Village Capital and PayPal have chosen 12 startups to take part in their first fintech accelerator in Sub-Saharan Africa, which will provide three months of training and offer US$50,000 investment in the best two companies.
Disrupt Africa reported in May of last year Village Capital and PayPal had announced the expansion of their investment-readiness programme for financial health entrepreneurs to several new regions, including Sub-Saharan Africa.
Applications opened for the programme in November, with Village Capital and PayPal recruiting from Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda.
A cohort of 12 early-stage fintech startups has now been chosen from 165 applicants, each of which has developed an innovative technology or business model that has improved financial health for consumers or businesses.
The cohort includes four startups from Kenya, namely tech platform for small scale producers Annona, foreign exchange service FPESA, insurtech startup GrassRoots Bima, and agriculture marketplace Tulaa, which is also active in Ghana.
Nigeria is also represented by four companies: lay-by commerce platform CredPal, cooperative management platform Riby Finance, credit lending solution Social Lender, and address and identity verification platform Youverify.
Another four startups hail from Uganda, namely cloud-based software platform for microfinance institutions Ensibuuko, informal sector savings platform Mazima Retirement Plan, SME digital solutions startup Numida, and order financing solution Patasente.
From March through May, the startups will participate in three four-day workshops to sharpen their case for investment and engage with potential customers, strategic partners, mentors, investors, sector experts, and PayPal employees.
At the end of the programme, Village Capital will offer US$50,000 in funding to each of the top two startups in the cohort, as selected by their peers.
