Google for Startups Accelerator Africa announces Class 5 Online!

Digital transformation is seeing incredible momentum across Africa; a change that would have taken years is happening now albeit in an unprecedented manner. For instance, McKinsey reports that over 30 percent of consumers in leading African economies said they were increasing their use of online mobile banking tools. Team meetings, school, economic activities, etc have moved to a range of virtual platforms. Developer and startup communities now have more remote meet ups and engagements than before.

Adapting to this new normal, Google for Startups Accelerator ( formerly known as Launchpad) Africa Class 5 will be done remotely. This year, we will be hosting one combined class, with 20 startups instead of 12. The program will run for the usual 3 months, with a one week 'virtual bootcamp' per month, beginning 29th June until 11th September 2020. 

Our commitment to supporting innovative startups in Africa remains strong. Especially now more than ever, running a startup requires innovative thinking, mentorship and collaboration.

The selected pool of startups for this new class of Google for Startups Accelerator Africa 2020 are from Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia & Zimbabwe. The startups cut across an array of industries like logistics, transportation, education, agriculture, e-commerce, media, health and professional services. The 20 selected startups are:

• Adi+Bolga (Ghana): Adi+Bolga uses technology to provide virtual skincare consultations and accurate personalised product recommendations to consumers.
• AmiTruck (Kenya):Amitruck is a digital platform that seeks to bring trust, transparency and efficiency to logistics by using technology to connect cargo owners and transporters.
• Beamm (South Africa): Beamm allows users to make Hollywood style CGI and VFX videos with ease(. 
• BuuPass (Kenya): BuuPass works with transport operators to provide digital solutions that seamlessly facilitate convenient and reliable movement of commuters. 
• Crediation(Kenya): Crediation empowers tech startups to lend to their customers. We provide APIs and a dashboard to allow our partners to access funds for lending and process loans.
• Credpal (Nigeria): CredPal develops consumer credit infrastructure to ease consumer credit purchase, and enable retail businesses to provide on-demand credit for consumers in Africa.
• Crop2Cash (Nigeria): Crop2Cash is an offline accessible platform for farmers making it possible for them to pay, get paid, access agricultural credit via USSD while assuring financial institutions of their lending capital.
• Curacel(Nigeria): Curacel is a Claims & Fraud Detection Platform for African Insurers.
• Festival Coins (Nigeria): Festival Coins is a suite of tools to help event organizations produce better events, with features including online ticketing, access control, cashless payments, and event reporting.
• Franc (South Africa): Franc.app is an investment app that helps first time investors realise their dreams by providing access to the best cash and equity funds without minimums or restrictions
• Ilara Health (Kenya): Ilara Health brings essential diagnostic support and impactful software products to patients and providers across peri-urban sub-Saharan Africa who currently are unable to access these basic life-saving tools.
• Judy (Nigeria): The smart, comprehensive database of African case law and legislation.
• Kaoun (Tunisia): Kaoun enables unbanked and underbanked individuals and businesses access to financial services through identification, payment and credit solutions.
• Send (Nigeria): Digital Freight forwarder and customs broker for Africa.
• Stears (Nigeria) : Stears is a trusted provider of high-quality African information that improves decision making.
• The Smarthub (Nigeria): SaaS for hospitals and a Digital hospital with multiple physical locations and more than 200 Doctors with it's own Ambulance hailing service.
• Thumeza (Zimbabwe): A next-generation logistics platform utilising data in order to optimise the logistics function for enterprises
• Uzapoint (Kenya): UzaPoint is an enterprise resource planning tool that enhances the efficiency, profitability and business intelligence of small scale businesses in retail.
• Zayride (Ethiopia): Zayride provides reliable, timely, and safe cab services using technologically enabled dispatch systems and integrated mobile money systems for payment. 
• Zuka Data Science (Kenya): A blended Learning Platform with engaging Data Science programs designed by experts to enable individuals and organisations at all levels become Data Fluent.

Since its launch in 2018, the Google for Startups Accelerator program has worked with 47 startups from 17 African countries: Algeria, Botswana, Cameroon, Côte D’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. They have contributed to economic prosperity & empowerment by collectively raising millions of dollars in investment, and creating hundreds of jobs.

Google continues to support developer communities across Sub-Saharan Africa, through Google Developer Groups, Developer Student Clubs and Women Techmakers, providing training and support for developers aligned with real-life job competency requirements. Community groups engage in activities like Study Jams: study groups facilitated by developers, for developers. Today there are over 120 active developer communities across 25 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.



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