Merck Accelerator is Seeking West African Startups for its Lagos Satellite Programme

In partnership with MEST incubator, Merck Accelerator has announced a Satellite Programme to run in Lagos, Nigeria, with applications now open to early-stage startups in West Africa.

Merck Accelerator Lagos Satellite Programme for Early-stage Startups in West Africa 2018 https://t.co/C0V6BrE55j pic.twitter.com/8gN4xKX9eJ

— talkOpportunity (@talkopportunity) July 4, 2018

The Lagos Satellite Programme would provide startups with a chance to explore potential collaboration with Merck’s innovation projects, and startups with innovative solutions related to healthcare, life sciences, and performance materials, as well as Merck’s innovation focus areas:

• Healthcare Access Solutions: Innovative startups with solutions addressing delivery of healthcare, financing therapies, healthcare connected logistics, community self-service enablement and affordable, and faster diagnosis.
• Biosensing and Interfaces: Startups integrating electronics and biology to develop groundbreaking medical treatment solutions, based on a unique mix of sensor data retrieval, machine learning, and curation expertise.
• Precision Farming: Startups with ideas using combinations of materials, analytics, and services that will help create a new kind of farming that is no longer dependent on the blanket application of agrochemicals to fields to feed an expanding global population in a sustainable way.

Interested startups should have an innovative solution related to any of the above, must have been operating for less than four years, and have at least two co-founders.

We’re hearing more about the #MerckAccelerator. Interested? Apply to the accelerator at https://t.co/1mqhXpcTZ4 pic.twitter.com/f6kjqSDqbE

— Seedstars (@Seedstars) July 4, 2018

The overall winning startup of the programme will receive $3,000 cash prize, a fully paid trip to Merck headquarters in Germany to pitch for partnership and collaboration on Merck’s projects, access to Merck training materials and networks, including its innovator academy TrainToInnovate (an interactive innovation platform to develop innovator skills and share experiences) and 12 months free office space at Seedspace Lagos.

So are you an early-stage startup based in West Africa, working on a cutting edge of innovation and would like to run a collaboration project with Merck to solve real-life problems? This is your chance! Applications are open until 20th August 2018.

You can click here to get started.

Satellite programmes are being held across Africa this year; with the Nairobi edition recently concluded and the Cape Town satellite programme currently also accepting applications until July 20.