Baobab Network, a Nairobi-based accelerator invested $25k in 5 new African startups
The Baobab Network, a Nairobi-based accelerator that invests in early-stage tech firms throughout Africa, has announced its latest batch of five investees, each of whom receives US $25,000 in cash.
Since 2019, the Baobab Network has been propelling companies via capacity building and financing, and it now supports 25 startups in 11 countries after making five additional investments as part of a new strategy. At the start of March, the newest cohort began a three-month intense growth program.
“We felt now was the right time to launch our cohort investment model, as the quality of companies that we see in our pipeline has improved dramatically since we first started investing in 2019,” said Arthur Chupeau, head of ventures at The Baobab Network.
“We now see over 1,500 applicants each year, and in the past 24 months we’ve processed applications from companies in more than 50 African countries – so our brand reaches these days is huge. Our goal is to be the preferred partner for every entrepreneur in Africa that wants to raise their first cheque.”
Sidebrief, which helps African companies build across borders by streamlining legal, incorporation, company admin, banking, and regulation through their APIs; Lendha, a full-stack, tech-led lending platform; and GoodTalent, a talent marketplace for companies to crowdsource, screen, hire, and pay engineering talents globally, for full-time, remote, and contract roles, were three of the investees.
Egypt’s Opus Analytics, which develops HR and people analytics software for SMEs and corporations in the MENA area and beyond, was also chosen, as was Zambia’s Mighty Finance, a financing platform for SMEs.
The five new firms, which each got US $25,000 in capital and an intensive growth assistance program, join 20 previous startups in which The Baobab Network has invested since the debut of its accelerator in 2019.
“Alongside our funding, we see our core role as an accelerator as being to help founders navigate those tough early months of scaling their business; getting to product-market fit, iterating their product and building revenue traction. We work closely with founders to prepare them for a bigger seed round within 6-12 months of joining us,” said Wanjiku Kimani, a venture partner at The Baobab Network.
Startups in the cohort will present during an online demo day in early June, which investors can register for here. Applications are currently available for The Baobab Network’s next cohort, which will begin in June 2022.
