Meet the 60 black-founded start-ups now funded by Google
Summary
The start-ups joining the programme will receive a total of $4 million in funding and support to enable them to scale up their ongoing work.Startups from South Africa include Agrikool, CreditAIs, Mapha, Rekisa and Technovera. Each of them will receive support in the form of a six-month training programme that includes access to a network of mentors to assist in tackling challenges that are unique to them.They will also be part of tailored workshops, support networks and community building sessions.The grantees made up of 50% women-led businesses hail from Botswana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda. Cameroon and Ghana both have three grantees each while Ethiopia has two selected grantees.Africa is a diverse continent with massive opportunity but the continent is faced with the challenge of limited diversity in venture capital funding flow, says Folarin Aiyegbusi, head of Startup Ecosystem, SSA. The Google for Startups Black Founders Fund will introduce African grantees to Googles products, connections, and best practices which will help the founders to level the playing field as they build better products and services that add value to the Africa economy.Funding for the Google for Startup Black Founders Fund will be distributed through Googles implementation partner, CcHUB.The equity-free cash assistance to start-ups will enable them to take care of immediate needs such as paying staff, funding inventory, and maintaining software licences. This is to help the grantees buffer the cost of taking on debt in the early stages of their business as many of them do not have steady revenue streams yet, Aiyegbusi concludes.Below is the list of the 60 start-ups that were selected:ALSO READ: Is raising venture capital the right path for your start-up?