Founder Institute, the world’s largest pre-seed accelerator program has recently released a list of its fastest-growing companies in 2021.
The report tagged, “FI50“, contains the names of 50 Founder institute portfolio companies across 5 continents.
According to the report, the Founder Institute portfolio companies or alumni had their best year to date in 2021, with major funding rounds and its first IPO (Udemy) as highlights.
Following this recent development, Founder Institute companies have raised over $1.5 billion in funding.
Speaking on this FI50 report, Jonathan Greechan, Co-founder and CEO of Founder Institute said, “I would also like to acknowledge that there are countless fast-growing Alumni that did not make the FI50. We had to make many tough decisions.
However, we plan to release several regional “FI50” reports in Q1 to highlight even more of our startups. We will be reaching out to all Local Leaders in the next few weeks to get your company nominations for those reports.”
The report showcased the fastest-growing FI companies according to:
- Featured companies that made big strides in 2021
- Female-Founded businesses that raised the bar in 2021
- Featured companies making progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Two Founder Institute Lagos-based companies, BetaStore and Zowasel made the FI50 list as the reports show that they are uniquely equipped to adapt, move quickly, and build the solutions that define the future.
Below is a quick look at the two portfolio companies of the largest pre-seed accelerator program:
BetaStore
The startup is a B2B platform that helps small retailers source their inventory and access financing and essential insurance services. The company raised funding and added countless new stores in 2021.
Founded by Steve Dakayi Kamga, BetaStore was part of the Lagos Founder Institute 2020 cohort.
Zowasel
The startup is a vetted agriculture marketplace to buy and sell crops. The company received $100k in funding at UN World Food Programme’s Zero Hunger Sprint.
Founded by Jerry Oche, Zowasel was a part of the Lagos Founder Institute 2019 cohort.
About Founder Institute
The Founder Institute is the world’s largest pre-seed startup accelerator. Since 2009, we have helped over 4,000 entrepreneurs get the focus and support needed to build a business that matters. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 65 countries, the Founder Institute’s mission is to empower communities of talented and motivated people to build impactful technology companies worldwide.
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