12 Startups Qualifies for the 2nd Cohort of ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator

The ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator, which offers access to up to US$120,000 in equity capital and other forms of support, has picked twelve entrepreneurs for its second round.

The three-month-long ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator was established by Techstars, a global investment firm that offers early-stage entrepreneurs access to capital, one-on-one mentorship, and customized programming. Techstars partnered with ARM Labs, a Lagos-based innovation program that supports fintech startups.

After the first edition concluded earlier this year, 12 businesses were chosen to participate in the second edition out of over 1,000 submissions.

This cohort focuses more generally on entrepreneurs that are transforming Africa and the world by leveraging technology, data, and intelligence to serve a population that is rising in size, youth, income, and internet access. The first cohort concentrated on fintech and prop-tech enterprises.

Nigeria is the home of nine of the chosen ventures. These include the inventory marketplace 24Seven, the beauty e-commerce site Beauty Hut, the investtech platform GetEquity, the emergency response business Eight Medical, and the mobile checkout app JumpnPass. The other chosen Nigerian firms are Veend, a funds-on-demand service, PressOne Africa, a consumer insight platform, Surge Africa, a payments solution, and PBR Life Sciences, a health data provider.

This cohort focuses more broadly on entrepreneurs that are using technology, data, and intelligence to service a population that is growing in size, youth, affluence, and internet access, and who are reshaping Africa and the world in the process. The initial group focused on fintech and proptech businesses.

Nine of the selected projects are located in Nigeria. These include the emergency response company Eight Medical, the mobile checkout app JumpnPass, the beauty e-commerce site Beauty Hut, the investtech platform GetEquity, and the inventory marketplace 24Seven. The other selected Nigerian companies are PBR Life Sciences, a health data provider, PressOne Africa, a consumer intelligence platform, Surge Africa, a payments solution, and Veend, a funds-on-demand business.

“The current market dynamics means that founders need a combination of financial support as well as technical assistance and access to networks in order to build resilient businesses. We are glad to be able to provide comprehensive support that covers this entire spectrum.”

The programnme will conclude with an invite-only demo day on February 22, 2024.