Google has marked International Women’s Day by unveiling three new initiatives to empower women entrepreneurs in Africa and equip them with the tools needed to succeed.
These initiatives include the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa: Women Founders Cohort, which has already selected 15 startups from eight African countries, the Hustle Academy for Women-Led SMEs, which is a training program to help entrepreneurs increase revenue, position themselves for investment, and build sustainable businesses, and a social media series that highlights inspiring women in Africa’s technology sector.
Through these programs, Google aims to provide women entrepreneurs in Africa with funding, mentorship, and networking opportunities, ultimately helping them succeed in their respective fields.
Folarin Aiayegbusi, Head of Startup Ecosystem, Africa, said, “We are thrilled to announce the selected startups for the inaugural class of our Google for Startups Accelerator Africa: Women Founders Cohort. These women are tackling some of Africa’s most pressing challenges, and we’re excited to support them as they build the future.”
According to Dorothy Ooko, Head of Communications, Google Africa, “At Google, we are committed to providing women entrepreneurs in Africa with access to funding, mentorship, and networking opportunities. Through our programs, we aim to bridge the gap and empower women to succeed in their respective fields.”
The Google for Startups Accelerator Africa Women Founders Cohort:
- Afriwell Health (Congo) : Connects patients in Congo with healthcare professionals globally in a quick and efficient way.
- Alajo App (Nigeria) : A digital piggy bank for the underbanked and non-smartphone users in Africa; building an escrowed banking system between Agents and Users using USSD and SMS, helping people save money every day.
- eWaka (Kenya): A ridesharing platform offering on-demand electric micro-mobility for personal use and sustainable logistics for delivery businesses.
- Farmer Lifeline (Kenya): A technological solution that places smallholder farmers ahead of crop pests and crop diseases to increase crop yield.
- Gobeba (Kenya): A digital retail platform for distributing bulky household essentials to urban households in growing African cities.
- Hepta Pay (Rwanda): A product that interfaces card payments with mobile money accounts, easing diaspora inflows.
- Jem HR (South Africa): A software that plugs into any HR and payroll system, making it easy for employers to send payslips, manage leave requests, process salary advances and communicate with thousands of frontline employees using WhatsApp.
- Kola Market (Ghana): A full-stack B2B e-Commerce platform providing Guaranteed Sales, Smart Inventory Recommendations, and Product Financing to SMEs in Africa.
- Maxibuy (Nigeria): A cooperative inventory procurement and financial services platform for bulk buying merchants of consumer goods in Nigeria, enabling them to scale their businesses and gain the benefits of economies of scale.
- MosMos (Kenya): A save-to-buy platform for Africa.
- Mipango (Tanzania): A personal finance and robo advisory app for women and the mass market.
- Smart Ikigega (Rwanda): Eliminating post-harvest loss for farmers and providing access to financial services digitally.
- Suitch (Cameroon): Provides digital financial services to underbanked and non-banked populations to foster their growth.
- Tyms Africa (Nigeria): Offers instant microcredit for microenterprises in Africa, powered by ROSCA.
- Zydii (Kenya): A premier localized digital training solution engaging and accessible for the African workforce, leading to transformative growth for businesses
