One Autotech startup, a mom-and-pop company, and one fintech company are three of the successful Nigerian firms to be selected in the Y Combinator S21 batch accelerator program.
Mecho Autotech, which connects car users with mechanics and smart part vendors; Supplies, a B2B marketplace for mom and pop stores, and Lemonade Finance, a multi-currency payments company, would join 6 other African representatives in the program taking place in the Silicon-Valley-based accelerator.
Y Combinator, arguably the most popular accelerator in the world, organises a three-month-long accelerator programme twice every year for early-stage ventures around the globe. It also hosts a demo day, along with several investors from across the world, to invest in these ventures. Besides the financial aid and fine-tuning the startup’s pitch deck, it also supports and mentors them to deal with investors and acquirers.
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“We work intensely with the companies for three months, to get them into the best possible shape and refine their pitch to investors. Each cycle culminates in Demo Day, when the startups present their companies to a carefully selected, invite-only audience,” the company noted on its website.
Y Combinator has invested in many Nigerian companies including Flutterwave, Paystack, Kobo360, Kudi Bank, Cowrywise, CredPal, Tizeti, 54Gene, Releaf, among others.
Apart from Nigeria, other African countries that are represented include Egypt with companies like Amenli, a licenced online insurance brokerage; Odiggo, a car parts marketplace; and ShipBlu, a last-mile e-commerce delivery, and fulfillment company.
Morocco is represented by Chari, an e-commerce and fintech app for traditional retailers, and Freterium, a collaborative SaaS platform connecting organisations, people, and technologies in the logistics value chain. South Africa has only one representative in Floatpays, an on-demand wage access platform from South Africa.
