Cape Town-based incubator and accelerator French South African Tech Labs (FSAT Labs) has opened applications for its fourth programme, which offers training and mentorship and helps startups develop their minimum viable products (MVPs).
FSAT Labs was launched in February 2017, and has incubated 15 startups to date via its six-month programmes, which help selected entrepreneurs turn their ideas into sustainable businesses and develop an MVP, built by in-house developers.
It particularly focuses on digital innovation around the areas of smart city, smart education, smart commerce, smart home and smart media, with the entry ticket an equivalent to ZAR300,000 (US$21,000) to ZAR500,000 (US$35,000) investment in kind, including access to offices, the MVP lab, professional training, networks, and funders.
FSAT Labs’ partners and experts will mentor and coach the selected startups, which will also benefit from legal, accounting, digital, marketing, communication, strategy and tech services. The programme is held in partnership with the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA), the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) and international technology firm Methys in a bid to act as a gateway between France and South Africa.
Applications for the fourth cohort are open until November 8. Selected startups will be revealed on November 12, and be invited to a pitching competition at the AfricArena conference in Cape Town on November 16. Here the best candidates will win entry into the programme, which kicks off in January 2019.
