Oracle has announced support of Ksh. 113.6 million (USD 1 million) for tech startups in Africa. The support will help accelerate their digital initiatives with the latest cloud technologies and business resources. In line with this, Oracle will provide extra resources and support to technology startups across Africa over the next two years, led by Oracle for Startups.
This program follows Oracle’s recent announcement of the opening of its first cloud region in Africa to meet the growing demand for enterprise cloud services in Africa. The Oracle Cloud Johannesburg Region will boost cloud adoption across Africa while also helping businesses achieve better performance and drive continuous innovation. The opening marks Oracle’s 37th cloud region worldwide with plans to have at least 44 cloud regions by the end of 2022, continuing one of the fastest expansions of any major cloud provider.
As part of the program, Oracle will offer Cloud credits of up to Ksh. 1.14 million (USD 10,000) for 100 startups. This is in addition to hands-on technical support, executive mentoring, go-to-market resources, and customer engagements. Interested African tech startups can find out more information and apply to this program by visiting the program website.
“At Oracle for Startups, we help startups grow from grassroots through scaling. Africa is a hotbed for tech entrepreneurs, and we have witnessed a 91 percent growth in enrolments from South African startups, and 39 percent growth from over 13 other African countries within the last year. The investment will further boost the efforts of tech entrepreneurs in Africa to utilise the latest digital technologies for the success of their startups,” said Jason Williamson, Vice President, Oracle for Startups.
A recent report from IDC notes the importance of corporations supporting startups to help further spur innovation, and had this to say about Oracle for Startups, “Highly valuable to the startup community. Not only do they provide technology support, but they also provide benefits aligned in business areas such as marketing, market access, business knowledge, and expertise.”