Following their significant success in their first Barclays Accelerator Programme this year, Barclays Africa signed an initial collaboration agreements with 7 of the 10 startups that were part of the programme. On Tuesday, Barclays Africa announced applications for their second annual Barclays Accelerator Programme, open and will be powered by Techstars, an initiative aimed at uncovering the next M-Pesa or Paypal by working with exceptional fintech entrepreneurs innovating Africa’s financial services industry.
The collaboration between Barclays Africa and Techstars offers a game-changing opportunity to 10 qualifying fintech startups, which will take part in a 13-week programme beginning in May 2017, based out of the Rise fintech innovation hub in Woodstock, Cape Town.
Leading the innovation agenda for Barclays Africa – Yasaman Hadjibashi said; “Africa has tremendous untapped potential to not only pioneer its own creative solutions for its unique contexts but to also create solutions that the rest of the world can adopt for their own contexts.”
According to the Disrupt Africa African Startups Funding Report 2015, 29% of investment in African tech startups goes to those focused on fintech, suggesting a substantial opportunity for innovative ventures in the sector.
Selected startups will be given the opportunity to enter or expand their presence in the African marketplace via Barclays Africa Group’s customer, product, and technology teams, and will also have the chance to scale globally through Rise sites in London, New York, Mumbai, Tel Aviv and Vilnius.
In a statement, Yossi Hasson; Managing Director of Techstars says; “The depth of experience that the Techstars team and global mentor network has in working with and investing in over 900 start-ups is unprecedented for the African continent.”
How to Apply:
For this opportunity, apply at Barclays Accelerator Africa before February 5th, 2017.
