Kevin Nyango
Google has started something big in Africa. The tech giant has handpicked three startups to participate in a forthcoming class of their launch-pad accelerator program.
Participants of the program involve two Nigerians and a South African tech startup. And according to ITNewsAfrica, the three tech startups will participate in the equity-free mentorship program.
The Launchpad Accelerator is targeted at assisting startups to make good use of Google’s technologies to help improve their business through proper mentorship.
A number of 24 tech startups were selected from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe to participate in the program. The program will start in San Francisco at the end of January 2018.
The African continent will be represented by three tech startups picked from South Africa and Nigeria.
In Nigeria, the two startups picked by the tech giant Google involves Paylater and Helium Health, an electronic medical record startups. Aerobotics, a company, a data analytics platform help farmers with yield optimization and cost-reduction through the provision of data. Aerobotics was the only tech startup selected from South Africa.
Google Launchpad Accelerator – A Program for Africans
According to the Google Developers Launchpad global lead, Roy Glasberg, he was happy about the Africa companies that were involved in the program and the diversifying of startups that will be participating in the program come 2018.
According to Glasberg, “The companies involved where startups from different parts of the world who are looking to tackle different challenges from improving breast cancer screenings to streamlining medical records in the African continent.
Google had in September, began a mentorship program aimed at supporting tech entrepreneurs in Africa. And now their Launchpad space is made available in Nigeria to support Africa tech also.
The Google Developers Launchpad in Africa will operate from the company’s Launchpad Space in Lagos Nigeria. According to IOL, the program is all about providing mentorship for Africa tech startups with everything they need to make their businesses sustainable,
Google has operated similar programs before but not in Africa. The Launchpad space opened in Nigeria would be the first of its kind outside the United States of America.
The application is currently open for the Google Developers Launchpad Africa program. Tech startups are hereby advised to turn in their applications for the first Africa Launchpad class that will take place in Nigeria in early 2018.
Tech startups in Africa countries such as Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, South Africa, and Uganda can apply as long as they have already succeeded in raising seed funding.
The three-month mentorship program will provide Africa startups with all the training and exposure they need for their business. And they will also go home with $3 million in equity-free support, public relation support, working space, travel and access to business and tech support from Google, Africa, and Silicon Valley for the next three years.
