Viva Technology and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) announced today the top 45 start-ups that have been long-listed for the first edition of the AfricaTech Awards. This pan-African initiative, supported by Proparco, aims to recognize and support emerging start-ups that are driving innovation and development impact across the continent in three main sectors – Climate Tech, FinTech, and Health Tech. The 45 start-ups – 15 in each of the three Awards categories – have been selected from a total pool of more than 300 applications, with Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, and Morocco showing the highest participation rates. Overall, FinTech is the category that received the most applications (124), followed by Health Tech (95), and Climate Tech (93). Nearly 60% of the applicant start-ups have at least one woman on their board.
“The number and quality of applications received is a testament to Africa’s vibrant tech scene, which has proven to be resilient even in the face of the many challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Makhtar Diop, IFC’s Managing Director. “These Awards will help scale innovations in key sectors like climate tech, health, and financial services, which are critical to supporting the continent’s sustainable and inclusive growth.” The final winners (one per category) will be announced at the first AfricaTech Awards ceremony, which will take place during the 2022 edition of Viva Technology on June 15-18 in Paris. The three winning start-ups will benefit from access to the Viva Technology, IFC and category sponsors’ networks, as well as select one-on-one meetings with leaders and top executives in the tech industry.
“Africa is a breeding ground for talent and new ideas, and we are delighted to see so many innovative entrepreneurs participating in this first edition of the AfricaTech Awards,” said Viva Technology Co-Presidents Maurice Lévy and Pierre Louette, and Managing Director Julie Ranty. “It is a pleasure to be able to highlight these impactful start-ups and help promote their solutions across the continent and beyond.” The top 15 start-ups in the FinTech category, sponsored by Cassava Technology are Abela – South Africa ; Applied Logic Ltd – Nigeria Click2sure- South Africa; Crop2Cash – Nigeria; DreamCash – Cameroon; Duhqa – Kenya; eMaisha Pay – Uganda; Franc – South Africa; ImaliPay – Kenya; Lipa Later – Kenya; Neqabty – Egypt; Popote pay – Kenya; Premiercredit – Zambia; Proxalys – Senegal and SingPay – Gabon
The top 15 start-ups in the Health Tech category, sponsored by Orange , include Access Afya – Kenya; Aviro Health – South Africa; BokDoc – Egypt; Chefaa – Egypt; Keeplyna – Tunisia; Med – Tunisia; Meditect – Qatar; Primed E-Health – France, Nigeria, Uganda; SonoCare – Nigeria; Vekta Innovations – South Africa; Vula Mobile – South Africa; Wala Digital Health – Ghana; Welnes – Egypt; Zencey – Ivory Coast; Zuri Health – Kenya. The top 15 start-ups in the Climate Tech category, sponsored by New Energy Nexus, include: AGROTECH PLUS – Kenya; ATLAN Space – Morocco; Bekia – Egypt; Easy Matatu – Uganda; Eco-V GreenTower – South Africa; Farmtopia – Egypt; Ipren Group – Nigeria ; iShamba Limited – Kenya; Koolboks – France, Nigeria, and 12 additional countries Kumulus – France and Tunisia; MyJouleBox (Aress) – Benin; Seavo – Egypt SUNPave – Egypt; The Awareness Company – South Africa; WEEE Centre – Kenya
