Category: Startups

Jumeni Technologies, a Ghanaian-based software company specializing in cloud-based field service management solutions, today announced the launch of its flagship product for the waste management industry. Jumeni’s platform is designed to increase the productivity of field workers, and improve customer service, by digitizing data collection and offering access to more efficient payment options.

Jumeni’s platform includes field apps which connect workers in the field with back office systems to reduce paper-based and administrative processes and improve accuracy.

Jumeni was founded in 2018 by Eyram Amedzor, Kevin Gawo and Emmanuel Oduro, who graduated from the MEST Africa entrepreneurial training program in Accra. The idea came from their experience working with waste companies in Ghana.

CEO Eyram Amedzor stated, “We believe software has a role to play in keeping our environment clean and sustainable. The waste sector is one of the biggest and most important industries, but has seen few advancements in technology. This is because waste management is complex. People, processes and technology must work seamlessly for these companies to effectively optimize their productivity, customer service and revenue. That’s why we designed a comprehensive platform to specifically address needs across waste management organizations, and believe we can accommodate any waste and recycling business.”

The team, over the past months, piloted the platform with companies operating in Tema and Kaneshie and has seen significant results, demonstrating an increase in revenue and operational efficiency.

Jumeni’s solutions provide field personnel and revenue collectors with tools built for any mobile phone. Its back office functions are built on a flexible, cloud-based architecture that enables managers to connect at any time and from anywhere. Jumeni’s payment software makes it possible to process cash payments in the field efficiently and allows customers to pay to companies directly using Mobile Money and payment cards. The platform also provides a portal for customers to access personalized services from their service provider.

Jumeni will initially offer 20 prepackaged dashboards with metrics based on industry standards. The predesigned dashboards contain key indicators, including field worker performance, work progress, bins lifted and more.

Jumeni is currently available in Ghana, with plans to expand to Kenya and Nigeria in the near future.

Applications are open to the Innohub flab Accelerator, seeking female-led tech startups to join the six-month Ghana-based programme.

The fLab programme seeks to promote innovative technology entrepreneurship among women, by providing female-owned tech startups with product development and business development support.

The accelerator is currently seeking 20 entrepreneurs with innovative, high-growth, social impact ventures looking for support to refine their offering and scale.

Participants will receive help from a team of mentors and coaches with product development and testing, as well as with refining their business and customers strategies. Co-working space complete with a tech lab to test ideas will also be available to the chosen entrepreneurs.

To be eligible, startups must have a two or three-member female-led team; be aged between 20 and 30 years old; have an innovative technology solution in its idea or early stage with potential for growth, and be willing to commit the six-month intensive programme.

Applications are open here, until January 15.

You can jump to the application by clicking here.

Applications for MEST Africa’s 1-year, fully-sponsored entrepreneurial training program in Accra, Ghana are now open for aspiring entrepreneurs from across the African continent. Interested applicants have until February 8th, 2019 to apply for the class of 2020. Successful applicants will receive in-depth training and mentorship, access to a global network and the opportunity to build the next generation of global software companies alongside successful graduates like Anitrack’s Winnie Akoko, Qisimah’s Sakhile Xulu, Bidiibuild’s Kelvin Wachira, Kudobuzz’s Kena Amoah, MeQasa’s Kelvin Nyame, Amplify’s Segun Adeyemi and more.

“The MEST program has given me the opportunity to focus on developing the technical and business skills I need to succeed in the tech industry” said a member of the Developers in Vogue 2018 cohort and the MEST Class of 2019. “It is a chance for me to gain practical knowledge, experience and insight into my fields of interest and to develop solutions to the problems I am passionate about.”

Truly Pan-African, the MEST class of 2019 is its most diverse yet, representing entrepreneurs from 12 African nations. The Class of 2019 also welcomed the highest representation of women in a MEST cohort to date, at 37%. MEST will continue its strong focus on recruiting female leaders in tech, partnering with organisations including Developers in Vogue (DIV), Yielding Accomplished African Women(Yaa W), and Tech4her.

Over the course of 1 year, successful applicants will come to MEST HQ in Accra, Ghana and take part in an intensive entrepreneurial training program centred around business, communication and software development.

The training is delivered by global experts and includes extensive hands-on project work, as well as mentorship from successful entrepreneurs, CEO’s and other executives from Silicon Valley, Europe and Africa. The program culminates in an investor pitch for seed funding and the opportunity to grow their business out of one of the Pan-African MEST incubators in Lagos, Accra, Cape Town and soon Nairobi.

“Our goal at MEST is to enable entrepreneurs in Africa to build scalable businesses – not just apps,” said MEST managing director Aaron Fu. “One of the ways we look to do that is through the significant Pan-African diversity in our program, which offers our EITs a strong network and a deeper understanding of problems and markets across the continent, from day 1.”

“This year, building on our 2018 admission of the most number of female founders in our history, we are also focused on continuing to increase our representation of female founders, as we recognise the incredible value female leaders provide in tech.”

Establishing and expanding its presence on the continent over the past 10 years, MEST has invested over $20million in training nearly 400 individual entrepreneurs, and invested in 50+ early-stage software companies from across Africa. MEST entrepreneurs have developed solutions addressing local, regional and global markets, received follow-on funding from global investors, and been admitted to top accelerator programs such as Y-combinator, 500 startups and TechStars.

Some MEST portfolio successes include:

• Qisimah, the first MEST-funded company with a South African CEO, selected as the Best National Digital Solution for the International World Summits Award in Business and Commerce
• Tress, the all-female team with a product that’s changing the billion-dollar hair industry, recently accepted into Y Combinator
• Asoriba, the church management startup that’s swept through West Africa, recently partnered with payments giant, Interswitch and has been featured on CNN, BBC, Forbes
• Meqasa, Ghana’s number one real-estate portal which went on to raise $500,000 from Frontier Digital Ventures, and recently acquired Jumia House in Ghana.
• Kudobuzz, an advertising and marketing software, was selected as one of the 14 ventures to represent Africa at the 2017 edition of PitchDrive, and recently acquired MEST-backed company AdGeek.
• SynCommerce, a startup helping customers sell across channels and keep inventory in sync, recently won the gaming and entertainment category at TechCrunch in Nairobi.

The Application Process

• Attend a local MEST information session
• Complete the application form
• Successful applicants are contacted for a phone interview
• Qualified applicants are asked to complete an aptitude test
• Top candidates in each region will be invited for an in-person interview in Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya or Cote d’Ivoire
• Applications for the class of 2020 close February 8, 2019

About MEST

Launched in 2008, MEST is a Pan-African training program, seed fund and incubator for technology entrepreneurs in Africa, providing critical skills training in software development, business and communications. Headquartered in Accra, Ghana, MEST is funded by the Meltwater Foundation, the non-profit arm of Meltwater, a global leader in media intelligence and AI-driven Outside Insight.

The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), with the support of the African Development Bank (AfDB), in collaboration with the African Green Revolution Forum(AGRA), Women in Tech Africa, Wennovation Hub (Nigeria) and Suguba (regional), is launching Pitch AgriHack 2018. The theme for this year’s edition is “Women entrepreneurs innovate for agricultural transformation in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific”.

The competition is open to both male and female founders and co-founders of e-agri start-ups, and, more specifically, to companies owners of platforms (websites, apps, devices using software, etc.) offering digital services to the agricultural sector. Applicants need to be nationals and residents of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries signatories of the Cotonou Agreement (see list in the rules). 50% of finalists will be women founders or co-founders of start-ups; discussions at the final will include issues around strengthening the engagement of young women in agricultural technology innovations. Applicants must be aged between 18 to 35 years old. The finale will be held during the 2018 edition of the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF 2018), organised by AGRA and other partners, in Rwanda in Septembre 2018.

Pitch AgriHack will:

• provide a business training boot camp to selected start-ups
• conduct a pitching competition
• offer grants and facilitate access to investments, capacity building and promotional opportunities.

Two categories are available:

• Early stage platform

This is for e-agriculture applications and platforms that have already been developed but that may still need software or business model improvements. Participants must be able to demonstrate the business potential and functional features of their applications or platforms.

• Advanced platform

This category is for e-agriculture applications and platforms that are already in operation and generating revenues.

Special prizes will be awarded in each of the two categories to woman-owned or co-owned businesses.

The platforms can be websites or apps, and they must offer digital services to the agricultural sector. They can also be hardware associated with software and both will be described.

Prizes and other benefits

Up to nine winning companies (including up to five women-led companies) will receive from CTA, AfDB and partners involved a cash prize of up to €15,000 (per start-up), as well as promotional support, additional capacity building and networking opportunities. Some may eventually also benefit from investments from other partners. For more information on prizes, check this page on the Pitch AgriHack blog.

Application process

Start-ups will provide details on problems addressed, the technical solution proposed, key metrics, customer segments targeted, unique value proposition compared with the competition, cost structure, revenue streams and other business strategy inputs. They will also demonstrate that they are incorporated or that they will close the process a month before the final.

To register, check the page Get Involved

Selection process

Applications will be screened by teams of business experts and investors.

Key Dates

• Deadline for registration: 21 May 2018
• The announcement of finalist start-ups: by 15 July 2018
• Boot camp and pitching events (final): 03 to 07 September 2018 at AGRF 2018.

About Pitch AgriHack

Pitch AgriHack is part of the AgriHack Talent initiative of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) and aims at accelerating e-agriculture entrepreneurship for improved livelihoods in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. Co-designed with young innovators and partners from ACP countries, it has included:

• Competitions to develop ICT applications for agriculture (hackathons) when there is a need;
• A start-up competition (called Pitch AgriHack) targeting young companies already offering e-agriculture services;
• Capacity building, mentorship and incubation opportunities;
• Promotional and networking opportunities;
• Facilitation of access to grants and investments to scale-up services offered.

The ultimate objective is to contribute to the transformation of the agricultural sector and promotion of youth employment. It is expected that eventually, best start-ups involved will offer effective services to hundreds of thousands of farmers and agricultural stakeholders ACP countries. The programme is being implemented in collaboration with key national and international institutions, multinational private sector bodies, investors, incubators.

CTA is funded by the European Union (in the framework of the ACP-EU cooperation). The AfDB is leveraging support to the activity via funds provided by the Korean Government via the Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC)) facility.

Other partners involved in the organisation of the competition include Jokkolabs (international network), Impact Hub Bamako (Mali), Impact Dakar (Senegal), BongoHive (Zambia).

For more details and to partner with the programme, send a mail to [email protected]