Kwara celebrates new milestone plans to scale to new markets

Kwara celebrates new milestone plans to scale to new markets

Our member Kwara, marked yet another major milestone in their growth.

Kwara was among ten African Startups that participated and graduated in the Google for Startups UK-Africa immersion.

The Google for Startups UK-Africa Immersion is a program that saw the company pitch for funding from some of Africa and the UK’s top venture capitalists (VCs).

Kwara is a platform developed to power financial cooperatives with technology so they can meet their members’ needs instantly.

In 2018, African tech startups raised approximately US$725.6mn in funding. This represented an astonishing 127 percent year-on-year growth in funding raised by tech startups on the continent.

The program that started on 3rd September, aimed at connecting high potential early-stage startups from Africa to the London venture capital ecosystem.

With the dedicated support of the Google for Startups team, founders were given access to Google tools, expertise and mentoring to provide support where it’s most needed.

This included help to boost sales, advise on marketing strategies, troubleshooting a product issue and even support with fundraising.

After one week of full-time support in London, the founders returned to their home countries. They then continued the program while growing their businesses and creating local success stories and employment.

The 12-week program concluded with a founder graduation event last week in Lagos, Nigeria. This also saw the graduation of Class 4 of the Google Launchpad Accelerator Africa startups at the first-ever Google Startup Week in Nigeria, The event featured startups from across Africa.

Through the great exposure and visibility gained through the program in London, Kwara now eyes other markets across the continent and beyond. They are also seeking to grow their team and currently sourcing for a Product Associate.

The program was led by the Head of Google for Startups UK and serial entrepreneur Marta Krupinska, together with program lead Mariama Boumanjal and her team.

Kwara is based at our Kilimani Office Space and is now seeking to expand its reach while also growing its team. We are really proud of their work and glad to see them growing and gaining.