29th April 2020 - Dar es Salaam: Smart Lab and Vodacom Tanzania Plc have chosen its first batch of technology start-ups for its Vodacom Digital Accelerator program, with specializations ranging from fintech, health, e-commerce, media, education, agriculture, and telecom. 

The selected companies will go through a three-month program that includes mentoring from experienced Vodacom staff, Smart Codes staff, and other professional mentors. Startups will also receive technology and creative support to launch and grow their startups from Smart Lab - which is a top tech and media company in Africa. After 3 months of building during the accelerator, startups will enter a validation phase for another 3 months where they will get marketing strategy and support, business connection, partnership, and funding.

Tanzania’s largest telco launched the Vodacom Digital Accelerator last year in partnership with the top startup accelerator and innovation lab, Smart Lab with the mission to support local tech entrepreneurs and create more startup success stories from the Tanzania ecosystem.

Vodacom Tanzania Plc has invested $150,000 to support startups in the Vodacom Digital Accelerator program in the first year of its operation.

Almost 500 startups from 18 regions in Tanzania applied for the Vodacom Digital Accelerator program which shows the appetite for corporate-startup partnerships of which Smart Lab has been an advocate and pioneer. Of these, the Education sector accounted for 16.3% of applications, E-commerce 15.4%, Agriculture 15.0%, Fintech 10.4%, Health 10.4%, Media 7.9%, Telecom 6.7%, and Others such as Transport, Energy, and Environment totaled 18.4%. 

The selected startups:

SmartClass

Education

An online platform that matches very qualified and certified tutors/experts to learners in remote areas who want to learn basic skills

BongoVocha

E-commerce

Coupon/discount platform for retailers and other businesses who want to attract customers through promotions and also get analytics/insights

Study Buddy

Education

Convenient e-learning resource platform for working professionals who are pursuing their professional qualifications despite their busy schedules

Foodsasa

E-commerce

Online food ordering and delivery platform

MyHi by Innovasie Ltd

Health

Mobile app that enables seamless access to purchasing and accessing health insurance services for people with smartphones

Cargo Fleet by Amora

Transport & logistics

App that connects truck & van owners to people who need their loads delivered

Kasome International

Education

Online platform providing a comprehensive video library of tutorials covering the secondary school curriculum, using the best recognized teachers in Tanzania

TakaCycle

Environment

Mobile app for smart waste collection that provides rewards-for-recycling to help and incentivize people in low-income communities to capture value from their waste

Ninsiima eDispensary

Health

A mobile/web app and telegram bot for patients to book clinical officers for home visits

 Hashtag Pools

E-commerce

App that allows buyers of the same product or service to purchase in bulk so that they can all mutually enjoy maximum price discounts

Ecoshilling by Hype

Environment

Payment collection platform for waste management companies

Belltro

Data analytics

Tech company creating data driven products and data strategies to help organizations get better insights of their businesses and provide better customer experience

Kisomo by Smartcore

Education

Online platform for creation and distribution of digital learning materials which cover the local curricula and reflect the actual local learning environment

Spot

E-commerce

Events discovery platform

Wakala Search

Fintech

Uber-like app that links mobile money users to reliable mobile money agents

We wish them all the best as they enter into the 2nd round of selection. The future is exciting

End

For more information about the Vodacom Digital Accelerator visit vda.co.tz