Itanna, the venture platform launched by Honeywell Group in 2018 is set to invest as much as $3 million in ten startups for its 2019 Accelerator Programme.
The platform made the announcement on Monday as it called for applications from tech startups in Lagos. The number of startups was increased to ten compared to 2018 when only four were accepted. Additionally, each of the ten startups will receive $30,000 at the end of the four months programme, an increase compared to the first cohort in 2018 which got $25,000 each.
Accounteer, KoloPay, Tradebuza and PowerCube were the pioneer cohorts in 2018 after an intense selection process that began with over 200 applications. At the end of the programme, Itanna invested $25,000 in three startups including Accounteer, Tradebuza and PowerCube.
“Itanna will support investee companies to scale up their startups by leveraging Honeywell Group’s extensive network, industry expertise and most importantly access to capital,” says Tomi Otudeko, director, Itanna and head, Innovation and Sustainability at Honeywell Group.
Selected companies also received training and mentorship in the form of UI/UX Sessions, legal and HR workshops, classes on technology, business and marketing, reviews of revenue/pricing model and operational metrics, mentorship sessions and guest lectures from some of Africa’s most renowned entrepreneurs and business icons. The 2018 edition ended with a demo day, which provided opportunities for the cohort companies to present their businesses to investors.
Applications for the 2019 accelerator programme are open from 18 March 2019 to 19 April 2019. Itanna will be increasing the number of cohort companies for the 2019 programme to 10 and the investment amount to $30,000. The programme will run from June 2019 to September 2019 and will also culminate in a demo day where the cohort will pitch their start-ups to investors.
“We are more than ready to receive and review applications from start-ups across Africa and we are even more excited by the opportunity to work with another set of innovative, passionate and committed young tech entrepreneurs in the 2019 accelerator programme,” says Tony Idugboe, vice president and head, Investments at Itanna.
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