Village Capital and PayPal have chosen 12 startups to take part in their first FinTech accelerator in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The programme, Village Capital Fintech Africa 2018, will provide three months of training and offer US$50,000 investment to the best two companies. Applications opened for the programme last year, with Village Capital and PayPal picking talent from Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda.
The programme originated as a result of the African FinTech landscape experiencing a recent positive shift and is expected to grow by $3bn over the next two years, according to a recent report by independent pan-African banking group Ecobank.
A cohort of 12 early-stage fintech startups has now been chosen from 165 applicants, each of which has developed an ‘innovative technology or business model that has improved financial health for consumers and/or businesses alike’.
The startups will participate in three four-day workshops from between March and May, with a view engaging with potential customers, strategic partners, mentors, investors, sector experts, and PayPal employees.
The cohort includes four companies from Nigeria: commerce platform CredPal, cooperative management platform Riby Finance, credit lending solution Social Lender, and verification platform Youverify.
Uganda also boasts four startups, including Ensibuuko, a software platform for microfinance institutions, Mazima Retirement Plan, a sector savings platform, Numida, a SME digital solutions provider, and order financing solution Patasente.
The final four companies are located in Kenya, tech platform for small scale producers Annona, foreign exchange service FPESA, insurtech startup GrassRoots Bima and agriculture marketplace Tulaa.
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