The first batch of companies to participate in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) FinTech Africa Accelerator is comprised of a total of twenty-five fintech startups from Africa.
A total of over 500 applications were reviewed, and this cohort was chosen to participate in the EMEA Startup Loft Accelerator (SLA) programme that is managed by AWS.
Read also: Nigerian fintech startups dominate the AWS cohort programme
Concerning The Speed Booster
Beginning in June, the pre-seed and seed stage fintech businesses will participate in the 10-week accelerator programme.
To assist them in developing their businesses, prominent industry players like as the Africa Fintech Summit (AFTS), Lendsqr, and Vestbee will provide technical review workshop sessions, up to $25,000 USD in AWS technical credits, world-leading sector guidance, and one-on-one mentoring for each firm.
The Chosen Young Businesses
Eleven (11) startups from Nigeria, four (4) startups from Kenya, four (4) startups from Ghana, two (2) startups from Uganda, two (2) startups from South Africa, and two startups each from Cameroon and Egypt were selected to participate in this cohort.
Ashiri NG, bunce, DeemPay, Fluna, Incash, KoinWa, Stacs, and Vagrent Africa are some examples of Nigerian companies that have just launched their products as startups. Africa WALLX, Africa ZAINEST, and Africa ZEEH
Kenya startups
The following are examples of startups in Kenya: Chumz, hela.money, Kiotapay, and Mauzo
Ghana Startups
Asana Pay, Edanra, Exxtra, and H28 Technologies are some examples of Ghanaian startups.
Uganda Startups
eMaisha Pay, Xazu Technologies, and Abela iMali and Moya Money are examples of successful firms that have been developed in Uganda.
Dreamcash, a startup from Cameroon; MazAid, a startup from Egypt
Amazon Web Services (AWS) opens its second African office in Lagos
Remarks from some Executives on AWS
“At AWS, we’re thrilled to be a part of Africa’s digital transformation, making core financial services accessible to more individuals and businesses. We believe that anyone regardless of their location, should be able to access innovative technologies and realize their dreams,” Napa Onwusah, Start-up Segment Lead at AWS commented “I am excited that the accelerator will be instrumental in empowering these startups to grow and scale their businesses.” Onwusah continued.
Co-Founder and Managing Partner of First Circle Capital, Agnes Aistleitner Kisuule remarked, “The program is a great opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs to hone their ideas, get exposed to the tech industry and drive growth in Africa’s financial services industry.”
“FinTech is imperative for Africa’s economic growth so programs like this provide the expert training and support that early-stage FinTech companies need to scale to the next level and boost the continent’s digital economy,” Barbara Iyayi, the Founding Managing Partner at Unicorn Growth Capital stated.
Adedeji Olowe, the Founder & CEO of Lendsqr and a Trustee with Open Banking Nigeria stated further, “AWS is making a huge impact on the startup ecosystem globally. Its secure and flexible cloud infrastructure allows startups to focus on developing innovative products to attract VC funding – a real need for them. Over 90% of startups we know created their Minimum Viable Product (MVP) on AWS.
Products like Compute, Amazon SageMaker among others help them to build fast-scaling products that VCs like us love to back. We are excited to provide our expertise to young startups as part of the program.” he added.