Five founders from three startups based in Egypt and Kenya have been accepted into the global Endeavor network, gaining access to various support services to help their companies scale.
The Endeavor initiative works to catalyse long-term economic growth by selecting, mentoring, and accelerating the best high-impact entrepreneurs worldwide, and has accepted a host of African entrepreneurs into its network in recent years.
Since Disrupt Africa reported on the selection of 54gene and Apollo Agriculture back in September, a total of five Africa-based entrepreneurs have been added to the Endeavor network, which now supports 2,155 entrepreneurs leading 1,344 companies in nearly 40 markets around the world.
At the 11th virtual International Selection Panel (vISP), held on January 25-27, Belal El Megharbel and Mohamed Ben Halim, co-founders of MaxAB, were accepted into the network. MaxAB is a B2B e-commerce platform that connects small retailers directly to FMCG companies and manages the entire logistics and supply chain processes involved.
The same panel also saw Nikhil Pereira-Kamath, founder of the Kenya-based Africa HealthCare Network (AHN), brought into the Endeavor fold. AHN has established the first and most expansive dialysis chain across East Africa, partnering with hospitals to provide high-quality life-saving dialysis at an affordable cost.
Meanwhile, the 12th vISP, held February 22-24, saw Greg Murray and Sagun Saxena accepted into the network. Murray and Saxena, founded KOKO Networks, a Kenya-based climate-tech platform that delivers carbon-negative cooking fuel to the urban mass-market.
In addition, Endeavor has confirmed the continued membership of a Nigerian entrepreneur in spite of him moving on to a new business venture. Etop Ikpe was initially taken into the Endeavor network back in 2018 when he led Cars45, but he has since launched Autochek, which builds digital solutions that enhance and enable a seamless and safe automotive commerce experience across Africa.
“Etop has been a part of the Endeavor network for over two years and we’re happy to continue to support him and his new venture. As a successful serial tech entrepreneur in Nigeria, Etop has been a dedicated founder and a strong role model for entrepreneurs in Nigeria,” said Tosin Faniro-Dada, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Endeavor in Nigeria.
