Three Nigerian start-ups, 9 others to showcase businesses at Investors’ Summit in S/Africa

Venture Capital for Africa (VC4A) has announced the 12 ventures (11 Series A and 1 Seed+) for its 2019 Venture Showcase.

According to the firm, these companies represent the best investment opportunities on the African continent.

“They have been vetted by 40 VC investors through a rigorous referral and selection process.

“The companies demonstrate strong revenues and competitive edge, are well-positioned for regional and internal expansion, and are working on important innovations in the healthcare, finance, transport, commerce and advertising sectors.

“The founders will showcase their businesses in front of the investors at Africa Early Stage Investor Summit in Cape Town on 13-14 November 2019, with the aim of raising $250k-$5mln in Series A capital.

“All companies provide technology-intensive or innovation-based products or services that are currently available in one or more African markets,” a statement from VC4A read.

The 12 companies are: CredPal (Nigeria), CrowdForce (Nigeria), LifeBank (Nigeria), 7keema (Egypt), Brimore (Egypt), Buseet (Egypt), FinChatBot (South Africa), FlexClub (South Africa), Mobiz (South Africa), Snapnsave (South Africa), Yassir (Algeria), and VRapeutics (Egypt) for the Seed+ category.

Before the main event billed for Cape Town next month, these 12 selected start-ups will be linked to top Venture Capital (VC) investors as mentors in the coming weeks and receive bespoke investor readiness training that culminates in a 1-week residency in Cape Town, South Africa, the organiser stated.

“During the residency, the start-ups will have the opportunity to interact with and learn from their mentors, peers, and partners, before delivering their pitches on the main stage of the Africa Early Stage Investor Summit.

“The programme offers two days of networking opportunities at the Summit, where entrepreneurs will also engage with interested investors during deep-dive sessions.

“Moreover, the participants will pitch to a wider audience of corporate investors and tech professionals at VC4A’s partner event, AfricaCom.

“Investor participation has been outstanding this year, with 40 major VCs and multiple angel groups involved in the intensive vetting process.

“We believe initiatives like this help to build trust and foster collaboration between industry stakeholders, and importantly, create both co-investment opportunities and exit opportunities for our partners,” it added.

See details about the twelve companies below:

1. 7keema is a technology-enabled healthcare services platform that enhances the accessibility and quality of nursing services while empowering female nurses everywhere.
2. Brimore is a social commerce platform that enables manufacturers to grow on a national scale through a powerful commercial arm of individuals, selling the products to their surrounding circles via all possible channels.
3. Buseet operates private high-end buses in transporting daily commuters, allowing businesses and employees to book trips on predefined routes through their apps.
4. CredPal is a financial technology company that enables consumers to make purchases across online/offline merchants and pay in fixed monthly instalments by providing them with instant access to credit at the point-of-sale and also on credit cards.
5. CrowdForce is building an ecosystem of 1 million merchants that will render penetrative market research and financial inclusion services to the billions of consumers in Africa and other emerging markets.
6. FinChatBot develops bespoke Artificial Intelligence-powered chatbots to help financial service providers acquire and retain customers while reducing operating costs.
7. FlexClub is a managed marketplace helping independent drivers on digital platforms access vehicle ownership based on their skills while simplifying how purpose-driven investors can earn competitive returns from funding commercial fleets.
8. LifeBank is a medical distribution company focused on transporting supply chain-sensitive medical products such as blood, vaccines, and oxygen in developing countries using high and low technologies as well as smart logistics.
9. Mobiz is a powerful yet easy-to-use software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that offers businesses of all sizes cutting-edge customer engagement. Mobiz’s proprietary SmartSMS product combines the ubiquity of established mobile channels with the personalization of the web to create unique calls to action.
10. Snapnsave is South Africa’s #1 cashback coupon app that gives shoppers and independent traders cashback when shopping in-store, just by snapping a photo of their shopping receipts.
11. Yassir is an innovative transportation service that can be used with your smartphone anywhere, anytime. It allows everyone to book a driver and to move safely.

12. In the ‘Seed+’ investment category is VRapeutic. It develops virtual reality software for therapy, with a focus on learning disabilities and developmental disorders, such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and cerebral palsy.