Founders Factory, an incubator, and accelerator for startups launched a branch in Africa, aiming at building and scaling up to 100 technology start-ups in the next five years.
Founders Factory Africa will be headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa.
According to an October 10 statement, Founders Factory Africa is looking for startups already demonstrating performance in the market, having a solid team of founders, able to scale across the continent and technology enabled.
The startup should be based in Africa or wishing to do business in the African market.
Since its founding in 2015, the accelerator and incubator has closed more than £100-million in funding for 70 startups and implemented 60 pilots with its corporate partners.
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In all, 30% of these startups have secured contracts with corporates and five have closed direct investments.
Founders Factory was founded by Brent Hoberman and Henry Lane Fox.
Founders Factory Africa operations
Standard Bank, sub-Saharan Africa’s largest bank, has been named as the first partner of Founders Factory Africa as more corporate partnerships are being scouted.
Standard Bank will provide support in terms of infrastructure, logistics, and talent.
British-American serial entrepreneur Roo Rogers will be the lead of the Founders Factory Africa tech accelerator and incubator that seeks to support startups trying to address the continent’s challenges.
In the October 10 statement, Founders Factory revealed it would be employing forty 40 full-time local specialists in product development, user experience (UX) and user interface (UI), engineering, investment, business development, and growth marketing.
“Founders Factory Africa will transform Africa’s startup economy by designing purpose-built scalable technology businesses, deliver new capital flows and develop the best talent,” said Roo.
“We will be creating and growing businesses in Africa across four sectors: health, energy, fintech, and education. With a focus on scale, technology and impact, our businesses will serve the needs of economies that are facing unprecedented growth and demand for utility-based products and services.”
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