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12 African Startups Making Pitches For $50K Funding From U.S. Venture Capital Fund

12 African Startups Making Pitches For $50K Funding From U.S. Venture Capital Fund

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U.S.-based venture capital fund Village Capital recently announced the full cohort of fintech startups from Africa that will take part in the Village Capital Fintech Africa 2018 program.

Their venture development program will see the 12 early-stage African fintech startups, which are focused on improving financial health, work through a specific curriculum over a three-month period, in collaboration with PayPal.

The startups, which have been chosen from Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria, will have the opportunity to  engage with potential customers, strategic partners, mentors, investors, sector experts, and PayPal employees.

The program targets firms that address challenges within insurtech, pensions and savings, cooperative finance, and financial literacy; as well as leveraging data for credit scoring and consumer insights.

The startups will go through a readiness program from March to May, participating in three four-day workshops before their chance to boost investment in their ideas, with the top two entrepreneurs in the program, as selected by their peers, receiving $50,000 each from Village Capital.

Here are the 12 African startups which are taking part in the Village Capital Fintech Africa 2018 program.

Sources: Village CapitalVentureburn, FintechAfrica.

Annona

Kenya’s Annona is the leading technology platform for managing small scale producers in global supply chains, helping them to fulfil contracts and make digital payments in an effective and efficient way.

CredPal

The ability to pay for things via credit is incredibly important for many people, and what Nigerian startup CredPal does is provide a platform that enables consumers to make purchases across various online and offline merchants and pay for it in instalments.

Ensibuuko

One of many startups selected from Uganda, Ensibuuko helps cooperative microfinance organizations automate how they manage customer and transaction data using Mobis, a dedicated cloud-based software platform.

Riby Finance

Riby Finance is a Nigerian startup that provides software that enables cooperatives, associations and trade groups to automate and manage their financial transactions, assisting businesses to become digital transactors.

FPESA

This Kenyan startup is opening up possibilities for many small businesses in the country. FPESA helps small and medium-sized Kenyan firms that transact with foreign exchange discover, negotiate, book and settle foreign currency transactions.

GrassRoots Bima

GrassRoots Bima helps customers access insurance services simply and transparently through both online and offline applications. The Kenyan startup is aiming to reach the many potential users who do not have easy access to insurance products.

Mazima Retirement Plan

Mazima Retirement Plan is a Ugandan startup on a mission to help Africa’s informal sector save for retirement. This is a major problem globally, and Africa is no different, with many in the informal sector unable to save for retirement as the products needed are out of reach.

Numida Technologies

Numida Technologies is another of the Ugandan startups selected by Village Capital. The company is aiming to design and provide the unavailable digital products that African small businesses require in order to solidify their success and thrive in their chosen industry. The startup won the Seedstars Kampala event last year.

Patasente Inc

Ugandan startup Patasente Inc provides purchase order financing for small and medium enterprises in the country, satisfying a need within the business community in Uganda which could enable further growth for the businesses that benefit.

Social Lender

Another Nigerian selection on this list, Social Lender is the leading credit lending solution based on social reputation on mobile, online, and social media platforms, enabling people to access money through their online profile and history.

Tulaa

A startup with roots in both Kenya and Ghana, Tulaa is a mobile-based marketplace that supports and assists smallholder farmers in Africa through access to affordable finance, quality agricultural inputs, and markets.

Youverify

Youverify is a Nigerian application programming interface designed for address and identity verification in Africa.The aim of the startup is to modernize identity and background screening for enterprises and startups.