MultiChoice Africa Accelerator Programme set to boost prosperity of small and medium-sized businesses in Africa
Small and medium-sized companies (SMMEs) are demonstrating that they are the engines of economic growth and job creation throughout the African continent at a time when unemployment issues and economic volatility are high.
MultiChoice created the MultiChoice Africa Accelerator program to teach 29 enterprises across 9 African countries in essential entrepreneurial skills in recognition of the crucial role that SMMEs play in the continent.
An experienced panel has chosen 11 of the most promising small enterprises for the program’s second leg, where they will present to potential foreign investors in Dubai.
There is no doubting the contribution that African SMMEs make to economic development and job creation, according to Fhulufhelo Badugela, CEO of MultiChoice Africa. Our goal with the MultiChoice Africa Accelerator Programme is to magnify that effect beyond what our start-up founders thought was feasible. These tiny enterprises will definitely be able to use everything they’ve learnt so far to get access to funding for transformative projects.
The MultiChoice Group created the MultiChoice Africa Accelerator program, which is a component of the MultiChoice Innovation Fund. It was developed in collaboration with the Dubai-based business incubator Companies Creating Change (C3), technical partner EOH, and Galelo Africa to serve as a platform for the growth of start-up companies from all over Africa.
The program focuses on small enterprises and startups in the technology areas of health tech, agritech, fintech, edutech, the circular economy, and creative industries.
“This year’s applications had excellent quality. It supports our belief that Africa has a great deal of promise. In addition to allowing us to expose African innovation to the globe, the concentration on digital industries also helps these companies to create technological answers to pressing societal issues, says Badugela.
Public and commercial sector partners in each nation nominated companies or entrepreneurs for the MultiChoice Africa Accelerator Program’s inaugural phase. From there, 29 of the start-ups began a rigorous virtual training program in Johannesburg in December 2022.
The eleven start-ups participated in a special boot camp in Lusaka, Zambia to gain additional insight into how to craft their narrative for foreign investors and to become “pitch ready” before to their major presentations.
During this year’s MultiChoice Africa Accelerator Program, a panel of investors has selected 11 start-ups to hear their business concepts. They are:
1. Tupuca from Angola
Users of Tupuca can place orders from a variety of vendors and service providers, including restaurants, grocery stores, small merchants, and courier services. Tupuca is an on-demand quick-commerce platform and logistical aggregator of drivers similar to Uber.
2. Taskmoby from Ethiopia
The first online marketplace in Ethiopia, Taskmoby uses a mobile app, SMS/USSD solutions, and a dedicated call center to match customers with licensed home service providers (such as plumbers, cleaners, and electricians).
3. StarNews Mobile from Ivory Coast
African content creators should have financial freedom through the global dissemination and monetization of their works, according to StarNewsMobile, an all-African media-tech firm.
4. Tendo from Ghana
A social commerce network called Tendo enables anyone to sell products online without investing any money.
5. Zuri Health from Kenya
Zuri Health is a virtual hospital (Super Health App) that offers customers in Sub-Saharan Africa economical and accessible healthcare services via mobile app, website, WhatsApp bot, and SMS service.
Patients can book lab and diagnostic tests, communicate and consult with doctors, purchase medication from pharmacies, and even have doctors visit them at home through the app.
6. Dojah Inc and Crop2Cash from Nigeria
Dojah Inc. is an end-to-end identity verification and compliance framework that helps digital organizations operate more securely, credibly, and compliantly.
Crop2Cash has created a digital financial solution that enables smallholder farmers in Nigeria to open a bank account on their feature phones in less than 2 minutes without the need of the internet.
7. MaTontine from Senegal
MaTontine is a platform for online financial services. It digitalizes traditional African savings organizations to give financially deprived African women access to financial services.
8. Botlhale AI and Gradesmatch South Africa
African language Natural Language Processing (NLP) technologies are created by Botlhale AI. Using its APIs, developers and organizations can include any of these tools into their solutions.
Gradesmatch makes the transition from school to economic opportunities as easy as possible for students (and families). The business creates the essential enabling infrastructure that makes the transition from education to economic opportunity easier.
9. Mighty Finance Solution from Zambia
Using artificial intelligence, Mighty Finance Solution offers streamlined loan and financial solutions to SMEs in emerging economies. The business uses a unique lending experience and a patented credit assessment algorithm to change lives by offering straightforward, rapid, and affordable loans.
