London-based startup accelerator Founders Factory has partnered with Standard Bank to launch its first international location in Johannesburg, South Africa to build and scale further 100 technology startups.
The accelerator has teamed up with Roo Rogers who will become CEO of Founders Factory Africa. Roo, a former partner at renowned design agency fuseproject and leader of the US & UK government-backed Spring accelerator, brings extensive experience working with entrepreneurs across Africa over the course of the past decade.
‘’Together we will be building out a 40 strong team over the next year as we scale our operations and announce additional corporate investors,” the firm said in a statement.
Founders Factory Africa Accelerator will offer an operational team of local and global specialists, a tailored and comprehensive 6-month program, corporate infrastructure and business opportunities, access to a local and Global VC and investment network and the wider Founders Family and ecosystem plus £30,000 cash and £100k+ in services.
It is looking for startups that are in-market, with customers/users, post-revenue (not necessarily profit-generating) and must also have a strong founding team. The startups should also be able to scale across Africa and must be technology-enabled.
“Founders Factory Africa will transform Africa’s startup economy by designing purpose-built scalable technology businesses, deliver new capital flows and develop the best talent,” said Roo.
“We will be creating and growing businesses in Africa across four sectors: health, energy, fintech and education. With a focus on scale, technology and impact, our businesses will serve the needs of economies that are facing unprecedented growth and demand for utility-based products and services.”
As the lead investor in Founders Factory Africa, Standard Bank is opening up its incredible infrastructure and vast assets to support Africa’s startup community. Fintech startups accepted into Founders Factory Africa will have access to branches, big data, insights into regulation, brand and customer acquisition, as well as capital structuring expertise.
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