Three Most Promising Startups From Sahara Accelerator — Q1 Cohort.
Sahara Accelerator — has been a busy Q1; we started the year by onboarding seven startups and launching the PesaTech Accelerator, we have partnered with UNCDF Tanzania to Accelerate FinTech startups in the country.
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Last quarter of 2021, we decided to restructure how our accelerator program operates and agreed to pay attention to quality rather than quantity. We innovated a new investment facilitation model, whereby we take a commission from the successful introduction of startups to investors instead of equity once the deal is made. We only take equity if we put in our own money. We are still learning from the model, but we are optimistic that we will close one or two significant deals in the next few months. Sahara Accelerator’s mission is to back Africa’s most promising ventures helping to build with the minimum resources possible. We believe in Zebras, a company that creates actual value on the ground beyond paper values and promises of lucrative exits. Who Are The Three Companies?
GasFasta
Have you ever come back home after a long, frustrating day in the crazy traffic of Dar es Salaam and immediately when you want to switch on the cooking stove, you realise you are out of gas? I have. That is the problem GasFasta is trying to solve. The company provides a cheaper, convenient and fastest way to purchase cooking gas. With GasFasta, you will no longer have to worry about wasting time on the road to buy cooking gas, fluctuating prices, and anticipating when your gas will run out.
GasFasta is looking to disrupt the LPG sector value chain in urban Africa, starting with Dar es Salaam. By 2030, Dar es Salaam will have more than 12 million inhabitants attaining the Megacity Status. Due to the increase of the middle class and increased efforts to replace the usage of charcoal, the LPG sector has become one of the most lucrative sectors. In 2020, the government imported 194,597,000 KG of LPG. With the increased number of internet users, the rapid pace of urbanisation, and increased the middle class. The consumption of LPG creates a unique opportunity for GasFasta to disrupt the sector entirely. The founders have vast experience in the industry and are passionate about fixing it. Among the startup's advisors is Andron Mendes, who exited with KopaGas for 25 Million USD in 2020. I have personally written a cheque to this startup.
Sumet
Finding a foreign startup founder in Tanzania is not common, and Hazem Afify, an energetic Egyptian Founder, demystifies that. Sumet is a company that is currently disrupting the FMCG value chain in Tanzania. The company is Transforming supply chain distribution through data-driven algorithms and predictive analysis, facilitating connections between suppliers and informal retailers, saving their money, effort, and time. While it is not popular on Twitter, the company does roughly 1900 delivery every month, with monthly revenue of $150,000.
Sumet is looking to reach 33,000 shops in Dar es Salaam, Mwanza and Arusha with a monthly purchase per shop of 3,000 USD. Already the company has an M2M growth of 15:20 per cent. The company is open to further strategic partnerships with local, regional and global suppliers. With the vision to establish its virtual marketplace and ERP system connected to its core engine, Sumet is looking to become the most comprehensive data source for FMCG data in Tanzania and eventually Africa. Sumet founder has years of experience working with startups across Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Summet is currently raising $2.5 million.
Hover
You might have seen some Billboards on top of taxis and Uber/Bolt cars in Dar es Salaam and wondered what is this? Hamzaali and Salman are the Cofounders of Hover Ads limited, the company looking to disrupt Out of Home Advertising Across Africa. They have so far created more than 10 million impressions. The company offers innovative, strategically placed media ads with real-time data collection and end to end platforms. Hover's uniqueness is omniQ, a proprietary content management system and self serve platform (demand-side) that packs a robust data collection infrastructure by leveraging computer vision (AI) & Blockchain technologies to power Hover's inventory.
Hover is just getting started; the company is looking to facilitate an end to end, seamless, easy and efficient Out of Home media buying experience. They will be able to map all media points, and clients will buy and track ad space on Hover media using omniQ. Hover is currently raising $1.25 Million.
Closing Thoughts
At Sahara Accelerator, we are excited to work with these amazing founders. We believe we are on track to create Zebra companies, companies that deliver a real value beyond just paper value.
We are open to onboarding startups for our second (Q2) cohort of 2022. You can contact us at contacts@saharaventures.com
