Four Nigerian startups have been selected for the inaugural cohort of the 10-week Endeavor ScaleUp Programme, which aims to support high-impact business leaders through access to mentorship, fundraising support, partnerships and a strong peer network.
Founded in 1997, Endeavor is a global community of high-impact entrepreneurs, selecting, supporting, and investing in the world’s top founders. Its network spans nearly 40 markets and supports more than 2,000 entrepreneurs.
Endeavor launched its Nigeria office in 2018 to select and support the best founders of companies at the scale-up and growth stage. Endeavor Nigeria currently supports 24 entrepreneurs who lead 13 companies, including Flutterwave, Autochek, 54gene, TeamApt, Paga, Migo, Daystar Power and Kobo360.
It has now named the cohort for its first ScaleUp programme, with seven entrepreneurs from four Nigerian startups selected to participate. ScaleUp will offer the startups access to mentorship, fundraising support, partnerships and a strong peer network. It will also provide an opportunity to receive tailored support and fresh, honest, and in-depth feedback that will help them scale to the next level.
The selected startups are Releaf, which develops proprietary hardware and software solutions to drive the industrialisation of food processing in Africa; Bankly, which is digitising the “thrift collections” system that is widely used among Nigerians working in the informal sector; Wallets Africa, which allows people and companies to send and receive money, and make payments, using their phone numbers; and BFREE, which focuses on improving consumers’ financial health through a tech-enabled, credit management solution.
Endeavor ScaleUp will provide a subset of the services provided to Endeavor entrepreneurs, and participating entrepreneurs will be given direct, actionable feedback to support their growth as business leaders. The programme will also include group workshops facilitated by Endeavor entrepreneurs, board members and mentors, as well as access to executives from industry-leading companies for potential business development opportunities.
“We are delighted to have these exciting entrepreneurs on our first ScaleUp programme, and we have prepared an impactful programme that will address their most pressing challenges and support them as they advance to the next stage of their business growth,” said Tosin Faniro-Dada, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Endeavor Nigeria.
“One of our core values at Endeavor is our commitment to paying it forward and our Endeavor entrepreneurs are also eager to support the next generation of high-impact entrepreneurs with their deep knowledge, experience and functional expertise in their respective industries and markets.”
