Wazo Challenge Kenya is aimed at 18 - 30 year old Kenyans, who have an idea to solve a local business / social problem, using technology. With a near 55 Mn population having 65 Mn mobile phone subscriptions and 22 Mn internet users - technology will help take the leap forward, and solve social and business problems.
We are looking for enterprising youth (as individuals or teams) to use technology (Software / Hardware / Software+Hardware), and solve for one of the below -
10 high-potential founders will be selected for a 4-week venture mentorship and leadership development bootcamp, that will be delivered by successful founders, industry leaders, domain experts and investors from Hindsight Ventures’s global network. The Venture Bootcamp will help establish / reiterate basic venture development processes, enable industry connections, international networks, peer community and more. During the course of the bootcamp, each selected startup will get access to $500,000 worth of technology credits that will help them build fast.
Each startup gets in excess of $500,000 in technology credits from partners such as AWS, Zoho, IBM, Microsoft, Canva, DigitalOcean, FreshWorks and more.
The Venture Bootcamp will culminate with an international demo day, wherein the cohort will pitch to an audience comprising investors and corporates. Prior to the demo day, the cohort will be ably coached by pitch coaches, to ensure that each pitch is succinct and conveys a compelling story.
Money! Money! Money!
There's upto USD 10,000 grant money at stake, and the cohort will be pitching for the
same. In addition, we sincerely hope that the international demo day will attract
venture investors to take a serious look at the cohort, and many will get investor
interest.
Kenyan national(s) in the age group
of 18 - 30 years
If the company is incorporated within the immediate past 18-months
Minimum team size of 3 people
Uniqueness of the idea
Social and Community Impact
Innovation
Market Opportunity
Market Feasibility
Wazo Challenge Kenya will be judged by a jury of prominent local stakeholders, who will be selecting the Top-10 Applications on the basis of the above criteria.
Build for the Future, today.
Wazo Challenge Kenya is aimed at validating and mentoring early stage tech entrepreneurs through a 4 weeks long bootcamp.
4 Weeks from the date of cohort announcement. We expect the program to start in the first week of June 2022 and go on till the end-June 2022.
The bootcamp will focus on experiential learning and development of the selected founders. These startup founders will go through various mentorship sessions with global experts, 1-on-1 anchor mentor lead sessions, investor connects, business connect in the span of 4 weeks.
No. The program is not charging any fees.
You can apply provided you are a Kenyan national, currently living in Kenya and solving a problem in Kenya, using technology.
We are looking for enterprising youth (as individuals or teams) to use technology (Software / Hardware / Software+Hardware), and solve for one of the below,
You can fill-up our online application form with your idea/early stage startup that you are working on. You can apply as an individual or as a team of upto 5 members.
Applications will be selected through a 2 stage process. Stage-1 wherein your application will qualify you for Stage-2 wherein you will be interviewed by the program team. 10 startup ideas / teams will be selected.
We will be using a weighted average score to qualify applying startups on a score of 100 points.
Yes, having a prototype or some early traction is always preferable. We are open to receiving napkin-stage ideas.
Yes, it is a hybrid program.
We had such an amazing experience! We’ve been involved in a few accelerators and this was one of the better ones. We loved being able to get support on things we needed immediate help on (financial model and pitch deck). It was also refreshing to have almost every session be relevant - whether it was the one on one’s with mentors or meeting key people in corporates i.e. ABSA and Visa. Thanks so much to the Hindsight team! Hands down best program- super hands on and relevant. We've really grown as a team and business in the past four weeks. We really appreciate it.
Wazo Challenge is one of the most impactful start-up programs I have had the chance to participate in. The program involved expert mentors who were instrumental in shaping our business model and product. This was coupled with industry visits that opened doors to top companies such as Absa and Visa. As a company in the fintech space, getting a chance to forge engagement with potential corporate partners (or even clients) was highly impactful to our roadmap and progress thanks to Wazo. Finally, the program is run by the most dedicated team, a team that genuinely cares about the value of the program to participating start-ups, and this was coupled by a cohort of talented founders who were more than willing to support each other with their individual expertise whether in branding, growth, or product development. That was one of the best 4-weeks of Chaptr's start-up life and the value spoken is difficult for any typical accelerator or incubator to match.
We are privileged to have partnered with Hindsight Ventures to bring the Wazo Challenge to
life in Kenya for the first time. As Absa, we are always proud to join forces with like-minded
stakeholders to find innovative ways to achieve and progress the dreams and aspirations of the
communities we serve. We are encouraged by the progress made by the start-ups who have
undertaken this program which underscores our resolve to continue supporting the youth because
we understand that by investing in them, we are securing the future of our nation.
In addition, this partnership aligns perfectly with our youth development programmes such as
ReadyToWork which aims to positively impact at least 1 million youth in the next 3 years.
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