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Seed accelerator 88mph's Nairobi director Nikolai Barnwell spoke to Ventureburn about its upcoming three-month acceleration programme in the Kenyan capital: what they look for in a startup, mentors and the African investment space. Whether you're an entrepreneur considering entering the programme, or just interested in tech in Kenya and Africa, you won't want to miss this Q&A.What does 88mph value in a startup? Are you looking for innovation or sound business models?I don’t think they necessarily contradict each other. More ...
We've long lamented over how secretive Africa's startup communities are, especially South Africa and its crown jewel, Cape Town, which is supposed to be a beacon for the continent's entrepreneurial community. As an emerging market with defiant ambition we love to draw parallels between promising African innovation hubs and Silicon Valley, and yes there is promise, but we are sorely lacking openness, a cornerstone trait of successful entrepreneurial ecosystems.A lack of openness is perhaps as much a symptom of a ...
Have a sustainable business plan that needs funding? Emerging Stars might help you out. Operating mainly in emerging markets and driven by models of sustainability, the organization links entrepreneurs’ products and services with international investors and distributors. Although the website was launched in 2008, the site’s design recently got revamped into having “a sustainable business model” while also focusing on its “free business listings.”“Grow a business and save the world” reads the slogan of Emerging Stars.The initiative was founded by ...
If you've been following the news lately, you've probably heard about the bank heist where more than US$45-million got sucked out of ATMs around the world last week. If not, then you've at least been exposed to an internet scam or know someone who has. It's not just financial big shots or your granny who are vulnerable to scams and attacks though. Your business-- small or big, is a potential target.Now, the media is buzzing about cyber-security since the ...
An article published by The Economist earlier this year, quoted research by the pressure group, Partnership for a New American Economy, which found that some 40% of Fortune 500 firms were founded by immigrants or their children. An earlier report in 2011 entitled Immigrant Founders and Key Personnel in America’s 50 Top Venture-Funded Companies concluded that more than half of America's top 50 private venture-funded companies -- as ranked by Down Jones VentureSource -- were founded by immigrants.Read more on ...
People are spoiled for choice when it comes to email marketing services. For example, internationally there is MailChimp, iContact, Benchmark and Campaign Monitor, while Everlytic, and Graphic Mail have made their marks on the South African market. Dashing into the fray comes Total Send, an email marketing service from Cape Town. It's pièce de résistance? Aggressive pricing.Total Send's founder Luke Wingfield Digby believes that the pay-per-click (PPC) advertising and search engine optimisation (SEO) scenes have become too crowded and expensive. ...
Where there’s a problem there's a solution. Where there’s a solution there’s a business opportunity. Understanding what the gaps and success stories are in making a country ready for tech innovation and transformation is crucial for startups and potential investors alike. More relevant and better research could help define markets for potential entrepreneurs for example.Location-based services are also good examples of how mobile internet connectivity could increase a company’s effectiveness and its market reach. The availability of internet stimulates ...
It's obvious that Africa really is pushing an entrepreneurial agenda at the moment. Africa 2.0 is entrepreneurship competition aimed at bringing together startups in a workshop format following the Startup Weekend model.Africa 2.0 is a Pan-African organisation made up of more than 300 people from Africa and the Diaspora. According to the collective it shares a vision for Africa and "a commitment to finding and implementing sustainable solutions capable of leapfrogging the development of the continent".Read more on ...
Prodigy Finance is a fascinating company. It takes elements of micro-lending, as well as some proprietary risk-assessment practices, and applies them to MBA students seeking out funding. The result is effectively a loan network comprising of top MBA students, and alumni (the investors) from around the world -- including high net-worth individuals from emerging markets -- who can invest in their region's future business leaders.Founded by South Africans Cameron Stevens (CEO), and Ryan Steele (COO), the company is a registered ...
Leave it to the Kenyans to figure out a way to connect to the internet no matter where you are and without electricity. Currently attempting to raise a whooping US$125 000 on crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, BRCK is an Ushahidi initiative that hopes to solve internet connectivity issues in remote areas.The device is "the easiest, most reliable way to connect to the internet, anywhere in the world, even when you don’t have electricity," says open source information and mapping company Ushahidi. ...
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