Kenyan startups, Vutia and Tripitaca are 5 African startups that stand to benefit from funding by The Baobab Network. The Baobab Network is an accelerator that invests in early-stage tech companies across Africa, where each investee secures US$50,000 in funding.
The Baobab Network has been accelerating startups with capacity building and fundraising since 2019 and accepted its last cohort at the beginning of March. It recently upped its standard investment to US$50,000, and has now made five more investments to take the size of its portfolio to 35 startups
Vutia, is a B2B cosmetic marketplace that seamlessly connects informal retailers of cosmetic, beauty, and personal products with top brands and suppliers; and Tripitaca, a travel tech company that enables accommodation providers to increase their revenue by improving occupancy rates, as well as providing them with an operating system and access to affordable financial services.
Another two are from Tanzania, in the shape of Medikea, a patient-centric telemedicine platform that offers full patient autonomy via on-demand consultation, at-home tests and diagnostics; and Swahilies, an SME book-keeping platform that allows SMEs to record their transactions and manage their businesses as well as send and receive payments.
The cohort is completed by Nigeria’s Messenger, a last-mile service providing end-to-end logistics and supply chain solutions for clients in cities across Nigeria. Each company received a cash injection of US$50,000, and a programme of bespoke and expert-led venture support. Through demo day they got access to leading angels and VCs, both in Africa and around the world.
“We are really proud of this cohort. Each team is made of excellent executors who are trying to solve big problems within their markets. We have seen their ability to make exponential progress in a short amount of time and we think that with our support and funding, they are now ready to scale rapidly,” said Wanjiku Kimani, admissions lead at The Baobab Network.