Nigerian incubator Co-Creation Hub (CcHub) and Google for Entrepreneurs have announced the 14 African tech startups chosen set to participate in PitchDrive, a three-week European tech hub tour with a specific goal of raising of EUR20 million (US$22 million) in investments.
Disrupt Africa reported in May CcHub and Google for Entrepreneurs had partnered to launch PitchDrive, which will see startups visit London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Zurich and Paris.
After receiving 118 applications, the partners have now chosen 14 startups from across Africa to take part in the tour, where they will pitch to investors, explore international opportunities, learn about frontier technology markets, and bridge the divide between the African and European tech ecosystems.
They include six from Nigeria, namely Prepclass, Tradedepot, Piggybank, Gloo, Lifebank, and Fashpa, as well as Ghana’s Kudobuzz Kudobuzz and Senegal’s Firefly Media. Zimbabwe is represented by two startups – BitFinance and Real Food – while Ongair (Kenya), Gebeya (Ethiopia), GoMetro (South Africa) and ClinicMaster (Uganda) complete the list.
Starting in London on August 14, these selected startups will visit Google’s Campus London, TQ Amsterdam, Factory Berlin and Impact Hub in Zurich, concluding at NUMA Paris. Upon completion of the tour, they would have pitched to over 300 investors, with the specific goal of raising over EUR20 million.
“The idea of PitchDrive is a phenomenal and an incredible opportunity for not only the selected 14 startups, but also the investors. The turnout of applications for PitchDrive lean to the ‘start small dream big’ saying and through this platform, we hope to help secure a number of breakthrough capital deals for the selected 14 startups,” said Bosun Tijani, CcHub founder and chief executive officer (CEO).
“And, like the Garage story of Google, we hope that one or two or possibly all of these startups will have a similar story. I can say that they are in for a tough but rewarding journey with us. We are glad for the support of Google for Entrepreneurs on the PitchDrive tour and look forward to the journey ahead.”
PitchDrive will provide all travel, accommodation and visa support, as well mentorship and support from notable tech founders well versed in fund raising, including David Grunwald of Google for Entrepreneurs, Iroko founder and CEO Jason Njoku, Saidah Nash Carter of Reuters and Stephen Newton of Illuminate Africa.
“Entrepreneurs from across Africa are building world-class tech companies, and we are delighted to be able to use the power of the Google for Entrepreneurs network to showcase their fantastic products to audiences in some of Europe’s most important tech ecosystems,” said David Grunwald, head of global partnerships at Google for Entrepreneurs.
