Nine startups have been selected to take part in the second edition of the Startup Wise Guys accelerator, which offers selected B2B Saas startups access to EUR65,000 (US$67,000) in funding, as well as an intensive five months of mentorship.
Founded in Tallinn, Estonia in 2012, Startup Wise Guys manages SaaS accelerator programmes out of Milan as well as cybersecurity programmes from Cosenza. The company has so far worked with more than 500 founders, made more than 235 startup investments, seen five exits, and achieved an overall startup survival and success rate above 77 per cent.
Disrupt Africa reported last year the company had expanded to Africa, holding its first programme in Namibia, and in March it announced the first closing of its EUR8.5 million (US$9.3 million) fund, Wise Guys Africa Fund I.
At the same time, it announced the first batch of startups selected for its African B2B digital SaaS accelerator programme, and the second cohort has now been selected. The programme, the first-ever African, B2B SaaS-focused accelerator, generated almost 500 applications, with selected startups eligible for EUR65,000 support for up to a 12 per cent equity stake, as well as an intensive five-month accelerator programme.
In addition, they might qualify for additional investment of up to EUR250,000 (US$258,000) from Startup Wise Guys after the programme. Investment is in tranches based on milestones startups need to achieve during the programme.
The selected startups include four from Kenya – Hisa, an infrastructure for borderless investing in Africa; Sortika, a financial planning tool that seeks to democratise savings and investments; Naivera, an online financial marketplace that helps to drive finance towards affordable income-generating assets for wealth creation; and Zemo Card, an all-in-one expense management solution for growing businesses in Africa.
A further three are from Nigeria, namely DT2 Technologies, a core banking platform for microfinance banks and other financial institutions; Bunce, an API for revenue management and optimisation tools for African businesses; and ShipBubble, a platform that connects businesses to multiple shipping providers at discounted prices.
The other two startups selected are Ghana’s Built Financial Technologies, a tool for African SMBs to access financial opportunities via a suite of business tools and financial services; and Tanzania’s Tunzaa Fintech, a save now, pay later data-driven marketplace.
“Africa presents the most exciting potential for digitalisation on the planet. About two-thirds of the predicted growth in global population between 2020 and 2050 will take place here,” said programme managing director Eliud Mungai. “Startup Wise Guys’ presence in Africa means we see the business opportunity from supporting startups, and we can also see the benefits for Africa. The portfolio startups in our Africa acceleration programme will be leveraging digital technology to support the continent’s growing population with fintech, health-tech and retail-tech, and catalyse sustainable business growth to provide jobs and prosperity.”
