- 10 Nigerian startups have been selected to benefit from Google Black Founders Fund
- The $4 million Fund would be distributed to the startups to help accelerate growth in Africa
- About 40 startups cut across Africa and Europe and are led by Nigerian tech firms
About 10 Nigerian startups have been selected among the 40 tech firms listed for the $4 million Black Founders Fund by Google.
Drawn from Europe and Africa, with 25 startups coming from Africa for this year’s cohort, Nigerian startups dominated the list.
Credit: Google
Source: Twitter
Black Founders Fund initiated to help African startups
The Black Founders Fund is sponsored by tech giant Google for Startups and is said to be in its third year.
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TheCable reports that the Fund was initiated to help tackle racial inequality in venture capital funding by providing equity-free grants and mentoring to early-stage black-led businesses across Africa and Europe.
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A statement on Wednesday, June 21, 2023, by Google, said that startups led or co-founded by women make up 72% of the 40 selected, showing the role of women in shaping the startup ecosystem in Africa.
According to Google, each selected startup will receive up to $150,000 in non-dilutive cash awards, up to $200,000 in Google Cloud Credits, advert support, one-on-one mentoring by industry leaders, and connections within the Google network.
Google’s Head of Startups in Africa, Folarin Aiyegbusi, said digital transformation and growth was the primary goal.
Aiyegbusi said:
“Startups play a significant role in advancing Africa’s digital transformation. We look forward to working with this group of innovative founders using technology to solve some of the most pressing challenges in Africa.
“The Google for Startups Black Founders Fund is committed to addressing the stark inequality in VC funding by providing Black founders with the resources and support they need to succeed.”
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Below is the list of Nigerian companies for the 2023 startup grant.
- Akoma Health (Nigeria): Tech platform for accessible, culturally conscious mental health services in Africa.
- Evolve Credit (Nigeria): SaaS for digitizing and managing banking services.
- Fez Delivery (Nigeria): Last-mile logistics platform for various industries.
- Herconomy (Nigeria): Female-focused fintech aiming to be Africa’s first women’s bank.
- MDaaS Global (Nigeria): Tech-powered diagnostic centres for affordable healthcare.
- My Pocket Counsel (Nigeria): Legal tech platform for contract generation and management.
- Orda (Nigeria): Pan-African neobank for restaurants offering cloud-based software.
- Periculum (Nigeria): Data company aiding in credit assessment, fraud/churn risk.
- Raenest (Nigeria): Fintech
- TruQ (Nigeria): Streamlining mid-mile logistics across Africa with third-party vehicle connectivity.
Google opens application for innovative black startups founders to share N1.84bn, link to apply emerge
Legit.ng reported that Google had launched the third cohort of its Black Founders Fund for Startups in Africa and Europe, committing $4 million to support eligible black-founded startups.
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The fund aims to promote digital transformation and support black-owned startups across the continent.
Upon selection, the startups will receive up to $150,000 equity-free cash awards and up to $200,000 per startup in Google Cloud credits
Source: Legit.ng
