tiphub Africa has selected 14 startups and social enterprises to participate in its 2016 Diaspora Demo accelerator and pitch competition. The program is designed to offer mentorship, guidance, expertise and advisory support for the emerging enterprises and is anchored by a residency in Washington, DC where the startups will pitch to an audience of investors, industry experts and a renowned panel of judges on November 11th at the US Chamber of Commerce.
The participants were selected from over 150 applicants from across Africa and the diaspora. “This year’s pool of submissions was very difficult to select from due to the high quality of entrepreneurs we encountered,” explained tiphub co-founder Chinedu Enekwe. “It’s actually great to see the ecosystem evolve to the point where the pool of diverse and dynamic companies is so deep.”
The selected startups include:
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Akla Baity: A female led Egyptian startup offering homemade catering and delivery on demand
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Aledin Nano: A Nigerian led company that leverages predictive analysis to ascertain eligibility of the un-banked, for Nano credit.
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Dechets a L’Or: A Guinean waste collection, recycling and fertilizer services provider
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EduRecords: Nigerian provider of real-time student record and performance tracker
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Front Door: An US-based AI-driven recommendation engine that helps apartment seekers find housing in urban areas
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Imara Tech: The Tanzanian startup designs and manufactures a Multi-Crop Thresher (MCT), a mechanized threshing machine that improves smallholder farmers’ lives by drastically reducing the time required to thresh staple crops.
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Jamii Africa: The Tanzanian startup provides mobile micro-health insurance for the low income and informal sector.
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KweliTV: US-based KweliTV is an interactive, streaming TV network dedicated to the stories, issues and culture of the global black community.
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Lucy: Nigerian company that procures, brands and delivers souvenir and corporate gift items for all occasions and events
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Oja Express: US based mobile grocery delivery app targeting African immigrant families and those who love world foods.
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SawaPay: Kenyan based startup providing cost effective application for international money transfer and payments
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ScholarX: Nigerian platform for streamlining student scholarships search
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Swiftly: Ghanaian led company match makes shared space and storage shipments to reduce costs and carbon usage
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You Baby & I: South African platform that showcases products and services from the viewpoint of the mom’s experience and recommendations.
Now in its 2nd year, Diaspora Demo is the flagship event of tiphub Africa – the investment manager for startups in Africa and the African Diaspora. With a commitment to supporting the next wave of African and Africa Diaspora focused startups, tiphub relentlessly pursues strategic initiatives that empower entrepreneurs, support impact and frontier investors and stimulate economic, civic and community growth.
