Startups Profile

Ongair was launched in 2014 by current chief executive officer (CEO) Trevor Kimenye and chief operating officer (COO) Charles Gichuki after the pair, who owned a digital consulting agency, were approached by a Kenyan bank and asked to come up with a unique campaign for Valentine’s Day. Ongair is being used by more than 700 […]

It all started when on a trip to Africa, the BGW team saw firsthand the many failed previous attempts to solve the water problem.  They learned two billion people on our planet don’t have ready access to safe drinking water.  In the developing world, 60% of deaths of children under the age of five are

Gradely NG: Story, Founders, Investors & Funding Rounds Gradely was co-founded by Boye Oshinaga, Femi Ibiwoye, Seyi Adelaju, and Babatunde Caleb.  The startup uses AI to help parents and schools intervene in real-time to plug student learning gaps. Gradely provides an adaptive learning platform that allows early identification of learning gaps and recommends specific ways

Co-founded in 2014 by Laurence Olivier, CEO, and Dr. Franco du Preez, Chief Scientist, LifeQ is a provider of biometrics and health insights derived from wearable devices. By offering a 24/7 lens into the body, LifeQ generates business-grade biometrics for consumers, athletes, and the acutely and chronically ill to detect health problems earlier, manage their

Watobe was founded by Henry Warren, former director of innovation at publishing company Pearson, and Erik Lönnroth, also ex-Pearson and a former consultant at PwC, in 2019. Africa is in the midst of an education crisis – a perfect storm of population growth, teacher shortages, under-resourced schools, and a global pandemic working to curtail the

Founded in 2020 by British-born Nigerians Ladi Delano and Jide Odunsi, Moove is democratizing vehicle ownership in Africa by providing revenue-based vehicle financing to mobility entrepreneurs. Moove was founded in response to the challenge faced by over 2 million African mobility entrepreneurs – the lack of access to vehicle financing.  Moove was initially built to

Akili Network launched Akili Kids, Kenya’s first and only free-to-air TV station with educational entertainment for children and families.  Today, Akili Kids is the number one most-watched TV channel in Kenya in households with kids under the age of 18, with a weekly viewership of over 6.7 million children and 4.8 million grownups watching along

Trove builds technology that allows brands to take control of their resale marketplaces, deepening customer loyalty and generating new profits.  The company provides white-label technology and end-to-end operations that power circular shopping for premium brands such as lululemon, Patagonia, REI, Nordstrom, Levi’s, Eileen Fisher, and Arc’teryx.  Trove enables brands to take back items from customers’

Vendease was founded in 2019 by Tunde Kara, Olumide Fayankin, Gatumi Aliyu, and Wale Oyepeju to connect food businesses with suppliers. The idea for Vendease came when the founders, who have been friends for more than five years, noticed their favorite restaurants in cities like Lagos and Accra shutting down.  Inquisitive, they asked the owners

Shyft Power Solutions, formerly known as Solstice Energy Solutions, was founded at Stanford University as a byproduct of the research of the co-founders.  Their journey began as a means to drive solar and battery adoption and enable widespread access to clean, reliable, and affordable energy.  They build technology that will enable the transition to a