Rise Capital, a Nigerian-based digital wealth manager connecting Africans to global dollar investments, has been named among the startups selected for Techstars & Western Union Accelerator 2020.
Rise Capital is a technology-driven finance company connecting everyday Africans with the best dollar-denominated investment opportunities around the world. The Nigerian startup which will be joined by 9 others was founded by Eleanya Eke and Bosun Olanrewaju.
Techstars & Western Union Accelerator focuses on startups looking to shape the future of how money moves, from Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence to crypto and blockchain.
Rise Capital and other selected startup founders will participate in an intensive 13-week virtual program during which they will focus on growing and evolving their companies with the mentorship, entrepreneurial expertise, business strategy, and marketing guidance of fintech subject matter experts in a range of areas, including compliance, mobile wallets, and settlement.
“The Western Union team is tremendously impressed with this diverse group of founders and entrepreneurs who are actively addressing challenges across the financial services ecosystem,” said Western Union President of Product and Platform, Shelly Swanback.
“I am confident that the breadth of perspective, experience, and technologies represented in this year’s portfolio will drive us to be even more disruptive as we endeavor to develop more inclusive financial services and payment technologies in a rapidly changing global economy.”
Swanback added, “I am especially proud of the fact that many of the companies in the accelerator are led by founders from many different countries, which nicely reflects the global diversity of our employee, customer and partner base. A global lens is critical as we look to create opportunities for billions of people to access the latest innovations in finance, innovate opportunities for businesses and customers, and help close the growing inequality gap.”
“We are proud to announce the companies selected to participate in the 2020 Techstars & Western Union Accelerator,” said Ethan Austin, Managing Director of the Techstars Western Union Accelerator.
“Each of these companies is tackling systemic industry obstacles with innovative and original solutions using leading-edge technologies. We are excited to support their continued growth over the next 13 weeks of our program and beyond.”
The 2020 Techstars & Western Union Accelerator will culminate with a Demo Day on Oct. 8, where startup founders will pitch their products and services to potential investors. This year, the program has shifted from an in-person to a virtual program due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
