Meet the 10 Nigerian startups selected for ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator

ARM Labs Techstars Accelerator, a Lagos-based program focused on building early-stage African startups, has announced its 2023 inaugural class. Of the 12 startups selected for this class, 10 are Nigerian.

The selection process involved interviews with Techstars Managing Director Oyin Solebo and a 15-member screening committee. Members of this committee included Ashim Octerra – Managing Partner, Octerra Capital; Olumide Soyombo – Voltron Capital; and Charlene Chen – Former COO of AZA Finance, among others.

Speaking on the startup selection. Oyin Solebo, Techstars’ Managing Director, said,

“Since the announcement that Techstars was coming to Lagos, there has been great anticipation about the selection of the inaugural cohort.”

After a competitive application process, we have chosen entrepreneurs who have the capacity to be exceptional founders, startups that have the potential to be industry leaders, and a cohort that is collectively capable of bringing innovation and change to Africa and the world.

Oyin Solebo, Techstars’ Managing Director

The startups selected for the accelerator program could get up to $120,000 in addition to training and access to Techstars’ extensive network of 7,000+ mentors, 20,000+ investors, alumni, and corporate partners. 

Read Also: Oyin Solebo named new Managing Director of ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator

alphabloQ, a Kenyan real estate investment platform founded by Trevor Kimani and John Mbui. to reduce the entry barrier for real estate investors by enabling investors to purchase a fraction of income-generating properties. and Cladfy, which provides microfinance lenders with credit profiling, digitised loan management, and access to affordable, reliable financing, are the only non-Nigerian startups in this cohort.

The 10 Nigerian startups selected for the ARM Labs Techstars Accelerator Program

Peppa.io

Founded in 2018 by Banky Alao, Bridget Yadua-Soremekun, and Emmanuel Obute, Peppa.io is a social commerce marketplace app looking to promote better transactional activities via social media platforms for African communities. It provides merchants with tools to help set up, manage, and grow their online business.

CDcare

Founded in 2020 by Tobi Odukoya and Deji Farohun. CDcare is an e-commerce marketplace that enables Africans to own gadgets/appliances and pay in instalments at zero interest. Its Buy Now Pay Later mission is to provide Africans with the simplest way to purchase items and meet their needs without running into high-value debts.

Flick

Founded in 2021 by Ruth Olojedeand Dipo Gbadebo, Flick is a fintech startup focused on building an African PayPal system that provides individuals with the opportunity to a fast contactless payment method across different bank accounts with one primary source through the integration of Quick Response (QR) codes.

Keble

Founded in 2018 by Emmanuel Oballa, Agulanna Josemaria, Adebisi Borokinni, and Valentine Offiah, Keble is a prop-tech startup focused on providing Africans accessible opportunities in the property investment market and the option to purchase fractional shares of global real estate. This is to help Africans create long-term wealth and achieve financial goals.

Keza Africa

Founded in 2022 by Aisha Hussaini, Keza is a fintech startup focused on powering smartphone financing for Africans. Providing them with the opportunity to buy smartphones with flexible monthly payments using embedded finances. Its goal is to make smartphones accessible for people in Africa.

Salad

Founded in 2022 by Chikodi Ukaiwe and Seunfunmi Omotunde, Salad is a fintech startup that offers employees better well-being, with access to financial services to create a more optimized workforce for companies in Africa.

The startup, in partnership with Africa-based employers, provide employees with an opportunity to access a portion of their salaries before payday to make ends meet.

Sidebrief

Founded in 2020 by Eunice Olopade, Abdulwaheed Yusuf, and Usman Sotunde, Sidebrief is a registration tech company focused on simplifying the process of starting and scaling a business across borders, with its one-stop solution for registration, banking, and regulatory compliance.

Sidebrief was one of the 12 sub-Saharan African startups selected for the Migration Entrepreneurship Prize in 2022.

Towntalk

Founded in 2022 by Folake Edun, Disun Vera-Cruz, and Tomiwa Erinosho, Towntalk is a data intelligence startup that provides a protection platform for logistic companies and FMCGs during goods movements by providing real-time location and behavioural analytics, vehicle tracking, access to affordable insurance, and proactive risk management solutions with its Area tool.

Vittas

Founded in 2019 by Sulav Singh, Collins Uche, and Eric Okemmadu, Vittas is a digital lending startup for healthcare providers, providing them access to cheap and affordable loans which require no collateral to support the purchase of medication and medical equipment.

Oystr

Founded in 2021 by Ifedolapo Lawal, Olusola Onajobi, and Omotayo Iginla, Oystr Finance is a digital lending startup focused on democratizing credit in Africa by providing lenders with an open data infrastructure to enable them to access millions of alternative financial data points on customers.

The partnership between ARM and Techstars to launch this accelerator program hopes to unearth the next set of Unicorns out of Africa.