Grace Ashiru
Google’s new focus on gender parity has birthed the launch of a new program to empower women entrepreneurs in African countries. As of 2022, Google’s Black founders fund achieved 100% gender parity, a milestone that other accelerators like Y combinators and tech stars are yet to achieve.
The initiative called the Google For Start-ups Accelerator Africa: Women finders cohort chose 15 women-led startups from eight African countries to receive intensive training, mentoring, and investment network opportunities. Google’s main purpose is to back women who are leveraging innovations and technology to develop solutions that solve Africa’s pressurizing challenges.
The 15 selected start-ups include;
Gobeba: a digital retailer of household essentials delivered in African urban cities. Farmer lifeline: a start-up in Kenya that provides agri-tech solutions which detect crop pests and diseases before it damages the yield.
Mipango: a localized app where women get personalized financial advice and the app is still of use to the mass market in Tanzania. Afriwell Health: based in Congo, they match patients with healthcare professionals globally quickly and efficiently.
Zydii: This is an online learning platform with courses tailor-made for Africans to help them improve in all areas of their lives, especially business.
Smart Ikigega: helps farmers to manage their harvest and get a pre-harvest market connection, which is one of the easiest ways farmers can get customers before harvesting their crops in Rwanda.
Alajo App: is a traditional saving piggy bank that allows non-smartphone users to save every day through banking with its agents. Maxi Buy: is an e-commerce platform in Nigeria where everyday products can be bought at wholesale price when bought in bulk.
Kola market: helps your small business drive more sales through innovative sales, marketing, and financing.
MosMos is a save-to-buy platform for Africa.
Hepta pay: is a bill payment that interfaces card payment with mobile money accounts, easing diaspora inflows in Rwanda.
Jem HR: this is a simple web-based application for HR and payroll used by managers to communicate with their entire workforce using WhatsApp in South Africa.
Suitch: is a youth-focused mobile money platform. It provides digital financial services to the under-banked and unbanked populations to foster growth in Cameroon. Tyms Africa: provides instant microcredit for micro businesses.
eWaka: is a ride-sharing platform offering on-demand electric micro-mobility for personal use and sustainable logistics for delivery businesses.
In addition, Google is also launching the Hustle Academy, a training program for women in business in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. The program will empower women-led SMEs through intensive training to help them push up revenue, prepare for investment opportunities and build continual businesses for the future. SMEs make up the most important areas of most African economies, accounting for 48% of the national GDP and 84% of employed Kenyans in Kenya. However, most SMEs in Africa crumble within the first five years of operations because of several reasons, including mismanagement and insufficient finance to maintain the business.
Google is joining forces to help and empower African female entrepreneurs using various methods. Therefore, the various programs started by Google gave women-led SMEs the power to create more jobs by establishing sustainable businesses.
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