Eight North African startups have been selected to progress to the second stage of international accelerator BigBooster, with a further 11 African companies dropped from the multi-stage programme.
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.
While 100 startups are selected to begin the programme, the cohort is whittled down following each Booster Camp, with less startups progressing to each next stage.
Disrupt Africa reported earlier this month 19 African startups were selected to join the initial 100-strong cohort held in Lyon, France. Eight were Tunisian, six Moroccan, two were Nigerian companies, and Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Egypt each saw one startup accepted.
Eight of the African startups made the cut following the Lyon camp, and will progress to the second stage of the accelerator, which sees 44 startups from around the world participate in four months of personalised training and mentoring.
Six Tunisian startups made the shortlist: reverse trike producer for vendors AUMED; peer-to-peer value exchange platform DigitUs; AI-powered medical imagery management solution Katomi; medical device company ProvenMed International; smart travel app Tripopt; and machine learning-powered energy efficiency solution Wattnow.
Two Moroccan startups also progress to the next stage: bus ticket booking platform Lagare.ma; and phone-based psychological support service Medico-call.
“The Booster Camp is a cross-continental brewing, it aims to provide added value to each startup in its international approach,” says Didier Hoch, chairman of BigBooster.
