6 Rwandan Startups Selected To Receive Google Funding

The funding initiative for tech startups in Africa founded by Google has selected Six Rwandan startups qualifying to receive One hundred million Rwandan francs an equivalent of One hundred thousand US dollars ($100,000).

On the 6th of September 2022, it was announced that Sixty African startups have been qualified to receive a non-dilutive amount of One hundred thousand US dollars ($100,000) in cash as an award. Each startup will also receive Two hundred thousand US dollars ($200,000) worth of Google cloud credits. This was confirmed by a statement released by Google.

Asides from cash prizes, there is also a mentorship program that will be offered by the Google mentors and facilitators network. This program will be all hands-on technical and business inclined. They also learn an array of topics which will include Organisational culture, Growth strategies, Artificial, people management and many more.

Google commenced the initiative back in 2021 which it dubbed Google for Startups Black Founders Fund in Africa. The first cohort had Fifty startups from Nine African countries that qualified for its prize. The startups had raised about Eighty-Seven Million US dollars ($87 million) and they had created more than  Five Hundred (500) jobs through their organization.

The recent cohort is Google’s second, it had Sixty members of which fifty per cent of the startups were founded by women. The women-founded startups are going to have a total of Four Billion US dollars worth of funds.

Rwandan Startups That Qualified

• BAG Innovation: This is a digital platform, that gives users instant access to observational and experimental education for students in the university and recent graduates.
• Bailport: This platform functions as an inter-boarder and multi-currency payment platform. It is designed to enable within Africa transactions. Africans in diaspora can also send monies to their loved ones through Bailport.
• Exuus: Exuus empowers informal saving groups with a digital ledger, digital wallet, decentralised social credit score, and instant micro-loans to both groups and individuals.
• Kapsule: Functioning as a data processing and Medtech startup, through Kapsule, pharmaceutical companies, healthcare providers and insurers decide better what health service is best offered to a patient.
• PesaChoice: Designed to close the gap concerning finances, especially for low-income earners on the continent and compel more financial features.
• Pindo: this startup  is developed as a cloud communication platform for developers and for businesses