Four Nigerian startups have been selected for the IMPULSE accelerator program in Morocco dedicated to agri-tech and biotech startups. The startups, Farmcrowdy, Social Lender, Coldhubs and Foodlocker were among the 16 startups from nine different countries selected for the 3-month program.
Accounting for the most startups from a country, the Nigerian set of startups is impressive as it cuts across various verticals.
Founded in 2016 by Onyeka Akumah, Farmcrowdy has helped to connect small-scale farmers to sponsors who fund their farming project while also providing them with a ready market for their goods. Since launching, the startup has over 25,000 farmers on its platform with operations across 14 states.
Foodlocker is an agritech business based in Ibadan, Nigeria. The startup runs an online and physical space for the sale of its agro-products across the country. Coldhubs is also another startups solving a key issue in the agricultural space – waste. This the startup does by providing cold storage units powered by solar energy hubs to small farmers across Nigeria.
Social lender is a Fintech startup. Founded in 2015, the startups provides credit facilities to individuals by studying their social reputation online. The startup analyses data from a user’s social media handle to get the understanding of the user’s creditworthiness.
These startups alongside 12 others from 8 African countries are expected to take part in the accelerator to move their startups forward.
Designed by MassChallenge, a global accelerator organisation, the non-profit and impact-focused accelerator is aimed at startups in the fields of agri-tech, biotech, nanotech and mining tech.
Selected participants will be assisted to take their startups to the next level over a period of 12 weeks. At the end of the accelerator program, there will be a demo day where the top tech startups stand a chance to have a share of the $250,000 equity free prize.