Google for Startups

Google for Startups is an initiative launched in 2011 that focuses on supporting startups globally by providing access to Google's products, connections, and best practices. The program partners with over fifty leading startup organizations to foster entrepreneurial ecosystems in more than 135 countries. It offers various resources, including financial support and exclusive programming, to help these partners and their startups thrive. Central to this initiative are six Google for Startups Campuses located in London, Tel Aviv, Seoul, Madrid, São Paulo, and Warsaw. These Campuses serve as collaborative spaces where startup founders can access mentorship, educational resources, and networking opportunities within their local communities. Startups benefit from free workspaces, community events, and a network of like-minded entrepreneurs, all aimed at nurturing their growth and innovation across diverse sectors such as healthcare, retail, finance, and technology.

Sundar Pichai

CEO, Google

Past deals in Kenya

Jumba

Non Equity Assistance in 2023
Jumba is a construction technology platform based in Nairobi, Kenya, established in 2022. The company focuses on streamlining B2B construction material purchases and financing, facilitating transactions between manufacturers and retailers. Jumba's platform enables businesses to order a variety of construction materials, including cement, steel, paint, tiles, plumbing supplies, electrical components, glass, and kitchen and bathroom finishes, with the option to pay later. By connecting small hardware stores with medium-sized retailers in their vicinity, Jumba helps enhance inventory management and negotiates pricing to simplify the supply chain for construction materials across Africa.

Zydii

Non Equity Assistance in 2023
Zydii Limited is an online learning and teaching platform based in Nairobi, Kenya, established in 2016. The company focuses on delivering localized digital training solutions tailored for the African workforce, offering a range of affordable and relevant personal development courses, digital courses, and virtual programs. Zydii's platform is designed to be engaging and accessible, providing users with opportunities to acquire new skills and enhance their career prospects. The company's innovative approach includes both online and offline access through USSD and SMS, ensuring that its educational resources reach a broad audience and contribute to transformative growth for businesses across the region.

Zydii

Non Equity Assistance in 2023
Zydii Limited is an online learning and teaching platform based in Nairobi, Kenya, established in 2016. The company focuses on delivering localized digital training solutions tailored for the African workforce, offering a range of affordable and relevant personal development courses, digital courses, and virtual programs. Zydii's platform is designed to be engaging and accessible, providing users with opportunities to acquire new skills and enhance their career prospects. The company's innovative approach includes both online and offline access through USSD and SMS, ensuring that its educational resources reach a broad audience and contribute to transformative growth for businesses across the region.

BuuPass

Pre Seed Round in 2023
BuuPass is a digital transport solutions provider based in Kenya, focusing on simplifying the movement of people through innovative booking systems. As the first marketplace in the country for bus, shuttle, and train bookings, BuuPass offers a fast and user-friendly platform that allows commuters to easily reserve their seats and make payments. The company is powered by a team of young entrepreneurs dedicated to addressing everyday transportation challenges and enhancing accessibility. By enabling users to book tickets through both online and SMS-based methods, BuuPass ensures that urban commuters can manage their travel plans conveniently and efficiently. The company emphasizes the importance of time and choice, striving to empower individuals to travel on their own terms while connecting them to various opportunities.

BuuPass

Non Equity Assistance in 2022
BuuPass is a digital transport solutions provider based in Kenya, focusing on simplifying the movement of people through innovative booking systems. As the first marketplace in the country for bus, shuttle, and train bookings, BuuPass offers a fast and user-friendly platform that allows commuters to easily reserve their seats and make payments. The company is powered by a team of young entrepreneurs dedicated to addressing everyday transportation challenges and enhancing accessibility. By enabling users to book tickets through both online and SMS-based methods, BuuPass ensures that urban commuters can manage their travel plans conveniently and efficiently. The company emphasizes the importance of time and choice, striving to empower individuals to travel on their own terms while connecting them to various opportunities.

Bookings Africa

Grant in 2022
Bookings Africa, established in 2018, operates as an online marketplace connecting clients in the entertainment, media, and lifestyle industries with creative professionals across Africa. Its platform facilitates the sourcing, comparison, and booking of creatives such as models, makeup artists, voiceover artists, DJs, and filming locations. With a presence in Lagos, Nigeria; Nairobi, Kenya; and Johannesburg, South Africa, the company aims to reduce unemployment and foster creativity among African youth by providing a secure, digital space for freelancers to monetize their skills and talents.

Zuri Health

Non Equity Assistance in 2022
Zuri Health is a telemedicine company based in Nairobi, Kenya, established in 2020. It offers affordable and accessible healthcare solutions through a mobile app, website, and SMS services, catering to patients without smartphones and those in rural areas. Users can schedule lab and diagnostic tests, consult with doctors, purchase medications from pharmacies, and arrange home visits with qualified medical professionals. The platform also features an artificial intelligence-powered chatbot to enhance user experience and provide first-level medical consultations. Zuri Health aims to create a universally accessible healthcare experience for all individuals, regardless of their location or resources.

Eden Life

Non Equity Assistance in 2022
Eden Life Inc., based in Lagos, Nigeria, specializes in tech-enabled housekeeping services for professionals. Through its online platform and mobile application, the company offers a range of services including laundry, meal preparation, house cleaning, equipment maintenance, and meal delivery. By aggregating vendors offering diverse services, Eden Life enables clients to efficiently manage their household chores.

Treepz

Non Equity Assistance in 2021
Treepz is a technology-driven transportation company focused on enhancing mobility across Africa. Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Ontario, Canada, Treepz operates in Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, and Kenya, providing users with a reliable and comfortable commuting experience. Its application allows users to book trips for daily, inter-city, or corporate travel at the tap of a button. The platform offers features such as vehicle assistants, licensed drivers, and e-wallet payments, ensuring that users can book and pay for fast and convenient trips in real-time. Through its innovative approach, Treepz aims to create a safer and more efficient transportation system for commuters in the region.

Angaza Elimu

Grant in 2021
Angaza Elimu is an ed-tech company focused on transforming education in Kenya and across Africa by addressing challenges in classroom efficiency and access to educational resources. The organization provides a comprehensive e-Learning platform that simplifies classroom management, allowing teachers to dedicate more time to effective instruction. It features a Student Portal designed to engage learners and foster critical thinking skills. Angaza Elimu also emphasizes skill-based learning to prepare African youth for success in a digital economy. Additionally, the company offers supplemental STEM training to cultivate innovation among young learners and operates an Internet of Things (IoT) school to provide hands-on training in hardware engineering, enabling students to learn both in and out of the classroom at their own pace.

MarketForce

Grant in 2021
MarketForce is a technology company headquartered in the United States, with operations in Kenya and Nigeria, focused on enhancing B2B commerce and fintech solutions for African merchants. Launched in 2018, the company has developed the "RejaReja" platform, which allows merchants to digitally source, order, and pay for inventory. In addition to these services, MarketForce offers access to financing, enables digital payment collection, and allows merchants to resell digital financial services like airtime and utility tokens. Operating in five markets across Sub-Saharan Africa, MarketForce has established a rapidly growing network that includes over 200,000 merchants and 50 consumer brands. The company employs an asset-light business model to drive efficiency and productivity in the distribution of goods, utilizing advanced technology to streamline operations for its users.

Pezesha

Grant in 2021
Pezesha is a digital financial marketplace based in Nairobi, Kenya, that connects small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to various financing options, including working capital, float financing, and LPO financing. Founded in 2016, Pezesha aims to enhance access to affordable credit for micro-businesses by leveraging credit and data analytics to link lenders with low-income borrowers. The platform facilitates a shared economy by converging lending and other financial services, thereby enabling underserved SMBs to participate in the formal financial system. Through its innovative approach, Pezesha seeks to empower businesses and improve their growth potential by providing essential financial resources.

Finplus Group

Grant in 2021
Finplus Group is a technology company building a new credit & commerce infrastructure for emerging markets. We believe that access to markets & financial services should be a human right, available to everyone, everywhere, who wishes to participate in the modern economy. Our goal is to help close the massive $5.2Tn credit deficit faced by SMEs in developing countries every year. Finplus provides white-label digital finance & vertical ecommerce software to: 1. Enable banks & micro-lenders to lend to SMEs, at scale, across multiple markets 2. Help consumer goods companies to digitise sales end-to-end, effectively turning their supply chain into a demand chain 3. Unlock access to an instant line of credit for tens of millions of SMEs and individuals in emerging markets Finplus software has already processed over $1 Billion in transaction value across 5 emerging markets (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Eswatini, South Africa), enabled more than 3 Million MSMEs & individuals to access credit and saved business customers over 1.2 Million man-hours through automation.

Amitruck

Grant in 2021
Amitruck is a logistics platform based in Nairobi, Kenya, that connects cargo owners with trucking professionals through a mobile and web application. Founded in 2018, the platform allows customers to easily book deliveries and access a network of available trucks. It features a driver application that facilitates communication between clients and transporters, ensuring timely updates on shipments. Amitruck's user-friendly interface enables clients to receive instant quotes and track their deliveries in real-time, offering complete visibility throughout the delivery process.

Kwara

Non Equity Assistance in 2021
Kwara GmbH is a technology company that specializes in developing a digital banking platform tailored for savings and credit co-operative societies (SACCOs). Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Berlin, Germany, with an additional office in Nairobi, Kenya, Kwara aims to modernize credit unions by providing a comprehensive cloud-based solution. The platform facilitates loan application servicing and approval for members, while also offering integration services, customer support, real-time financial tracking, and compliance assistance. Kwara's offerings include Kwara Pronto, a tool for managing loans. Currently, the company serves over 200 SACCOs across Kenya, South Africa, and the Philippines, enabling these financial institutions to enhance their operations and improve access to formal financial services.

Angaza Elimu

Non Equity Assistance in 2021
Angaza Elimu is an ed-tech company focused on transforming education in Kenya and across Africa by addressing challenges in classroom efficiency and access to educational resources. The organization provides a comprehensive e-Learning platform that simplifies classroom management, allowing teachers to dedicate more time to effective instruction. It features a Student Portal designed to engage learners and foster critical thinking skills. Angaza Elimu also emphasizes skill-based learning to prepare African youth for success in a digital economy. Additionally, the company offers supplemental STEM training to cultivate innovation among young learners and operates an Internet of Things (IoT) school to provide hands-on training in hardware engineering, enabling students to learn both in and out of the classroom at their own pace.
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