Techstars, one amongst basically the most influential accelerators in Africa, launched on Tuesday the ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator for early-stage fintech and proptech startups at some level of the continent.
The programme came about by a partnership between Techstars and ARM Labs, the innovation hub of ARM, an asset administration team in Nigeria.
Whereas the accelerator will be delivery to startups at some level of the continent, the chance highlights the persevered focal level on Lagos as Africa’s lickety-split-rising tech hub. Is named the commercial and cultural capital of Nigeria, Lagos surpassed Nairobi to turn into the highest African metropolis on StartupBlink’s 2021 World Startup Ecosystem Index. The ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator can be the 2nd Techstars-hosted programme on the continent; the first used to be in South Africa.
“Lagos has constructed a a hit startup ecosystem that merits more world publicity, investments and resources, and we fetch out about unheard of doable available in the market,” Techstars total manager Nancy Wolff said in a commentary sent to TechCabal.
“Techstars has been investing in Nigerian and African startups for years, and by our partnership with ARM Labs we gaze forward to bringing the price and reach of the Techstars’ world community to the increasingly notorious Nigerian startup ecosystem,” Wolff added.
Techstars’ work in Africa is more than a decade veteran, with its investments and mentorship programs relationship again to 2011. Since then, the accelerator programme has hosted more than 400 Techstars Startup Weekend events at some level of 40 African worldwide locations. In 2016, the firm launched its first Africa-essentially essentially based mostly accelerator, Techstars Cape Town; that used to be the identical 300 and sixty five days it operated the Barclays Accelerator Programme, which supported fintech innovators in South Africa.
Africans in the diaspora have participated in and benefited from Techstars’ accelerators, too. Via about two dozen accelerators, including Techstars Toronto, Techstars New York City, and Techstars Atlanta, Techstars have invested in over 50 startups at some level of Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. It has invested in 14 Nigeria-essentially essentially based mostly startups collectively, including Healthtracka, FarmCrowdy, OurPass and Rent Dinky Dinky. Among the startups it invested in exterior Nigeria embody Rwanda’s PayDay, South Africa’s WizzPass, Ghana’s BenBen and Kenya’s Duhqa.
The ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator Programme will furthermore allow the partnering companies to faucet into Africa’s ever-profitable fintech sector. Investment monitoring platform Partech reported that 63% (or $3 billion) of Africa’s full VC funding went to fintech companies in 2021.
“Through the years, ARM has been on a mission to present a enhance to African fintech startups that are solving key complications in revolutionary solutions,” said Jumoke Ogundare, CEO of ARM. “Our partnership with Techstars is the logical next step in propelling the African continent to turn into the long flee world capital of fintech and transform how Africans entry monetary products and services.” The utility window for the ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator Programme opens May per chance presumably 8. A preference committee will award 12 startups $120,000 in funding, apart from to curated startup programming and mentorship. The inaugural class can have its Demo Day in February 2023.