Founders Factory Africa (FFA) has announced that it has invested in five fintech startups that include Kenya’s Lipa later. The other startups are; Digest Africa, Kudigo, Allpro, and EazyHire.
Founders Factory Africa is a South African company operating across Africa delivering a corporate-backed accelerator and incubator. It is planning to build and scale 140 tech-based startups across four sectors over the next five years. In October 2018, Standard Bank was the first investor into Founders Factory Africa, with fintech as its strategic sector. Founders Factory Africa have invested in these businesses and have committed to scaling them through a bespoke six-month acceleration that includes tailored support from a specialist team including product design, tech engineering, data science, growth marketing, and investment. The startups will get $40,000 in cash and $280,000 in services.
Within the first few months of its launch, Founders Factory Africa received over 500 applications from leading fintech entrepreneurs across the continent. After a rigorous screening and selection process, five businesses from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Uganda were selected.
The five businesses are:
Schoolable (Nigeria) -is a school financing solution that collects money from parents and provides it to schools, with the ambition of providing credit to both parties in the future. Currently, the company has launched its software as a service (SaaS) platform and is building the technology that leverages the data created by schools and their interactions with stakeholders.
Lipa Later (Kenya) – is a lending marketplace for individuals for high-end goods. It provides individuals with great credit terms through a seamless digital platform at the point of purchase or online and allows them to redeem the goods in store.
Eazyhire (Nigeria) – is a peer to peer leasing platform with a presence in Nigeria and Kenya. The company has a technology-enabled platform that enables leasing solutions for the building and heavy machinery industries.
Kudigo (Ghana) – is a software as a service (SaaS) startup developing user-oriented retail solutions and big data for the consumer retail industry in sub-Saharan Africa. The company also offers “Storefront,” a mobile-based business management suite including a retail management suite, accounting module, non-cash payment processing and AI powered data analytics.
Digest Africa (Uganda) – is a single online platform where investors and corporates can access verified, tailored and real-time news about Africa’s early-stage technology companies. The news is fact-checked and up-to-date and includes analysis that is easy to consume and understand to guide profitable decision making.