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3 Kenyan startups to Battle for Google’s Sh565 million mentorship programme
Fleetsimplify, HydroIQ, and Sukhiba, all Kenyan startups have been selected to work with Google mentors and facilitators to learn best practices on a range of topics including Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, organisational culture, growth strategies and more under the three months mentorship programme beginning this month.
The three firms are among the 15 startups selected for that programmel; they were chosen from a lis of thousands of applications.
“We’re thrilled to be starting off our seventh cohort with such a diverse and inspiring group of companies who are harnessing technology to tackle the problems that many people on the continent face everyday. Startups in Africa are solving some of the region’s most pressing issues -from employment to logistics, banking, healthcare, and education. This is a journey that we’re happy to be on,” said Folarin Aiyegbusi Google Head of Startup Ecosystem, Africa.
The fifteen startups which are developing solutions in areas such as healthcare, education, fleet management, logistics automation and recruiting are drawn from seven countries in the continent including Kenya, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda with Cote D’Ivoire joining for the first time.
“Fleetsimplify is thrilled to have been selected for the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa! We’re looking forward to working with the google team to bring sustainable shared mobility solutions in Africa,” said Balqis Chepkwony CEO of Kenyan startup Fleetsimplify which is a fleet management platform for shared mobility.
According to Aiyegbusi, Google for Startups Accelerator Africa programs are organised around a virtual bootcamp concept that includes seminars, one-on-one coaching sessions, and peer-to-peer learning opportunities.
To date, the programme has supported 82 startups from 17 African countries over the past four years raising $112 million collectively and created 2800 direct jobs.
In this time, Google has invested $5m through a combination of equity free funding and product credits for Google services.
“Google is committed to Africa’s growing startup and developer ecosystem. Providing end-to-end support and investment to startups pays off for everyone in the long run. As these startups grow, they advance their local economies, create jobs and opportunities, and provide solutions in their communities. A stronger African economy is great for everyone, and Google is committed to helping African businesses thrive,” added Aiyegbusi.
The other two startups include HydroIQ which is a virtual water network that gives consumers and utilities a single, transparent platform to manage their water consumption and management and Sukhiba which is a decentralised community-based commerce platform.