Hisa App, is among the nine African startups selected for the €7.5 million Startup Wise Guys fund. Hisa is a mobile investment platform which allows anyone in Kenya to invest in U.S. stocks and ETFs using mobile money. It also provides educational content like news, podcasts and user generated discussions aimed at improving users’ financial literacy.
Selected startups for the fund are each eligible for €65,000 support for up to a 12% equity stake, as well as an intensive five-month accelerator program. They also have the chance to pitch for follow-on funding of up to €250,000. Startups were eligible to apply from Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda.
Other selected startups for the second batch of SWG’s Africa fund are Built Financial Technologies, Tunzaa Fintech, DT2 Technologies, Sortika, Naivera, Bunce, Zemo Card, Shipbubble.
The program, the first-ever African, B2B SaaS-focused accelerator, opened to applicants in October 2021, with the first batch of successful participants graduating in June 2022. The second round generated almost 500 applications. SWG selects and works with approximately 10 startups per batch, with plans to invest in 30 startups through 2023.
Despite a high media profile, Startup Wise Guys says meaningful support programs remain thin on the ground for very early-stage African startups with mainstream funding still focused on scale-ups. In contrast, SWG is focusing in Africa on its central mission – startups still in the very early stages of business evolution with a B2B business model. Its strategy is to be startups’ “first believers” and also a catalyst for ecosystem development.
To date, SWG’s total investment in African start-ups, including follow-on investments, already exceeds €1.2 million. The accelerator has trained 102 startups from the continent in acceleration and pre-acceleration programs, benefiting an estimated 6,100 people. SWG is actively working with six startups from Nigeria, six from Kenya, two from Ghana, and one each from Namibia, Uganda, Tanzania, and Ivory Coast.
