AlphaCode, a business model accelerator backed by Rand Merchant Investment Holdings, which strives to fund innovative, sustainable, scalable business concepts, will be providing funds to some tech startups that emerge from their virtual demo day presentation and mentorship to promising startups that didn’t meet up.
On Thursday, South Africa’s most promising tech startups, all of which were established during the pandemic, competed against one another in a virtual demo day.
They each had ten minutes to persuade a panel of judges that they should move on to the next phase of the AlphaCode Incubate program.
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“What was remarkable about this cohort is that there are seven female founders across the eight startups, several of which have run successful businesses prior to these startups which we know makes for more successful entrepreneurs,” Amina Patterson, head of operations at AlphaCode, said.
“Women are grossly underrepresented in the startup ecosystem globally. Representation matters and by having a diverse AlphaCode team and selection panel, we have an inclusive and diverse cohort. Female founders are eager to engage and contribute to the startup sector and it helps when they are given the platform to truly be heard, acknowledged, and appreciated,” Patterson said.
AlphaCode Funding Selection Process
At the beginning of AlphaCode’s Incubate program, about 170 technology enterprises applied. The program’s goal is to help innovative tech-enabled startups flourish
Only eight people were chosen to participate in the initial three-month program, which included funding, assistance from performance coaches and a panel of advisory experts, access to AlphaCode’s coworking space, and the opportunity to apply for more early-stage investment.
Per Lagerstrom, Mavens CEO and co-founder, Raj Wanniappa founder of Agile Venture Holdings, and an entrepreneur and angel investor were on the panel of judges. All of them have invested in startups in the past.
About the funding
Five of the eight entrepreneurs who had just finished a three-month program were given grants of R500,000 ($32,265.25), an extra six months of mentoring, and help from an expert to put their business plans into action.
Dominique Collett, head of AlphaCode and a Rand Merchant Investments Holdings (RMI) executive, affirmed. “We are in the seventh year of this programme and it was clear this year how the standard has raised.
At Demo Day we were so blown away by the talent of the entrepreneurs that RMI awarded an additional budget for a fifth business to move forward to the next phase. Our initial intention was four. We will also offer mentorship to the three businesses that didn’t make it to the next round because they are so promising, ”
Patterson also said that “Another point to highlight is that every year the businesses focus on getting to know their customers, solving their customer problems and getting traction, but this cohort blew the lights out. I believe the pandemic forced the founders to work extra hard getting to know their customers and they had to be incredibly resourceful, resilient, and creative in how they validated their products with customers,”
In addition, these startups will be able to apply for seed capital from AlphaCode’s fund that invests in early-stage startups.
The Selected Tech Startups
Among the five successful and promising companies that were chosen are:
Fintech Abela– a mobile payments platform that allows the underserved to make and receive payments. Tom David and Amery Winter are the co-founders.
Legaltech BriefCo– a legal cost consultancy leveraging technology to digitise and automate the preparation of bills of costs and oppositions. Catherine-Jane Paulse, Yusha Davidson, Carlton Ngwenya, and Dhanyal Davidson are co-founders.
Fintech Sizanani– a stokvel management platform providing the first Whatsapp stokvel solution. The founders are Makabongwe Gambushe, Sinqobile Mashalaba, and Thandolwethu Hlongwane.
Datatech Vocalysd– transforming conversations into actionable insights by leveraging AI for call monitoring, analysis, and reporting. Kelly Hoffman is the founder.
Healthtech Welo – on-site healthcare services, home medicine delivery, and pathology services for individuals and corporates. Founded by Zanele Matome.
What We Heard
During the last seven years, the AlphaCode Incubate program has provided R36.7 million ($2.4 million) in funding to 50 tech startups.
It is thought to be the most well-known project in South Africa in the field of financial startups.
With the help of Rand Merchant Investments, the AlphaCode Incubate program gives South Africa’s most promising entrepreneurs in the financial services industry packages to help them start their own businesses.