Financial & Tech

The accelerator, which is housed in Lagos, Nigeria, has already demonstrated its value. The first Launchpad Accelerator Africa class saw 12 startups graduate, with more than 20 teams from Google and 40 mentors from nine countries supporting them. The startups have directly created 132 jobs and, between them, have raised over US$7 million in funding. Their products are being used by approximately 4.5 million people.

The platform dubbed Jaza Duka (“fill up your store”) combines distribution data from Unilever and analysis by Mastercard, on how much inventory a store has bought from Unilever over time. The results from the analysis are used to provide a micro-credit eligibility recommendation to KCB Bank Kenya (KCB). 

IFC supports the mobile technology sector to help promote social inclusion and business growth.  Over the past three years, IFC has invested over $1.5 billion in telecommunication, technology, and startup companies globally.