Techstarsthe most active startup investor in Africa, held its second pan-African demo day in partnership with Lagos-based innovation program ARM Labs.
Driving The News
The ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator The Showcase Day took place on February 20 at the Balmoral Convention Centre, Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos. The event featured presentations from the stellar second batch of Techstars from across the continent, marking the end of an immersive three-month accelerator program.
Startups pitched to Techstars’ vast network of investors, advisors, senior executives and ecosystem leaders, revealing achievements and future plans while competing for strategic partnerships and commercial collaboration.
Digging deeper
In addition to the startup presentations, the event featured a lively panel discussion with key figures in the African tech and Venture Capital ecosystems, exploring the state of VC funding and innovation in Africa.
Participants included:
- Olumide Soyombo, Partner at Voltron Capital.
- Biola Alabi, Partner at Acasia Ventures. and
- Ovo EmorhokporFounding partner at Beta.Ventures.
The event also attracted the attention of more than 480 industry leaders and investors, including Idris Bello, Founding Partner at LoftyInc Capitalarge; Tosin Faniro- Dada, Partner at Breega; Eloho Omame, Partner at TLCom Capital, Victor Sada, Head of Ventures & M&A at Interswitch; Bode Abifarin, Former Chief Operating Officer at Flutterwave; and Olusegun Adeniyi, Chief Digital Officer at Wema Bank, who were present.
An additional 2,500 spectators Participationed online via YouTube and Linkedin.
The second cohort of the ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator, selected from over a thousand applicants across Africa included;
For the past 13 weeks, along with the $120,000 each in investmentstartups received comprehensive training and mentoring from leading industry experts in the form of workshops on Go-to-Market Strategies, Financial Modeling, Customer Acquisition, Investment Readiness, People & Leadership, Legal & Governance and Product Management.
In addition, selected startups gained access to more than 300 perks, worth more than $4 million in savings, and will benefit from lifetime access to the Techstars global network.
In her demonstration day greeting, Oyin Solebo, CEO of ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator;stated, “At Techstars, we are committed to empowering entrepreneurs through our accelerators, venture capital, and network of investors, companies, and advisors across cities. We strongly believe that entrepreneurs are the driving force behind a better future for all, and our mandate is to ensure that they succeed. As the most active pre-seed investor in the world, we are also proud to be the most active startup investor in Africa. In collaboration with ARM, we developed a program aimed at highlighting remarkable innovation and talent on the continent. We’re excited about the 12 companies we’ve backed, each leveraging technology, data and intelligence to serve a population that’s growing in size, youth, income and digital access“.
The exciting program of events also featured a keynote address by Adetayo BamiduroCo-founder of Max.ng, the first African startup selected for a Techstars program. Adetayo highlighted the profound impact Techstars has had on his startup since its selection in 2015, and also shared important insights on the lessons, milestones and growth opportunity Africa offers.
The US Consulate’s Deputy Political and Economic Chief, Kenise Hill, also gave a speech, highlighting the US’s commitment to trade with Africa and its focus areas – technology, healthcare, renewable energy and food security.
What they say
In the closing address, Sadiq Mohammed, Deputy Group CEO of ARM Holding Companyrevealed, “We are pleased to partner in this innovative program where our goal was to expand our horizons and improve our processes, introduce a new asset class to clients and contribute to the growth of the ecosystem. We are excited about how these goals are being met based on the success of the program and the inherent impact of the selected startups.
Despite the difficult market and macroeconomic climate, we maintain a positive outlook, knowing full well that the best market-creating innovations thrive best when value chains and markets are restructured. We believe this cohort is well positioned for success.β
Oluwadunni Fanibe, Program Officer in the ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator he also commented on the progress made by the founders in recent weeks. She stated βThroughout the program, the team demonstrated genuine enthusiasm, passion and dedication, qualities that are highly valued by investors. They’ve mastered articulating and executing their business models, also honing their pitching skills along the way. The program has empowered them, taking them to the next stage of their business journey and we wish them continued success.β
As the founders presented their startups’ product-market fit, track record and growth opportunity, he highlighted the ingenuity and opportunities that abound in the African market. The event now lays the foundation for subsequent investment and innovation in the coming months for the team.
With plans underway for a third intake cohort later this year, applications will open in mid-May. However, startups can show interest early on here.
Follow us on our WhatsApp channel, Twitterand Instagramand subscribe to our weekly newsletter to make sure you don’t miss any news.
Related