African Startups Dominate 5th Class of Techstars Toronto

African startups took seven out of the available 12 spots in the 5th cohort of Techstars Toronto Accelerator. The seven have secured access to mentorship, US$120,000 in funding, and an opportunity to secure further investment at demo day.

The African startups that made it to the Techstars Toronto accelerator are Nigeria digital health startup Healthtracka, current accounts, expense management, and business banking startup Lenco, Nigeria digital commerce startup OurPass, Nigeria peer-to-peer money transfer Kyshi, Nigeria proptech startup Rentsmallsmall, Rwanda fintech PayDay, insurtech Fleri, and end-to-end supply chain and distribution platform Duhqa. Africa-focussed startups will dominate the fifth class of TechStars Toronto occupying 8 of the 12 startups participating.

Techstars is one of the top accelerators on the planet offering valuable access to funding, potential venture capital investors, industry mentors, investors, and several other perks. Participants join a lifetime network of over 1,200 alumni companies, 2,700 investors, and 10,000 mentors, and 180 staff all committed to helping one another.

15 unicorns have emerged from the Techstars Toronto program. Thousands of applications are received annually with an acceptance rate of 1 to 2 percent. Among the noteworthy alumni from the Techstars Toronto program are ZipLine, DataRobot, Chainalysis,  SalesLoft, SendGrid, among others.

Early this year, two African startups Treepz and Nigeria talent outsourcing startup TalentQL participated in the TechStars Toronto program. The virtually held program provides the startups with funding ($100,000 in convertible notes and a $20,000 stipend), alongside mentorship and improved access.