Five investment-ready start-ups from DRC, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia have been identified for a US$5K grant through the Southern Africa Innovation Support Programme (SAIS) and Seedstars.

The start-ups, identified from the Investment Readiness Program (IRP) and eligible to receive the grant, are: Astech-Congo (DRC), UBI (Mozambique), Luma Law (South Africa), SUMET (Tanzania) and Mangwee (Zambia).

With the objective of increasing funding received by early-stage startups in SADC region, SAIS 2 and Seedstars held the IRP to improve the quality of entrepreneurs and save both founders and investors’ time in the fundraising process.

This is done through educational programs, ecosystem strengthening and networking activities, with a focus on ten countries on Seedstars program: Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi, Mauritius, and Mozambique.

The IRP 2019-2020 selected 15 start-ups with SDG-focused tech solutions and provided the participating entrepreneurs with a start-up education program that brought their solutions closer to being investment-ready.

The IRP was then followed by the Investor Roadshow where they provided the startups with the opportunity to present their companies and meet with investors that were interested in learning more about their solution.

Mangwee - Mangwee is a Zambian based mobile money transfer and remittance platform that enables learning institutions to process payments.

SUMET - Digitalise FMCG distribution by connecting suppliers and informal retailers saving their money, effort, and time through data-driven AI

UBI - A platform that connects people to their city to help them find the best places in town to eat, drink, shop, or visit.

Luma Law - Affordable and accessible access to practical, relevant and user-friendly legal information via chat platforms such as Facebook messenger.

Astech-Congo - Allows users to stay connected to their school or university, wherever they are and in real-time via smartphone.

According to the annual African Tech Startups Funding Report 2020, new funding records were set over the course of 2020, as 397 start-ups raised an impressive US$701.5-million in total funding.

Both these figures are up substantially on the previous year, with the number of funded start-ups increasing 27.7% on 2019, and the funding total growing by 42.7%.