A partnership between Safaricom, M-PESA Africa, and Sumitomo Corporation was established last year. The board and shareholders of Safaricom approved the reorganization of the Spark Fund, which resulted in the creation of the Spark Accelerator. A group of experts and founders will be employed by the Spark Accelerator to accelerate product development in a variety of market areas.
The businesses that were chosen came from a competitive application process that included a number of industries, such as content, embedded finance, future fintech, and SME productivity tools. The Spark Accelerator is using an ecosystem-based strategy to give the companies access to markets, technology, product development assistance, and funding by offering a combination of training, coaching, and go-to-market support. “Leveraging technology to drive meaningful innovation is a strong premise under which the Spark Accelerator program was founded. By supporting and investing in these tech-enabled startups, we aim to drive significant societal change and economic growth. We are excited to work with visionary founders who represent the promise of tomorrow and to see the impact they will create in their respective sectors,” CEO of Safaricom Peter Ndegwa.
Two startups in the Embedded Finance category, Nobuk and Chumz, will make up the first cohort of the Spark Accelerator. Nobuk streamlines financial reporting for African groups and collectives by streamlining payment collection and reconciliation, while Chumz uses mobile money, gamification, and behavioral psychology to create a community of savers.
The four SME Productivity Tools firms are Churpy, which automates office activities for CFOs, Faidi HR, which provides comprehensive cloud-based HR solutions, Twiva, which connects brands with consumers through social network influencers, and Chpter, which streamlines social platform sales and marketing with AI automation.
The following companies were shortlisted under the content category: VunaPay, a platform for Agricultural Cooperatives that enables instant payment to smallholder farmers for produce delivered to the cooperatives; HealthX Africa, a data-driven, primary health care provider offering hybrid digital and physical touchpoints, to provide a doctor for every Kenyan; and BlackRhino VR, which is enabling creators and brands alike, to tell immersive and interactive stories that are appealing to contemporary audiences.
“In alignment with our commitment to accelerating innovation for African prosperity, we are excited to welcome these startups into the programme. Their unique solutions harness transformative opportunities to leverage technology to significantly improve the quality of lives of millions of Kenyans. We look forward to supporting the startups to optimize their offerings, scale their solutions and expand their impact,” stated Nissi Madu, iHUB/CcHUB’s managing partner.
“By leveraging our extensive global business know-how with excellent operations and customer base of Safaricom and M-PESA Africa, we are excited to expand digital financial services and contribute to the development of the Kenyan and African economies, human resource development and a more prosperous life through supporting and collaborating with advanced startups,” stated Katsuya Kashiki, General Manager of Sumitomo Corporation’s Smart Communication Platform SBU.
