The 12 startups from the Africa region in the 2019 MIT Inclusive Innovation Challenge (IIC) have been announced. Globally 60 startups have emerged from the five regions – US & Canada, Asia, Latin America, Europe and Africa.
The IIC is MIT’s premier future of work prize, awarding $1.6 million annually to entrepreneurs using technology to create economic opportunity for workers. The 2019 IIC has four categories focused on creating solutions to help people prosper in the era of automation. These are technology access, financial inclusion, skills development and opportunity matching, and income growth and job creation.
They 12 Africa regional finalists are as follows:
- Bloom Impact is a digital marketplace providing financial education and access to financial services to small business owners in Africa.
- Kumwe is disrupting the East African maize value chain with a technology-backed model for post-harvest processing and aggregation to increase incomes for 40,000 farmers.
- Forasna.com is a platform that connects middle- and basic-educated workforce and blue collar workers with matching job opportunities in Egypt.
- By building 911 for 60% of the world without an existing system, Flare is helping EMTs do the important work of saving lives every day.
- Nigeria’s Social Lender bridges the gap of immediate fund access for people with limited access to formal credit by harnessing a proprietary algorithm using social reputation on mobile, online, and social media platforms.
- The Indlu app empowers African landowners to manage their back yard rental rooms and build credit scores, providing a pathway to capital access.
- Taskty is Egypt’s largest online marketplace for home services, connected workers with work and increasing economic opportunity.
- Tiny Totos transforms service standards across Nairobi’s informal childcare market through innovative technology to benefit underserved preschool children and working mothers in slums.
- Inclusivity Solutions develops digital insurance solutions for emerging markets with the aim of protecting and enhancing the quality of life of vulnerable people.
- Farmerline increases productivity and creates lasting profit for African farmers with technology and field agents that connect farmers to vital information and services.
- Shopit digitizes informal grocery stores in low-income communities and links them to the formal economy to create local business opportunities and positive social impact.
- Shortlist empowers jobseekers in Africa and India to apply for jobs online by demonstrating their skills and abilities in real time, regardless of their background.
Click here to meet the 60 Regional Finalists.
Twenty Regional Winners (four from each region) will proceed to MIT where on the 21st of November, 2019, four Global Grand Prize Winners each win $250,000 and world-wide recognition.
Since the IIC launched in 2016, 3000 organisations have registered from more than 100 nations. It has celebrated 100 winners awarding $3.5 million for for tech for good.
