Startupbootcamp Africa has chosen 22 startups for the selection days head of its second annual accelerator programme, which will be narrowed down to the final 10 after July 11-12.

The first-ever Startupbootcamp accelerator in Africa took place last year, and ended with startups signing 32 corporate agreements, including pilots and proof of concepts.

Applications for the second edition opened in February, with the Startupbootcamp team embarking on a tour scouting top-tier tech startups to join the three-month accelerator. In the end it hosted 19 FastTrack events in 15 countries across the globe.

By the end of the process, Startupbootcamp Africa had received 1,004 applications from five continents, a number which has now been narrowed down to 22 ahead of selection days on July 11-12.

These startups include eight from Nigeria, namely Bankly Technologies, Biyabot, CredPal, FriendsVow, Kudimoney Bank, Medikal HMS, NebulaPay, and ZEEZZ Planet Solutions. There are five from South Africa – Brandbookalytics Big Data, ifileme, LÜLA, Prospa and Akiba Digital – and three from Uganda: CoinPesa, RoundBob and Swipe 2 Pay.

Ivory Coast is represented by two startups, namely Digitech Group and DISTRICASH, as is Kenya, by Kakbima and MPost, while Ghana’s Inclusive Financial Technologies and Ireland’s Pago Payments make up the list.

From these 22 teams, 10 will be selected to join the 2018 cohort. Over the span of the two selection days, the startups will have the opportunity to present their pitches to corporate sponsors, investors, thought leaders and industry experts.

At the end of day two, the 10 startups taking place in the Cape Town-based accelerator, which kicks off in August, will be announced.

“It’s been an intense process due to the exceptionally high calibre of startups applying to the programme from across the continent,” said Philip Kiracofe, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Startupbootcamp Africa.

“One of the key differentiators for startups that participate in the accelerator is the opportunity to secure commercial contracts with our sponsors. In order to make it onto our Top 22, each startup has been chosen by at least two sponsors for potential proof of concept projects. The 2018 cohort is already shaping up to be a milestone moment for Africa.”

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