Fifty African tech startups have been awarded equity-free funding by Google for Startups through its US$3 million Black Founders Fund Africa.
The fund supports early-stage black-founded startups on the continent in order to bridge the existing fundraising gap for black startup founders in Africa’s fast-growing technology landscape.
Google has offered 50 African tech startups equity-free funding through its $3 million Black Founders Fund Africa. The fund supports early-stage black-founded startups in the African continent to bridge the current fundraising gap for black startup founders in the fast-growing technological landscape of Africa.
Aside from the funding, there are 50 selected startups that will receive Cloud credit and Google Ad Grants as well as support from experienced Google experts. Google is also working with Co-Creation Hub (CcHub) with a presence in Nigeria, Rwanda, and Kenya to distribute the funding to selected companies in Africa.
Twenty-seven of the startups funded are from Nigeria. They range from health tech to ed-tech, fintech, e-health, among others. Eight are from Kenya, Three are from Ghana.
“We are proud to be selected for support and funding by Google’s Black Founders Fund. Finplus is developing a new type of credit and commerce infrastructure for developing markets. To be successful, we must employ a creative mix of both new and old technologies in innovative ways.” Kageni Wilson, the CEO and founder of Finplus says.
“A number of these enablers are Google technologies and beyond the funding, marketing, and cloud resources we are receiving from Google we look forward to partner closely with their talented creators to push the boundaries of what the technologies can do in the African continent when hey are used.”
“Our mission is to support more women and adopt more advanced technology to reach more women. We are glad about this grant as well as the support and mentorship that comes with it. We are looking forward to the positive impact it will have on women in our network,” said the CEO and founder of Shecluded, Ifeoma Uddoh.
“At Shecluded, we are seeing firsthand the urgent need for women to access financial growth services easily. We believe that an advanced technology platform will enhance our ability to reach and provide the vital resources to women in all regions/locations.”
