FI50: 5 African-based FI Startups rise in Global Ranking

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.

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

Five Founder Institute companies from Africa made the FI50 list and they include Nigeria’s BetaStore and Zowasel, South Africa’s IndyGeneUs AI and Kudoti, Ghana’s Grow For Me.

Below is a quick look at the five African portfolio companies of the largest pre-seed accelerator program:

BetaStore (Nigeria)

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.

Grow For Me (Ghana)

This Accra-based startup is a crowdfunding platform helping farmers to scale up their operations. In October 2021 they were selected by Google Black Founders Fund to receive non-dilutive capital.

Grow For Me was co-founded by the trio of Nana Opoku W O, Nana Opoku, and Lorraine Wright, the startup was part of Accra Founder Institute 2019 cohort.

IndyGeneUs AI (South Africa)

Based in Capetown, this startup is building a repository of indigenous and diasporic African clinical data for disease prevention, drug discovery, and more. They announced a $1.5M round in November 2021.

Founded by Yusuf Henriques, the startup was part of South Africa Founder Institute Virtual 2021 cohort.

Kudoti (South Africa)

Kudoti connects brands, manufacturers, collectors, and recyclers to build a more circular economy. The company received the $40k Creating Shared Value Prize from Nestlé in July 2021.

Founded by Matthieu De Gaudemar and Gift Lubele, the Johannesburg-based startup was part of SA’s Founder Institute 2018 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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