Europe’s Start-Up Wise Guys Launches Its First Accelerator Programme In Africa
Europe’s Start-Up Wise Guys Launches Its First Accelerator Programme In Africa. One of Europe’s most experienced and a well-known B2B start-up accelerator, Start-up Wise Guys has launched its first programme in Africa. The programme is currently operating in Namibia and has been jointly organised by Start-up Namibia and Key2Investors.
Cristobal Alonso, Global CEO at Start-up Wise Guys told Venture Burn that, “The pandemic forced us to go digital with our programmes and we saw an incredible number of African start-ups interested in joining our programs remotely. Africa had been on our radar for some time, but distance and logistics made it difficult. Alongside our partners, we are now able to offer on-the-ground start-up acceleration, supported and led through digital platforms. Our focus is on African countries where our capacity-building expertise for early-stage start-ups will make the biggest impact.”
Start-up Wise Guys was founded with a mission to help founders become entrepreneurs and build great international tech companies. It is a passionate team that wants to see Baltics and wider CEE region boom with local start-ups going globally, but keeping the talent and operations here, at home. Having experienced serial entrepreneurs, Business Angels and tech fans on the team, and great support network all over Europe, the company is strong on the course to make this mission a reality.
Kirstin Wiedow, GFA Team Leader of Start-up Namibia explained to Venture Burn why the programme was first launched in Namibia. “Although Namibia has a small population and market, we have thriving neighbouring markets which make the country a perfect launchpad to iterate ideas and scale into new markets across Africa. We believe that Namibia can offer a unique environment and ecosystem, which is why it is so crucial to build capacity with the support of the likes of Start-up Wise Guys.”
According to reports, Start-up Wise Guys plans to launch an additional four programmes in Africa by 2022 with a strong focus on East and West Africa. The accelerator is reportedly Nambia’s first experience with an international start-up accelerator and aims to bolster entrepreneurship in the African country.
