23 Nigerian startups to benefit from Google’s $4m

Nigeria has topped the selection of 60 eligible startups across Africa to benefit from Google’s $4 million funding.

The fund will enable the startups to scale up their ongoing work.

Google announced that 23 Nigerian startups are selected for the programme, Kenya with 12 grantees, and Rwanda with six grantees.

South Africa had five grantees and Uganda had four grantees.

Botswana and Senegal have one selected startup each, Cameroon and Ghana both have three grantees each while Ethiopia has two selected grantees.

The programme, which is called Google Black Founders Fund (BFF) for startups in Africa, is the second phase of the global tech giant’s funding for African startups.

Folarin Aiyegbusi, Google’s Head of Startup Ecosystem, Sub Sahara Africa, said in a statement that the startups joining the programme would receive a total of $4 million in funding.

Aiyegbusi said that each of the selected startups would receive support in the form of a six-month training programme that includes access to a network of mentors to assist in tackling challenges,” Aiyegbusi said.

According to him, the startups will also be part of tailored workshops, support networks and community building sessions.

Aiyegbusi said that the 60 grantees would also get non-dilutive awards of between $50,000 and $100,000 and up to $200,000 in Google Cloud credit.

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He said that grantees, made up of 50 per cent women-led businesses, hailed from Botswana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda.

According to Aiyegbusi, the startups specialised in sectors such as fintech, healthcare, e-commerce, logistics, agtech, education, hospitality and smart cities.

Aiyegbusi said that the Google for Startups programme, which was launched in April 2012, had created over 4,600 jobs and raised more than $290 million dollars in funding.

He added that the programme would introduce the grantees in Africa to Google’s products, connections, and best practices.

The funding for the programme will be distributed through Google’s implementation partner, CcHUB.

The equity-free cash assistance would enable the startups to take care of immediate needs such as paying staff, funding inventory, and maintaining software licences.

The Star