cohort.
Launched in 2015, the BigBooster accelerator sees startups participate in “Booster Camps” in France, the US, China, and Morocco; with the aim of introducing and immersing the startups in global entrepreneurship ecosystems.
100 startups from around the world have been selected to join the first Booster Camp in Lyon this week, where they will “crash test” their products, business models, and pitches, with the help of over 150 mentors, experts and judges.
The third edition of the accelerator is focusing on three fields: bio and health, informative tech, and global impact.
The cohort includes 19 startups from Africa. Eight of the African candidates are from Tunisia: reverse trike producer for vendors AUMED; peer-to-peer value exchange platform DigitUs; AI-powered medical imagery management solution Katomi; living skills for medical patients app Next Gen Corp; medical device company ProvenMed International; smart travel app Tripopt; machine learning-powered energy efficiency solution Wattnow; and real-time consumer data platform winShot.
A further six companies are from Morocco. These are waste-recycling leather goods house Cuimer; eco-touristic construction company Ecodome Maroc; energy from recycled waste producer ENRD2-ENGRAIS BIO; bus ticket booking platform Lagare.me; geolocation startup Mastery; and phone-based psychological support service Medico-call.
Two Nigerian health-oriented startups made the list – DoctorshubNigeria; and prunedge development technologies.
Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Egypt all saw one startup accepted onto the programme each – Chad’s Zonal; DRC-based tablet producer Fleche Technologie; and Egypt’s accident detection and notification app BlinkApp.
Following the intensive Lyon-based camp, 50 startups will be selected to join the second phase of the programme – in Boston, USA. The final phase will see 25 startups travel to camps in either China or Morocco.
“This year once again, the selected startups come from all over the world, and we have broadened the spectrum: more countries were involved, such as China, South Africa, Argentina. Such a thing was compulsory if we wanted to stay true to our DNA: we forge bonds, working bonds, between local and international ecosystems,” said Didier Hoch, chairman of BigBooster.
