6 African startups emerge as WEF Technology Pioneers of 2022

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has chosen six African digital startups among the 100 most disruptive Technology Pioneers of 2022, companies that are changing industries ranging from healthcare to retail and beyond.

The WEF Technology Pioneers are early to growth-stage firms from around the world that are using new technologies and innovation to revolutionize business and society.

Six Africans are among the participants in this year’s cohort, three of them are from Kenya. They are:

Access Afya  (Kenya)

Access Afya is a walk-in clinic that offers chronic care, family planning, lab testing, child immunizations and nutrition, pre- and post-natal care, general outpatient consultations, first aid, and other services.

Its asset-light clinics are easily accessible and open seven days a week. Access Afya’s health finance options include insurance, health microloans, savings, and memberships.

Sendy (Kenya)

Make African trading more accessible and beneficial to a wider range of people. The startup enables consumers and businesses by making trading easy.

Sendy brings together everything E-commerce and consumer goods companies need to distribute goods to customers and retailers across Africa into one place.

Pula. (Kenya)

Pula is an agricultural insurance and technology company that develops and distributes cutting-edge agricultural insurance and digital products to assist smallholder farmers in managing crop risks, improving farming techniques, and increasing revenue over time.

Okra, (Nigeria)

Okra uses Open Finance to empower innovative entrepreneurs to provide better and more equitable financial services to everyone. The startup provides the infrastructure layer that will enable the next generation of financial innovation by leveraging the potential of Open Banking.

Okra connects to thousands of banks via a secure open API, reducing complexity and facilitating access to financial data and payment infrastructure.

Ampersand (Rwanda)

For East Africa’s five million motorbike taxi drivers, Ampersand makes low-cost electric vehicles and charging facilities. The firm is aiming to make motorcycle transportation more environmentally friendly and profitable than it has ever been.

Going electric will instantly quadruple a driver’s salary and speed Africa’s transition to a zero-carbon future, which is the startup’s goal.

Ejara. (Cameroon)

Ejara is a platform created for and by you, allowing you to tap into the wealth of the digital finance ecosystem and participate in the global economy. You can use Ejara to deposit, secure, and manage your money.

According to the WEF, Technology Pioneers join the community and embark on a two-year journey in which they participate in the World Economic Forum’s projects, activities, and events, bringing their cutting-edge knowledge and innovative thinking to major global concerns.

“By becoming a member of this group, Technology Pioneers embark on a two-year journey in which they participate in World Economic Forum initiatives, activities, and events, contributing their cutting-edge knowledge and innovative thinking to vital global topics.” “The Forum’s Global Innovators club is an invitation-only organization of the world’s most promising start-ups and scale-ups that are at the vanguard of technology and business model innovation,” according to a statement from the World Economic Forum.

Last year, seven African companies made the cut. The companies engaged were Kuda (Nigeria), 54gene (Nigeria), Moringa School (Kenya), Sokowatch (Kenya), mPharma (Ghana), FlexFinTx (Zimbabwe), and Cambridge Industries (Ethiopia).