Two Ugandan startups, Xazu Technologies and eMaisha Pay have been selected for the inaugural Amazon AWS Fintech Accelerator program. AWS (Amazon Web Services) is the cloud computing arm of technology giant, Amazon. A total of 25 startups were selected from seven African countries.
Xazu Technologies is a fintech that operates the Omni Smart Card, a card that students can use to receive pocket money from their parents and also conduct cashless transactions at the school canteen. On the other hand, eMaisha Pay describes itself as Africa’s first neobank for agribusinesses and it makes it quick, convenient, and flexible for micro and small agribusinesses across Africa to access financial services.
Speaking at the selection announcement, the Startup Segment Lead at AWS, Napa Onwusah, expressed her excitement to help the startups move forward in their journey, “At AWS, we’re thrilled to be a part of Africa’s digital transformation, making core financial services accessible to more individuals and businesses. We believe that anyone regardless of their location, should be able to access innovative technologies and realize their dreams. I am excited that the accelerator will be instrumental in empowering these startups to grow and scale their businesses.”
The AWS Fintech Accelerator was launched in March 2023 by Amazon Web Services in collaboration with Vestbee, a European VC matchmaking platform. It is an online and equity-free 10-week program that leverages the best of Amazon’s infrastructure and partner network to support pre-seed and seed stage fintech startups developing their projects in Africa,” Vestbee revealed in a statement at that time.
This accelerator is designed to educate aspiring founders, CEOs, and CTOs in strategy, team management, product development, and funding. The first round of recruitment begins and ends on April 27th. Amazon said it will not acquire company stock or provide venture loans but will provide participating startups with about $25,000 worth of AWS services and other free loans. From Hubspot, Notion, Loom, and more.
The launch of this accelerator confirms Amazon’s continued interest in Africa’s digital ecosystem since its 2004 expansion to the continent. The company has three data centres in Africa. Two in South Africa and one in Kenya.
From Luuka to the Netherlands: The Rise of a Farmer Redefining Agribusiness in UgandaAmazon opened an office in Lagos, Nigeria last year. Five years after opening the first African office in Johannesburg. The Lagos office is home to AWS Account Managers, Partner Account Managers, Solution Architects, and other experts supporting Nigerian customers.
Of the 25 selected startups for the accelerator, 11 are from Nigeria and there are for each from Ghana and Kenya. Uganda and South Africa have two each while Cameroon and Egypt are represented by a solitary startup each.
Fintechs remain Africa’s most funded startups. From January to April, fintechs in Africa raised 64% of all funding, a jump from 36% last year during the same period as per Africa: The Big Deal. As many sectors battle to go online, it is important to have the fintechs that will facilitate online transactions.
The selection of two Ugandan startups into the AWS Fintech Accelerator continues the trend of Ugandan startups getting into global accelerators. Last month, hardware startups, Karaa and Microfuse, beat competition from many other startups across the continent to get into Qualcomm’s “Make it in Africa” program.
