11 Tech Startups Picked For Second Google Africa Launchpad Accelerator
Google recently announced the next cohort of 11 tech startups that will participate in its second Launchpad Accelerator Africa class in Lagos.
The 11 startups were selected from a total of six countries, with the Africa-specific accelerator focused on companies that are solving African problems.
Following the successful conclusion of the first Google Africa Launchpad Accelerator program in June, the second class of tech startups was chosen from over 250 applications that came from 11 nations around the continent.
The startups will now undergo a three-month program in the Nigerian city, with Google providing mentorship, working space, travel, public relations support, and access to tech and business experts from Google, Silicon Valley, and Africa.
These are the 11 tech startups picked for the second Google Africa Launchpad Accelerator.
AppZone
AppZone is one of four Nigeria startups chosen for the Google Africa Launchpad Accelerator’s second class. The company builds software as a service fintech software ecosystems for digital banks, allowing them to reduce operational costs while improving service delivery, according to Weetracker.
Formplus
Formplus is a Nigerian startup that enables companies to collect online and offline data through the use of customizable digital forms. In addition to the form functionality, the startup provides analytics based on form answers and allows for payment collection via PayPal, Stripe and Flutterwave.
Medsaf
Medsaf is an e-health startup focused on making the process of buying and selling medication in Nigeria’s complex health system easier and more efficient. Medsaf also provides value added services to hospitals and pharmacies such as medications, inventory management applications, and tech-enabled logistics. Medsaf was the winner of last year’s Seedstars Lagos competition.
Thank U Cash
Thank U Cash is a Nigerian online rewards platform that allows consumers to save and earn loyalty points for making purchases with participating stores or brands. The points can then be swapped for cash, which is very rewarding for the user, while participating merchants benefit from extra spend and the loyalty of consumers who use the digital platform.
Pineapple
South African insure-tech startup Pineapple provides innovative insurance products for users to benefit from. The company’s unique machine learning technology allows a user to easily insure individual items that they own using a mobile app. In 2017 Pineapple received an investment of around $350,000 from Lireas Holdings, the strategic investment arm of Hannover-Re Group Africa, according to BusinessTech.
Preeva
The second South African startup selected for Google Africa Launchpad Accelerator is Preeva, an online ed-tech platform that connects students with young educators who provide tutoring help at school and university. The startup also runs the Preeva Foundation, which provides tutoring assistance for students from disadvantaged areas who would otherwise not be able to access one-on-one tutoring.
Cloud9xp
Kenyan e-travel startup Cloud9xp is an online marketplace for booking leisure experience across Africa. Users can book various experiences such as adventure or extreme outdoor activities that have been carefully selected by local experts directly from the platform. The startup is currently developing a mobile app to compliment its online platform, according to ITNewsAfrica.
PayGo Energy
Benefiting from the clean energy trend and the drive for consumers to be more environmentally conscience, PayGo Energy’s smart meter and connected software service allows players in the LP gas value chain to better service their customers, driving the adoption of clean cooking fuels.
Chalkboard Education
Ghana’s Chalkboard Education is an ed-tech startup that is focused on assisting educational institutions to make their curricula available to students through mobile devices. The digital platform also lets those places of learning gather insights about student learning patterns and assists them create and adapt curricula for the mobile space.
EzyAgric
The lone Ugandan startup on this list, EzyAgric is an on-demand platform that provides inclusive and data-driven access to finance, production and marketing services for farmers and agribusinesses in Uganda. The agri-tech platform works through a network of youth agents equipped with smartphones and other forms of agricultural technology, providing employment and helping farmers improve yields and market access.
Mintrics
The only startup from the 11 new African countries considered to make it into the second class, Egypt’s Mintrics is a social video intelligence platform that analyzes and assists brands and agencies to understand how people are interacting with their social videos, according to Ventureburn.