The Innovation Spark

#Accelerate:   In week 11, 2 Ghanaian startups made it into tier one accelerators on  the continent. While an agribusiness startup also won the SDGs  Innovation Challenge spearheaded by the SDGs Advisory Unit at the Office  of the President, a fintech startup also made inroads into Nigeria. The  week's headlines include:

- Ghana’s Wala Digital Health selected for Microsoft-backed FAST accelerator
- FloodGates Limited and FXKudi selected for Startup Wise Guys Africa Accelerator
- Ehmblehm Farms secures GHS20,000 as the winner of the SDGs Innovation Challenge, Ho Edition spearheaded by the SDGs Advisory Unit Office of the President Ghana
- Waya Money expands to Nigeria to provide cross-border remittance and payment solutions
- Cocoa product startup Koa Switzerland & Ghana implements blockchain system for transparent payment to farmers
- Opterflow launches an AI-embedded sales and marketing software 
- BlueOrchard Finance Ltd managed InsuResilience Investment Fund invests in Ghana’s Vanguard Assurance
- VDL Fulfilment partners with Cheers Bissap to offer cold product fulfillment to the beverage company
- PPT Ghana (People's Pension Trust) partners SCBF to develop new pension products to support women

#startingup  Week 10: - Dash, eCampus LLC, AgriCo Hub Startupbootcamp AfriTech Ghana Revenue Authority - official and more


This week's insights have a lot of starts. From startups getting massive funding to get going, others expanding expansion to new territories like  Nigeria, accelerator programs initiating in Ghana and Government launching programs.

Blitz through insights concerning the Ghana Innovation Ecosystem. The headlines include:


💡 Dash raises $32.8m seed round to build connected wallet for Africans
💡 E-commerce startup Tendo (YC W22) expands to Nigeria
💡 Edtech startup eCampus LLC selected for the Telecel Group Startupbootcamp AfriTech
💡 36 women graduates from AgriCo Hub’s Digital Skills for Informal Trade Programme
💡 Government completes piloting of YouStart; programme to commence in April
💡 Ghana Revenue Authority - official launches E-commerce and Digital Services Portal

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Week 9: #Partnerships - For the week under review, a couple of startups sealed partnership  deals to expand their frontiers, an e-commerce fulfilment startup raised  an angel round and an innovative finance company also appoints a Head  of New Ventures (Technology Innovation).
Blitz through insights concerning the Ghana Innovation Ecosystem. The headlines include;

💡 Boxplay Ventures Ltd (Stealth Mode) invests in female-led e-commerce fulfilment startup, VDL Fulfilment
💡 Plendify: Wholesale Market partners with Singapore-based B2B marketplace Proxtera to facilitate cross border trade 
💡 Three fintech startups (Bethniel Financial Technology,  JidiTrust  & Tuusor) announced as winners of the Innovation Factory’s Innovation Challenge
💡 Fintech lender Credit Locus disburses $11k to small businesses whiles in beta
💡 Logistics startup Boxconn, expands to Nigeria and Botswana
💡 Ghana Hubs Network and GIZ Make-IT in Africa partner to support innovation hubs and startups 
💡 Letshego appoints Ato Okyir as Head of New Ventures- Technology Innovation
💡 Salary on-demand startup, Cadana, partners with Flutterwave to expands into Nigeria
💡 Paystack granted Enhanced Payment Service Provider license by Bank of Ghana

Let us know what insights you gained?

Week 8: #Discovery – This week funding for Sickle Cell DNA genome sequencing for a local university, Web3 marketplace launching and a Ghanaian start up taking top spot in Europe, Middle East and Africa are some of our top highlights.  Blitz through insights concerning the Ghana Innovation Ecosystem. 

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#ideate #innovate #implement

💡 University of Ghana ’s Prof. Ofori-Acquah awarded $3m grant to sequence the whole genome DNA of children with sickle cell disease in Ghana 🧬
💡 Ayagigs announces a web3 talent marketplace for African to work and get paid in cryptocurrency 👩🏾‍💻
💡 Grow For Me named as one of Founder Institute’s Top 50 Fastest Growing Companies in the EMEA region 🌱
💡 The Code Management Group to open office in Ghana and Nigeria to bridge startup investment gap 👨🏾‍🏫
💡 TradeDepot acquires Accra-based Green Lion to accelerate its growth in Ghana📦️
💡 Complete Farmer launches an enhanced Grower model to replace its Digifarmer product  🌾
💡 Ghana’s DigiExt LLC, Farmerline and TROTRO Tractor selected for Endeavor South Africa's Africa Agritech Scale Up Program 👨🏾‍🌾    

Let us know what insights you gained?

Week 7: #Capital Flows – Capital flows in cash, data and knowledge have been flowing into Ghana. Large sums of money from Holland, others from Nigeria and knowledge capital from France to support Artificial Intelligence development.    Blitz through insights concerning the Ghana Innovation Ecosystem.

💡  Wangara Green Ventures to receive funding support from the Dutch Good Growth Fund (DGGF) 💸
💡  Ten startups selected for the 2022 Ghana InnoLab Insurtech Accelerator Programme  👩🏾‍🏫
💡  Nigerian VC firm LoftyInc Capital Management invested in 4 Ghana-based startups in 2021 💰️
💡  Sixty Manufacturing SMEs selected to benefit from the AGI [Association of Ghana Industries] SME Grant Scheme 🏭️
💡  PAIX Data Centres raise $20m Series B round to expand its pan-African data centres network 💻️

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Week 6: #BossMoves - DreamOval Ltd. snap up Patrick George Quantson from Stanbic Bank, Naa Sika winners of World Summit Awards and former mPharma head of marketing is new Country Manager for Metro Africa Xpress Inc  Blitz through insights concerning the Ghana Innovation Ecosystem.  

💡 Patrick George Quantson joins DreamOval Ltd. as Chief Transformation Officer 🖥️
💡  Lotus Ecoculture and TROTRO Tractor sign partnership to deliver $500m world-class organic produce 👨🏾‍🌾💡 Naa Sika announced as a 2021 World Summit Awards winner 🥇
💡 Gad Ocran appointed as Country Manager of mobility tech startup Metro Africa Xpress Inc as it expands into Ghana 🚍️
💡 Ten Ghana-based startups selected for investors showcase program, Deep Dive Africa    

Let us know what insights you gained?  

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This week's episode is powered by: Jetstream Africa BezoMoney Breakinvent The Innovation Spark

#innovation #africa #money #investments #fintech #startup #carribean #SME #socialcommerce #Saving #GreenTech #bank #google #digital #financialservices #scienceandtechnology #payments #entrepreneurs #startups #funding #tech #marketing #transformation #transformation #agriculture #Ghana #Africa #australia

#Norishment - HOPin Academy to seed 50 startups, Zeepay Ghana Limited feeds another country with its fintech solution and MEST Africa onboards their new EITs to give them food for thought.  
💡 Six Ghanaian startups selected for investors showcase program Deep Dive Africa 💰
💡  HOPin Academy to back 50 entrepreneurs with seed funding🧑🏾‍🌾
💡 Zeepay scales to Ethiopia via a partnership with ethio telecom 🌍
💡 Ghana Fintech and Payments Association opens application for membership 💳

To gain the latest insights follow The Innovation Spark  
#ideate #innovate #implement

#innovation #africa #money #investments #fintech #startup #carribean #SME #socialcommerce #Saving #GreenTech #bank #google #digital #financialservices #scienceandtechnology #payments #entrepreneurs #startups #funding

#NewTerritories have been taken - Ghana to the Caribbean, Solar to Ghana and Kenya, FinTech to the Nasdaq, moves are being made in more ways than one.  
💡 OZÉ raise $3m to expand digital recordkeeping and financial services for African businesses 💰
💡 Fleri selected for Nasdaq’s Milestone Makers program 💹
💡 Zeepay Ghana Limited expands to the #Caribbean 🌍
💡 Kwame Nkrumah'
University of Science and Technology, Kumasi awarded $1m to establish a multidisciplinary #ai lab 🤖   

To gain the latest insights follow The Innovation Spark
#ideate #innovate #implement

#innovation #africa #money #investments #fintech #startup #carribean #SME #socialcommerce #Saving #GreenTech #bank #solar #google #digital #financialservices #scienceandtechnology

"Money Matters 💰 " - Large investments, FinTech Accelerated, Payment License, FinTech App launches new product and Green startup gets grant.  
💡 Float (YC W'20) raises $17m seed to provide credit lines for African businesses
💡 Tendo (YC W22) joins Y Combinator W22 Batch
💡 BezoMoney launches its new savings platform
💡 Chipper Cash granted Enhanced Payment Service Provider license by Bank of Ghana
💡 Worldtech Consult land $10,000 by wining Techpoint Africa Build Pitchstorm 3.0  
#africa #startup #money #fintech #bank #investments

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2022 Kicked off with exciting news concerning the Ghana Innovation Ecosystem
 
💡 Microsoft appoints Angela Kyerematen-Jimoh as Strategic Partnerships Lead for Africa
💡 mPharma raises $35m to expands its community pharmacies
💡 WeGoo announces acceptance into Conscious Venture Lab’s Accelerator Program
💡The President of Ghana appoints Kofi Ofosu Nkansah as CEO of NEIP  

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Gain insights into these and other exciting stories in this edition of the Ghanaian Innovation Ecosystem through iBlitz  
What story excited you most?  

This week's episode is powered by: Jetstream Africa - BezoMoney - Breakinvent - The Innovation Spark  

#IT #Gender #Investment #mobility #healthtech #Ghana #innovation #africa #development #partnerships #microsoft #community #partnerships #bank #funds #accelerator