South African rentals startup Jamii Cities has secured ZAR450,000 in grant funding at the conclusion of the one-year AlphaCode Incubate programme.
Each year, AlphaCode selects eight South African fintech-focused startups to take part in its Incubate programme, which awards entrepreneurial packages worth ZAR2 million (US$135,000).
The 2018 cohort, which has completed one year of intensive mentorship and startup principles bootcamps, has just graduated, with Jamii Cities awarded the additional grant funding at a demo day.
Jamii Cities’ platform connects the needs of the best tenants with the best landlords, attracting, selecting, onboarding and rewarding tenants for good financial behaviour related to rental payments. This incentivises a longer stay in Jamii Cities partners’ portfolio properties and drives their vision to help build smart and connected cities.
The startup was described by judges as having “a scalable, defensible business model which could grow exponentially over the next few years”.
“I contemplated doing an MBA before the Incubate programme, but I have gained so much more from this experience. I have built a network, got great advice, was pushed hard to do better and had my ideas challenged to produce the best results. I highly recommend the AlphaCode Incubate experience,” said Adrian Taylor, co-founder of Jamii Cities.
“We are helping to build a pipeline for South Africa’s investment community in the fintech space, particularly for angel investors who are ready to invest in and support these black-owned startups. Events like this also show the impact we’re making, through AlphaCode, in the maturing of the fintech ecosystem,” said Andile Maseko, head of Ecosystem Development at AlphaCode.
“We ‘supersized’ the programme this past year and will also continue to mentor the stronger businesses that have been part of this cohort. We believe the next Discovery or OUTsurance will come through entrepreneurs who we partner with in this way.”
