By Dipo Olowookere
The sum of $4 million will be distributed to 60 startups established by Africans in the second edition of the Google for Startup Black Founders Fund for Africa.
In the maiden edition, the tech giant shared $3 million to 50 eligible black-founded startups across Africa as part of efforts to support innovation in underserved areas.
This year, eligible entrepreneurs will receive between $50,000 and $100,000 non-dilutive cash awards and up to $200,000 per startup in Google Cloud credits, support in the form of training, and access to a network of mentors to assist in tackling the challenges unique to each startup.
Application for the initiative has opened via http://goo.gle/BFFAfrica and will close on May 31, 2022, with winners announced on July 29, 2022.
Google will select winners from 13 countries with active tech and startup ecosystems and they are Botswana, Cameroun, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe. However, strong applications from other African countries will also be considered.
It was gathered that businesses eligible for selection for the cohort include early-stage startups with black founders or diverse founding teams, startups benefiting from the black community, operating and headquartered in Africa, startups with a diverse founding team with at least one black founding member; those having a legal presence on the continent and building technology solutions for Africa and the global market; and those who have the growth potential to raise more funding and create jobs.
The Head of Startup Ecosystem for sub-Saharan Africa for Google, Folarin Aiyegbusi, stated that, “The Black Founders Fund Africa demonstrates our commitment to supporting innovation in underserved areas.
“Black-led tech startups face an unfair venture capital funding environment and that is why we are committed to helping them thrive, grow to be better and ensure the success of communities and economies in our region.
“The fund will provide cash awards and hands-on support to 60 Black-led startups in Africa, which we hope will aid in developing affordable solutions to fundamental challenges affecting those at the base of the socio-economic pyramid in Africa.”
“We are hopeful that the support received by the black founders will enable them to grow their business and in turn drive economic growth in Africa as they create solutions and give back to their communities,” Aiyegusi added.
The Google for Startups Black Founders fund was launched in the wake of the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement as part of the platform’s racial equality commitments.
The initiative is a pledge toward driving economic opportunity for Black business owners, providing support to startups in the region in the form of equity-free cash assistance that helps them take care of immediate needs such as paying staff, funding inventory, and maintaining software licenses.
Adedapo Adesanya