Africa Unicorns will highlight potential future leaders of African tech in partnership with BCG X in Casablanca on 27 April.
African Unicorns, a startup promotion and support event, has unveiled the first class of 40 African startups that have been selected based on economic performance criteria such as fundraising, revenue growth, and market traction. The startups represent various fields including biotech, medtech, e-commerce, fintech, greentech, energy, mobility, AI, and big data, and come from different African countries. The event and awards are part of AfricaTech and will take place on 27 April in Casablanca.
Africa’s growing startup ecosystem
Despite being largely dominated by English-speaking African countries, such as Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, and Kenya, the African tech landscape is evolving rapidly. French-speaking African countries, including Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, and Senegal, are also becoming attractive territories for investors, according to African Unicorns. The number of startups in Africa has tripled in recent years, with the continent now being home to nearly a dozen unicorns, marking the growth of a thriving startup ecosystem with immense potential for further opportunities.
African Unicorns’ selection criteria
African Unicorns, in partnership with BCG X, the tech build and design unit of BCG, has identified and promoted exceptional African startups through a rigorous selection process. The startups were evaluated based on economic performance criteria such as fundraising, revenue growth, and market traction. This first edition of Africatech’s African Unicorns will award 8 trophies in 7 categories, including the ESG trophy, to the selected startups.
Diverse innovation
The 40 African startups selected by Africatech’s African Unicorns represent diverse fields of innovation, ranging from biotech and medtech to e-commerce and services, fintech and insurtech, greentech and energy, mobility and logistics, and SAAS, AI, and big data. These startups operate in various African countries, including Morocco, Senegal, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Rwanda, Togo, Egypt, Tunisia, Ghana, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), showcasing the widespread presence of innovative ventures across the continent.
Mehdi El Alj, founder of African Unicorns, said, “For the past few years, African start-ups have been investing in new fields of activity and deploying real disruptive innovations that provide an important competitive advantage in the African countries where they operate. Game changers in technological, industrial, medical and energy sovereignty, these start-ups will enable Africans to meet the challenges they face. We must support this enthusiasm and encourage the growth of a virtuous ecosystem around AfricaTech.”
The event will take place on 27 April, 2023, more details can be found here.
The selected startups are as follows:
Biotech and MedTech: 54gene; Biotessia; Carepoint (Africa Health Holding); LifeQ; mPharma and Yodawy
Ecommerce and Services: DabaDoc; MaxAB; TradeDepot; Trella; Wasoko (Sokowatch) and Yassir
Fintech and InsurTech: Asante Financial Services Group; FairMoney; Jumo; MFS Africa; M-Kopa; Moove Africa and PalmPay
Green Tech and Energy: Bboxx; Cloudfret; Daystar Power; Nithio; Solarise Africa and Zola Electric
Mobility and Logistics: Ampersand; Gozem; Kobo360; Max; Chari.ma, Planet42 and Sabi
SAAS, AI, Big Data: Gro Intelligence; Instagram; InstaDeep; Jambo (Financial Software); Ramani and RapidDeploy
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