Ten African startups have been chosen amongst 24 companies for Techstars Toronto, an acclaimed accelerator program, for its 2023 summer cohort. This edition of the program is aimed at celebrating a major milestone in the history of the accelerator’s history. It marks a pivotal step taken by the company to expand to Canada as well as other upcoming tech ecosystem markets.
The African startups are, CatalyzU (South Africa), MPOST (Kenya), Seso (Ghana), Ladder (Ghana), Payfi (Nigeria), Cutstruct (Nigeria), Chimoney (Nigeria), Reeple.ai (Nigeria), Oval (Nigeria), and Hulugram (Ethiopia). These startups solve major issues in tech and provide opportunities in other numerous sectors.
By choosing 10 African startups, Techstar continues to show its dedication to advancing tech industry and entrepreneurship on the continent. The Managing Director of Techstars Toronto, Sunil Sharma, revealed the program’s commitment to supporting innovation and entrepreneurship.
Sharma said: “This 100th investment from our Toronto fund showcases our dedication to fostering innovation in Canada, and in emerging markets. Moreover, we are lifetime partners to these founders, with skin in the game.”
Techstars Toronto has an acceptance percentage of merely 1-2%, this shows that tech development in Africa is undergoing a rapid transformation. Ever since its commencement in 2017, the program has made its 100th funding into startups all over the globe, 40% of the startups comes from Africa.
Techstars first investment in Africa was through Nigerian payment platform startup, Korapay in 2019. In 2020, they supported the cryptocurrency exchange framework Quidax and Flipay, a cross-border payment framework startup.
