Techstars, in partnership with Lagos-based innovation program ARM Labs, marked the completion of its inaugural ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator Program with a Demo Day event held at the Landmark Event Centre on March 16th in Lagos, Nigeria.
The event was attended by both a physical and virtual audience.
The cohort, comprising 10 Nigerian and 2 Kenyan founders across multiple sectors, presented their final pitches to a diverse audience of venture capitalists, Techstars alumni, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders in Africa’s tech ecosystem.
The Demo Day event featured notable keynote speeches from Techstars Managing Director, Oyin Solebo and ARM CEO, Jumoke Ogundare. The program also included a panel discussion with Techstars alumni who shared what they learnt during the program and how that changed the course of their businesses.
“The Techstars program was very instrumental to the growth of my company. As a first time founder, I had the opportunity to dive into a program that was created specifically for people like me. From building a team to understanding how to pitch to investors and ways to launch a product effectively,” Healthtracka CEO, Ifeoluwa Dare-Johnson explained.
Additionally, there was a fireside chat with Ike Eze, the Managing Partner at Beta Ventures, providing further perspectives on the future of technological trends and investments in the ecosystem.
“The tech ecosystem is very entreprenurial with a deep technical base that is quite difficult to match. Our fund does a lot of work around blockchain and web3, and we’re amazed by the amount of Engineers that are building solutions for clients in countries like Berlin, Ireland and so on,” said Ike Eze.
According to Ike Eze, some of the pressing issues the cohort has built solutions around are emerging market problems that would be beneficial on a global scale. He also added that following the impressive pitches from the cohort, Beta Ventures will be reaching out to Techstars about investing in a total of 5 startups.
The event concluded with a networking dinner, providing attendees with an opportunity to establish meaningful connections.
After 13 weeks of intensive workshops, masterclasses, and more than a hundred mentor meetings, each founder emerges from a transformative experience that has helped shape their ambitions and sharpen their focus. As a result of their hard work and dedication, they are now many steps closer to achieving their visions.
“These twelve startups have two things in common,” said Jumoka Ogundare. “They are solving major problems we have in Africa, and they have been mentored by the best in the industry.”
Techstars has been a significant presence in Africa for over a decade, and they have invested in more than a hundred founders both on and off the continent. Their partnership with ARM Labs has enabled them to expand their reach and increase their impact, with the shared goal of driving Nigeria’s innovative potential forward.
“The selection of startups for this program is highly impressive, and we are eager to witness the impact they will have on their respective industries. Our mission was to invest in the very best of African pre-seed proptech and fintech startups, and I think we’ve done well,” said Oyin Solebo.
As the first cohort of this program, they have received world-class training and valuable networks which will undoubtedly set them apart from their competitors and pave the way for long-term success.
You can watch the proceedings of Demo Day by clicking the link below:
Meet the 12 startups of the 2022 ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator program:
1. alphabloQ
alphabloQ is a real estate investment platform founded by Trevor Kimani and John Mbui. The startup’s mission is simple – to reduce the entry barrier for real estate investors by enabling investors to purchase a fraction of income-generating properties.
2. peppa.io
peppa.io, founded by Banky Alao, Bridget Yadua-Soremekun and Emmanuel Obute, is making it safer to buy on social platforms for Africans through the use of payment protection.
3. CDcare
CDcare is making it easy for Africans to own gadgets, appliances, cars and more at zero interest, through smart installment plans. The company was founded by Tobi Odukoya and Deji Farohun,
4. Cladfy
Founded by Ebby Gatamu and Kibe John, Cladfy provides microfinance lenders with credit profiling, digitised loan management, and access to affordable, reliable financing.
5. Flick
Flick is building PayPal for Africa; enabling users to connect multiple bank accounts and pay directly from one source, making payments 7x faster. Ruth Olojedeand Dipo Gbadebo are the founders of the company.
6. Keble
Keble, founded by Emmanuel Oballa, Agulanna Josemaria, Adebisi Borokinni and Valentine Offiah, enables Africans at home and abroad to purchase fractional shares of global real estate for as low as $10.
7. Keza Africa
Keza is powering smartphone financing by enabling people to buy brand-new and certified pre-owned smartphones on a flexible payment plan. Keza Africa was founded by Aisha Hussaini.
8. Salad
Salad was founded by Chikodi Ukaiwe and Seunfunmi Omotunde and is providing employees with access to financial services and benefits beyond their monthly paycheck.
9. Sidebrief
Sidebrief simplifies the process of starting and scaling a business across borders, with its one-stop solution for registration, banking and regulatory compliance. The company was founded by Eunice Olopade, Abdulwaheed Yusuf and Usman Sotunde,
10. Towntalk
Towntalk, founded by Folake Edun, Disun Vera-Cruz and Tomiwa Erinosho, is building Area!–a protection platform giving companies peace of mind when moving goods and people from point A to B, by providing real-time location and behavioural analytics, vehicle tracking and access to insurance providers.
11. Vittas
Vittas is a digital lender for healthcare providers, using machine learning, partnerships and embedded 3rd party SaaS solutions to provide loans for the purchase of medications and medical equipment. Vittas was founded by Sulav Singh, Collins Uche and Eric Okemmadu.
12. Oystr Finance
Founded by Ifedolapo Lawal, Olusola Onajobi and Omotayo Iginla, Oystr is democratizing credit in Africa. The company provides lenders with an infrastructure to help them launch low-risk micro-loan products, grow their portfolios and expand into new markets in less than 30 minutes.
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