Ten startups have been admitted into the first cohort of the BoP-focused New Economy Accelerator (NEA) program in South Africa.
Geza Jozi,a waste and transport management startup from Gauteng, Khona Cafe, Last Mile for BoP, Let’s Go Trade, Naturally Good, Sidingulwazi Co-Op, Umgibe, Use-It, Y-Waste and agritech startup, Zuka, are the startups that will receive support and funding at the accelerator programme in 2015.
The programme will begin in October and will be led by Mao Amis, the convener of NEA and program manager, Nikiwe Solomon, according to an NEA news release.
“Over the course of the next 9 months, the 10 enterprises will receive expert one-on-one coaching, high-quality skills training workshops and intensive business support,” says NEA, “as well as access to finance to grow their businesses.
NEA began taking applications in the program last month. The application, limited to businesses in South Africa, was followed by a 2-week selection process by “new economy” experts and members of the African Transition To a New Economy (ATTANE) – NEA.
The NEA accelerator program is established to cater to startups focused on low income and bottom of the pyramid (BoP) sector of the population.
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