StartUp 90, an accelerator programme for seed and early-stage start-ups that utilise web and mobile technologies to solve social and economic challenges in Africa, has recently launched its first programme.
The programme highlights funding readiness as a central theme, combines entrepreneurship development with specialist mentoring from experienced tech founders and is delivered in a collaborative work space environment.
"We planned for a good while in order to be ready once we had chosen our first round of start-ups; we chose businesses that we believed would extensively benefit from the accelerator programme," stated Sandheep Ramluckan, MD of StartUp90.
Ramluckan believes that it's important for start-ups to have a full understanding of their businesses before approaching any investors to ensure that the first meeting makes an impact on the possible investor.
The start-ups chosen
Three start-ups were chosen for the three-month accelerator program namely:
Matriculate: Founded by Prosper Mashungupa and Admire Zinamo, is an education start-up that converts past exam papers into short concise video tutorials with full solution demonstrations. Matriculate's mission is to make video tutorials accessible on demand to every learner via their online platform;
iTend: Founded by Pedro Dupreez, Azola Nyaka and Mbulelo Ngwetsheni is a mobile platform for businesses that want real-time access to public tenders. iTend aims to promote and assist small businesses to grow by providing them with tendering opportunities tailored to their specific business needs; and
CrowdHop: Founded by Sean Boulanger and Junior Ngandu, is a mobile app for people who want to discover new places, new events and new specials. Whether a two-for-one cocktail hour, a karaoke night, or a black-tie party, CrowdHop streamlines content to make it easy for people to plan entertaining social experiences around town.
"We were very excited when we heard about the StartUp90 programme opportunity, and quickly realised that it could take our business to new heights. We are glad to be part of the programme and have learnt so much as our business steadily grows," concluded Junior Ngandu co-Founder of CrowdHop.
The programme highlights funding readiness as a central theme, combines entrepreneurship development with specialist mentoring from experienced tech founders and is delivered in a collaborative work space environment.
