Ten innovative African startups will participate in the Y Combinator (YC) Winter 2022 batch.
The W22 batch comprises 170 companies from all over the world, with roughly 6% coming from Africa – 7 from Nigeria and one apiece from Ghana, Uganda, and Ethiopia respectively.
Besides the $500,000 funding provided by YC, these startups will also test their mettle and work with some of the best investors, companies, and services throughout YC’s global network.
The startups selected for this batch also come from diverse sectors, including eCommerce, Fintech, KYC identity and digital freight brokerage, among others.
The YC W22 batch will run for 3 months, beginning in January through March 2022.
Now, let’s look at some of the African startups that’ll be taking part in the Winter 2022 batch.
10 African Startups Selected for YC W22 Batch
- Identitypass
- Tendo
- Frain Technologies
- Moni
- beU delivery
- Dojah
- Topship
- Eazipay Inc
- Numida
- Touch and Pay Technologies Limited
Identitypass (Nigeria)
Identitypass is a digital biometric identification platform that provides real-time identity verification using various government-issued ID numbers.
With Identitypass, businesses and individuals can conduct low-friction verification across multiple data channels with one line integration that eliminates time-consuming OTPs and KYC efforts.
Built on a combination of AI, biometrics and machine learning, Identitypass increases authentication accuracy while significantly decreasing costs and fraud.
Currently serving emerging markets in Africa, Identitypass was founded in 2017 by Lanre Ogungbe, Niyi Adegboye and David Obi.
Tendo (Ghana)
Are you looking to start your own online business, tired of driving traffic yourself, and making a small commission from everything you sell? Then Tendo is for you.
The Accra-based platform is redefining eCommerce for Africans by providing an avenue where merchants can start their own online business with no upfront investment.
With Tendo, you can list and sell any product of your choice through its network of trusted resellers globally.
The socio-commerce platform was founded by Felix Manford, Derrick Mungai, Evans Boateng and Primerose Katena in 2021.
Frain Technologies (Nigeria)
Frain technologies are changing the narrative of webhook infrastructure by delivering a customizable and secure way to receive, process and store data from applications.
In addition, the developer-focused platform allows you to build and deploy APIs needed to power your centralized application infrastructure, combining ease-of-use with rock-solid reliability for both developers and users.
Frain Technologies was founded in 2021 by Emmanuel Aina and Subomi Oluwalana.
Recommended Reading: Y Combinator 2022: How to apply and succeed at YC
Moni (Nigeria)
Moni is a suite of financial products — loans, savings, investments and micro-insurance — tailored to Mobile Money agents.
Powered by social trust, the Fintech platform allows you to borrow with no collateral required, basing your borrowing limit on the social trust established between you and your community.
In addition, every time you borrow or repay the money, your credit score will go up or down, respectively.
Because of the expensive and complex nature of bank loans, Moni provides a system where growing your business is more important than collateralizing your assets.
The community bank was founded by Femi Iromini and Adedapo Sobayo.
beU delivery (Ethiopia)
beU is an online food delivery service in Ethiopia that brings your favourite food to your door.
The on-demand, Addis Ababa-based startup, is changing the way we eat by making food delivery affordable (67% cheaper than competitors), fresh and fast.
Founded by Almas Beleshov, Matvei Vasilev and Hao Zheng in 2021, the food ordering platform aims to be the “super app of Africa”.
Dojah (Nigeria)
Dojah is a cloud-based service that lets you use identity and verification APIs without integrating with each one individually.
The Software as a Service (SaaS) startup offers businesses, developers, and governments easy access to identity and verification APIs.
In addition, the business intelligence platform enables you to convert prospective clients into active customers using a seamless data authentication system.
The Lagos-based startup was founded in 2020 by Tobi Ololade and Ayomide Oso.
Topship (Nigeria)
Topship is a B2B eCommerce platform that provides a comprehensive solution for shipping commercial freight, cargo, and parcels from the markets in Nigeria to their final destinations globally.
That’s not all, Topship acts as an intermediary between local merchants who need to get their goods shipped and the global logistics industry.
In addition, the logistics startup aims to become the primary distribution channel for cargo shipments in Nigeria and Africa.
Topship is the brainchild of Junaid Babatunde and Moses Enenwali. It was founded in 2020.
Eazipay Inc. (Nigeria)
Eazipay is solving the payroll and corporate tax-related problems for startups and SMEs by providing apps and API solutions.
The Fintech startup, founded by Asher Adeniyi, Kingsley Michael and Efosa Uwoghiren in 2021, helps businesses eliminate the tedium of using Excel sheets or direct debit by automating the payroll system.
Numida (Uganda)
Numida is the leading digital micro-loan service that offers fast, flexible and unsecured credit for small businesses in Africa.
Whether you’re planning a new product launch or expanding your business, Numida’s proprietary underwriting process enables them to verify businesses remotely and grow loan limits appropriately.
That’s not all, by using mobile money and remote verification methods, Numida’s users can get credit even in the world’s most remote and underserved markets.
In 2021, Numida provided 8,600 micro-businesses in Uganda with 30,000 working capital loans.
Ben Best, Catherine Denis and Mina Shahid found the Fintech startup in 2016.
Touch and Pay Technologies Limited (Nigeria)
Touch and Pay Technologies is an integrated mobile payment platform leveraging the use of Near Field Communications (NFC) technology and mobile devices to allow for a seamless payment experience.
The digital micro-transactions service allows individuals, SMEs and large corporations to transfer funds and receive digital content in a safe environment.
The startup was founded in 2019 by Olamide Afolabi, Michael Oluwole and Kabir Yabo.
Other continents represented in the YC W22 batch
- North America (78)
- Asia (45)
- Europe (18)
- Central America (2)
- South America (13)
- Oceania (1)
- Unspecified (4)
When Does the Next Batch (Summer 2022) Start?
Applications for the YC Summer 2022 batch are ongoing, and the process is fairly straightforward. It’ll take place from June to August 2022.
However, to apply and succeed at YC, there are certain key steps founders should keep in mind, such as:
- Make sure all the information you’ve provided in your application is relevant. Don’t skip any section.
- Include a short founder video (60 seconds) where you, as a founder, can talk about your exceptional idea.
- Don’t include fluff in your application, YC partners read hundreds of applications and at this stage, they just don’t have time for this.
- Let your application tell a unique story. Provide info about the founders and your product.
- Include a technical co-founder in your team who will help build the product.
- Prove you can bring your product to life (an initial prototype increases your chances).
Wrapping Up
These 10 promising startups will network and share ideas with other companies outside Africa, along with the full weight of the Y Combinator community behind them.
However, more companies may be added before the Winter batch begins. For now, these are the 10 companies representing Africa in this cohort.
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