Africa’s leading Telecommunications company, Telecel Group, is set to roll out its flagship social accelerator and investment program, the Africa Start-up Initiative Program (ASIP) powered by Startupbootcamp AfriTech in Ghana beginning next week.
The ASIP/SBC/AfriTech scouting team will be in Accra on 27th October 2022 to scout for prospective start-ups for enrolment in the program after holding similar events in Abidjan, Lagos, Kampala, Addis Ababa, and Nairobi.
Applications for Cohort 3 of the ASIP Accelerator program which will be launched in February 2023, opened in August this year.
“We usually encourage start-ups to attend the country FastTrack events to enable them to get real time feedback from our panel of experts. From our experience, about 20 percent of start-ups that attend the events usually make it to the final round. It is a fantastic opportunity to network with our investment team and get more information about the program”, said Henry Ojuor, the Director of the Accelerator Program.
The Ghana FastTrack to be held at the Accra Digital Centre, coincides with Ghana Digital Innovation Week.
“The Ghana Digital Centre (GDCL) is excited to host the Fasttrack event. It comes at a time when GDCL is intensifying collaborations with key stakeholders to identify and create opportunities that accelerate the growth of digital start-ups in line with its objective of fostering innovation and entrepreneurship through the provision of platforms for business incubation, business acceleration, digital research, and development programs”, said Kwadwo Baah Agyemang, the Managing Director of the Ghana Digital Centre.
The Executive Deputy for Telecel Group and Director of ASIP, Eleanor Azar, said: “The potential we see in Ghana is exponential and we look forward to welcoming more Ghanian Start-ups to ASIP. The support of the Accra Digital Center to pursue our goals in Ghana and launch the ASIP Initiative has been instrumental, and we look forward to more events like this”.
The upcoming cohort will include businesses disrupting key industry verticals that include FinTech, InsureTech, AgriTech, Climate-tech, eCommerce, Digital Health, CleanTech, Mobility, Micro-leasing, and digitizing the informal economy.
Founded by Telecel Group CEO, Moh Damush, the Telecel Group ASIP is designed to develop new businesses across the continent by working with start-ups and early-stage companies to define their business strategy and secure funding. With the support of leading pan-African tech accelerator, Startuobootcam AfriTech, the program has since 2021 empowered 21 businesses with a combined valuation of over USD 80 million.
ASIP is supported by partners such as DER/FJ (a Department of the Republic of Senegal), the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO), ENRICH in Africa (a European Union-funded project), AWS, Microsoft, and Google.
If you are a founder looking for support, register to attend: https://bit.ly/FT-Startup
If you are an investor or ecosystem player looking to share insights and give feedback to founders, attend as a mentor: https://bit.ly/FT-Mentor
Applicants can apply here: bit.ly/SBC-Apply3
About the Africa Startup Initiative Program
Africa Startup Initiative Program (ASIP) is a Telecel Group social investment accelerator Program to develop and scale up the next generation of tech businesses and entrepreneurs for the African continent. Targeting mainly Tech start-ups with an emphasis on the African market, the Africa Startup Initiative Program aims to help its target beneficiaries, redefine their business models, and scale up with the right investment and guidance. The initiative created the first virtual accelerator program launched across Africa and has a range of exciting and successful start-ups from several African countries. www.asiprogram.com
About Telecel Group
Telecel Group operates in four different lines of business all under the telecom industry: (1) Telecel Mobile, owns and operates several mobile operators in Africa and Europe; (2) Telecel Global Services, provides wholesale, enterprise, and digital security services to telecom operators and enterprises worldwide; (3) Telecel Play, a digital platform that is digitizing mobile users; and (4) Africa Startup Initiative Program supports innovative start-ups in Africa and offers them funding and guidance to scale up. For more information on the Telecel Group program, visit http://telecelgroup.com
About Startupbootcamp AfriTech
Startupbootcamp AfriTech was launched in 2017 as the first multicorporate-backed pan-African start-up accelerator. They run world-class accelerator programs, work with some of the most disruptive start-ups on the African continent and provide access to a global network of corporate partners, investors, and mentors. For more information visit http://bit.ly/sbcafritech