MAY 29 – Nine startups are set to benefit from the Spark Accelerator Program, an initiative by Safaricom in partnership with M-PESA Africa and Sumitomo Corporation.
The program, which was launched last year and is being implemented by the iHub, seeks to grow and scale up commercially viable businesses that impact lives in society.
The nine startups were identified following a call for applications across different categories, including embedded finance, future fintech, SME productivity tools, and content.
Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa stated the program, with an ecosystem-based approach, will help link the selected startups to available markets and capital financing.
“Leveraging technology to drive meaningful innovation is a strong premise under which the Spark Accelerator program was founded. By supporting and investing in these tech-enabled startups, we aim to drive significant societal change and economic growth,” said Peter Ndegwa, CEO, Safaricom.
The first cohort of the program will include two startups under the embedded finance category, namely Chumz, a startup that is leveraging mobile money, gamification, and behavioral psychology to build a community of savers, and Nobuk, which is streamlining payment collection and reconciliation for African groups.
Four startups shortlisted under the SME Productivity Tools category are Chpter, which empowers businesses to sell more on social platforms including WhatsApp and Instagram by automating conversations, marketing, and payments all in one place through an AI-powered platform; Faidi HR, a one-in-all cloud payroll and HR platform for businesses; Churpy, which seeks to automate repetitive and manual tasks in the office of the ‘CFO’; and Twiva, a social-commerce platform that helps brands effectively gain access to markets by leveraging social media influencers to market their goods and services.
HealthX Africa, a data-driven primary health care provider offering hybrid digital and physical touch points with the goal of providing a doctor for every Kenyan, and BlackRhino VR, which enables creators and brands to tell immersive and interactive stories that are appealing to contemporary audiences, were shortlisted under the content category.
VunaPay, a platform for agricultural cooperatives that facilitates instant payment to smallholder farmers for produce delivered to the cooperatives, was shortlisted under the Future Fintech category.
Katsuya Kashiki, General Manager of Smart Communication Platform SBU, Sumitomo Corporation, affirmed that the selected startups will greatly contribute to the development of the nation and the economies of Africa.
“By leveraging our extensive global business know-how with excellent operations and customer base of Safaricom and M-PESA Africa, we are excited to expand digital financial services and contribute to the development of human resource and a more prosperous life through supporting and collaborating with advanced startups,” stated Kashiki, General MManager ofSumitomo Corporation.
Nissi Madu, Managing Partner at iHUB, added, “In alignment with our commitment to accelerating innovation for African prosperity, we are excited to welcome these startups into the programme. Their unique solutions harness transformative opportunities to leverage technology to significantly improve the quality of lives of millions of Kenyans.”
