Ten Kenyan startups have been selected to take part in the Wazo Challenge run by Hindsight Ventures, where they will compete for a cash grant of US$10,000 and other perks.
This is the third time Hindsight Ventures has run the Wazo Challenge, and the first time it is happening in Kenya. Aimed at Kenyan entrepreneurs aged 18 – 30 years who are building a tech-based venture, the programme is a four-week venture development bootcamp, led by global mentors and industry partners, culminating with an investor demo day.
The selected startups are competing for US$10,000 in grant funding, and also gain access to other forms of support. They include clean energy startup Kiri EV, on-demand warehousing solution Afrigility, creative marketplace Mawu Africa, fresh food supply chain solution StoFresh Africa, and digital mental health care platform DoctorsLive.
Completing the list are deferred tuition payment service Chaptr Global, internet connectivity platform NikoRadius, agri-tech startup Biosorra, payments platform PayClide, and blood monitoring device NutriTech.
“We see Wazo Challenge as an important, base-of-the-pyramid, startup ecosystem enabler, that helps identify winners at the earliest stage, and support them all the way through scaling-up and fundraising by way of our mentorship. Our companies have gone on to raise strategic capital and get into international accelerators, and that’s a win for them and the ecosystem at large,” said Ajay Ramasubramaniam, co-founder and CEO at Hindsight Ventures.