Founders Factory Africa has selected two Nigerian fintech startups EazyHire and Schoolable to receive investment as well as participate in its six-months Acceleration Program.
The two Nigerian startups will be joined by three others from Kenya, Uganda and Ghana for the program. The five were selected from over 500 applications from fintech startups from across Africa.
The five businesses are:
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Schoolable (Nigeria) is a school financing solution that collects money from parents and provides it to schools, with the ambition of providing credit to both parties in the future. Currently, the company has launched its SaaS platform and is building the technology that leverages the data created by schools and their interactions with stakeholders.
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LipaLater (Kenya) is a lending marketplace for individuals for high-end goods. It provides individuals with great credit terms through a seamless digital platform at the point of purchase or online and allows them to redeem the goods in store.
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EazyHire (Nigeria) is a peer to peer leasing platform with a presence in Nigeria and Kenya. The company has a technology-enabled platform that enables leasing solutions for the building and heavy machinery industries.
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Kudigo (Ghana) is a software as a service (SaaS) startup developing user-oriented retail solutions and big data for the consumer retail industry in sub-Saharan Africa. The company also offers “Storefront,” a mobile-based business management suite including a retail management suite, accounting module, non-cash payment processing and AI-powered data analytics.
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Digest Africa (Uganda) is a single online platform where investors and corporates can access verified, tailored and real-time news about Africa’s early-stage technology companies. The news is fact-checked and up-to-date and includes analysis that is easy to consume and understand to guide profitable decision-making.
These startups will now go through a bespoke six-month acceleration that includes tailored support from a specialist team including product design, tech engineering, data science, growth marketing, investment, to name a few. Participating startups will also have access to global capital, talent and knowledge transfer through the Founders network that includes world-class entrepreneurs, investors, corporates and successful startups across Africa, Europe, the UK and the US.
Roo Rogers, CEO of Founders Factory Africa, says: “Digest Africa, LipaLater, Kudigo, Allpro, and EazyHire all represent the best of African leadership and innovation. Our investment and focus on growing pan-African products and market solutions will enable these exceptional entrepreneurs to address the needs of millions of people and deliver scaled financial and impact returns across the continent. Together with our multi-national corporate investors, we are excited to support these businesses on their pathway to scale.”
Founders Factory Africa is a South African company operating across Africa delivering a corporate-backed accelerator and incubator. It is building and scaling 140 tech-based startups across four sectors over the next five years. In October 2018, Standard Bank was the first investor into Founders Factory Africa, with fintech as its strategic sector.
