Sometimes in life, the only way to leap before you walk is to learn from others’ mistakes. As an early-stage startup, especially a first-time founder, you do not want to make the mistakes and errors that founders before you have made, so what if you could learn from their mistakes? How is Techstars Accelerator Program helping new companies thrive?
Accelerator programmes 2021 or tech cohorts are uncommon privileges for founders to guardedly harness your ideas and processes through the right quarter.
Accelerators like Techstars are established specifically to equip founders as they build and grow their early-stage startup companies.
What is Techstars Accelerator Program?
Founded in August 1 2006, by Brad Feld, David Brown, David Cohen and Jared Polis. Techstars is a seed accelerator that helps early-stage companies with human and financial resources, from mentorship to funding.
Techstars is regarded by many as the Havard of the tech ecosystem. They’ve backed early-stage companies that have gone on to become Unicorns.
Onboarding on Techstars creates an opportunity to work with and learn from outstanding mentors and leverage their experience, skills, and network to create a platform where all Africans have access to at-home lab testing.
What you should know about Healthtracka?
Healthtracka is a Nigeria-based healthtech startup, it aims to create decentralised laboratory testing in Africa by providing home-based tests and digital results. The healthtrack startup has announced joining the Techstars Toronto Accelerator programme. In an interview the CEO reveals that the company’s main focus is to double down on the customer base and also increase its reach into more markets locally and internationally.
The startup currently operates in two major cities in Nigeria and is looking to expand across the country and then into more African countries.
Sunil Sharma, the Managing Director of Techstars Toronto speaking on accepting healthtracka said, the nature of the problem that Healthtracka is looking to solve was a major attraction. “Accessing healthcare in a timely manner is critical to protecting health.
This is something that we immediately imagined as a serious problem in Africa with massive populations and crowded healthcare settings combined with gridlock traffic and low doctor-to-population ratios.”
What you should know about RentSmallSmall
Nigerian property-tech startup Rent Small Small has become the first African prop-tech company to join Techstars Toronto Accelerator Program with its innovative and flexible pay-as-you-stay home rental solution. Founded by Tunde Balogun, the startup wants to help tenants who are not capable of paying huge amounts to own a house and a convenient way of paying.
Rent Small Small would be joining eleven other African Startups at this year’s programme.
What does it mean to join Techstars Accelerator Program?
Judging by this year’s programme, the three-month-long scheme will provide direct mentorship, funding, and access to a global network for the platform. The program will be held virtually this year and it will provide selected startups with funding ($100,000 convertible note and $20,000 stipend), mentorship and access to its network.
Participating startups also have the opportunity to operate from Canada.
African Startups who have joined Techstars Accelerator
Over the years, from the first accelerator class to the present, the number of selected African Startups keeps increasing. Only two African startups made the cut in the fourth class, the number from the newly-announced fifth class is fourfold. Another change is the total number of startups in a class which has increased from ten to twelve.
Out of the twelve, eight startups focused on the continent have been selected to participate in the three-month programme
The lucky African startups selected in Techstars Toronto’s October 2021 class are Lenco, OurPass, Healthtracka, Rentsmallsmall, Kyshi, Duhga, Fleri and PayDay.
Techstars still aims to multiply its investments in African startups per year to 24, according to Sharma. But so far, it has invested in 10 and a total of 13 since 2018.
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