The Baobab Network (TBN), a Nairobi-based accelerator that invests in early-stage technology companies across Africa, has announced its latest cohort of investee companies.
The cohort of five start-ups, which includes businesses in Egypt, Nigeria, and Zambia, joined a three-month intensive growth program at the beginning of March. Companies in this cohort span a wide range of sectors including FinTech, RegTech, Lending and HR Analytics.
Speaking on TBN’s new cohort approach to investing, Arthur Chupeau, Head of Ventures at TBN, said that “We felt now was the right time to launch our cohort investment model, as the quality of companies that we see in our pipeline has improved dramatically since we first started investing in 2019.
“We now see over 1500 applicants each year, and in the past 24 months we’ve processed applications from companies in more than 50 African countries – so our brand reaches these days is huge. Our goal is to be the preferred partner for every entrepreneur in Africa that wants to raise their first cheque” he went on to say.
More details on the new cohort can be found below:
Sidebrief; Nigeria-based start-up helping African companies build across borders by streamlining legals, incorporation, company admin, banking and regulation through their APIs.
Opus Analytics; Egypt based technology company building HR and people analytics software for SMEs and corporates in the MENA region and beyond.
Lendha; Full-stack, tech-led lending platform, disrupting Nigeria’s multi-billion-dollar SME credit space.
GoodTalent; A Nigeria and UK based talent marketplace for companies to crowdsource, screen, hire and pay engineering talents globally, for full-time, remote, and contract roles.
Mighty Finance; Fintech and lending platform for SMEs in Zambia, helping businesses access trade finance to unlock new growth.
The five new companies, who each received $25k in funding and an intense program of growth support, join 20 other start-ups that TBN has invested in since it launched its accelerator in 2019. Start-ups in the cohort will pitch at an online demo day early June, which investors can register for here.
TBN’s portfolio also includes Series A backed Alerzo (backed by FJ Labs, Nosara Capital, and Galaxy Digital) and leading Nigerian Fintech Shago Payments. TBN’s portfolio is now spread across 11 different African countries, and it describes its mandate to be “proudly sector and geography agnostic within Africa”.
Commenting on TBN’s model, Wanjiku Kimani, a Venture Partner at TBN, said that “alongside our funding, we see our core role as an accelerator as being to help founders navigate those tough early months of scaling their business; getting to product-market fit, iterating their product and building revenue traction. We work closely with founders to prepare them for a bigger seed round within 6-12 months of joining us”.
“Our permanent capital structure allows us to make very long commitments to the entrepreneurs that we back,” said Christine Namara, a Venture Partner at TBN. “In the past three years, we’ve built a community of more than 1500 co-investors around the world who actively look to support and back our portfolio as they come through the accelerator”, she added.
Applications are now open for TBN’s next cohort which kicks off in June 2022. Any founders interested can apply online at thebaobabnetwork.com/apply.
