Go From a Founder to a Pan-African Entrepreneur With Our SaaS Startup Accelerator
In 10 years, we kept polishing and perfecting our startup accelerator program to bring you the most cutting-edge SaaS accelerator experience:
Who is this program for?
This program is mainly for English-speaking East and West African early-stage digital B2B SaaS startups with initial traction, a solid team, and a focus on one of these areas:
FinTech
AgriTech
EdTech
CleanTech
HealthTech
RetailTech
Start your journey together with Startup Wise Guys
Startup Wise Guys is one of the top investors in early-stage startups in Europe and has already worked with online acceleration programs out of Namibia.
With more than 300+ startup investments, including several in African startups behind our back and a solid team of serial entrepreneurs and passionate mentors – we for sure have what it takes to help you accelerate your business growth and scale internationally!
11
300+
213M €
600
Awesome Mentors
We have a deep network of 350+ mentors who are experts in their fields or founders of startups themselves. Here are some of our top SaaS mentors you will get the chance to meet and learn from at Wise Guys SaaS accelerator program.
Adia Sowho
Chika Nwobi
Seun Ojo
Product and technical leader
Stoyan Yankov
Gleb Maltsev
Patrick Collins
Uldis Žeidurs
Product and technology mentor, Geek in Residence at Startup Wise Guys
Team
Running an accelerator is a bit like running a sports camp! This is the kick-ass team that will keep you on track with KPIs, give constructive feedback, and make you enjoy a life-changing experience!
Eliud Mungai
Program Managing Director
Petra Wolkenstein
Runs Digital Acceleration platform key2investors and delivers startup programs with African Cooperation Partners (Ghana, Namibia and Kenya)
Franziska Kolk
Built a CleanTech startup in Morocco, established an international sales structure across Sub-Saharan Africa, and advises African startups on entering European markets.
Cristobal Alonso
Representing Wise Guys Holding OU. Previously run an African focused marketplace Mobofree (2013/2016)
Adia Sowho
Builds, operates, and scales technology ventures. She has successfully designed, built and scaled tech-driven platform companies in emerging markets, delivering +$100M businesses
Chika Nwobi
Nigerian technology entrepreneur, investor, and company builder
Samuel Amanor
Founder & CEO at BlueSPACE Africa, SWG Ambassador in Ghana
Program partners & supporters
Decagon
Startup Africa Roadtrip
EKO Innovation Center
CleanTech Group
Invest Africa
Now Sprint
Stage Co
Untapped
Bring your SaaS startup to the next level
With more than 290 startup investments behind our back and a solid team of serial entrepreneurs and passionate mentors – we for sure have what it takes to help you speed up your business and scale internationally! Hit the button below and become a part of the Startup Wise Guys family.
FAQ
Our programs are meant for B2B startups. We do sometimes work with B2B2C companies, but we do not work with B2C startups.
To be eligible for the full-time acceleration program you need to have:
- at least a working MVP;
- at least 2 co-founders/team members;
- initial customer traction, MRR or revenues;
- scaling potential across the African continent.
- After the submission of the application to the Dealum, the Scouting team evaluates the application for eligibility. It can take up to 2 weeks for us to get back to you after we have received your application.
- If the application fits our criteria we might ask you additional questions and invite you to take part in the pitch day to present the business to SWG General partners and team members.
- Pitch day is an internal event to evaluate the business idea and meet founders face to face, after the pitches SWG team decides how to proceed with the application. Decisions are: move forward with Due Diligence, offer Wise Guys Pre-accelerator program, reject or stay in touch until later.
- Due diligence process includes: the Tech call, Managing Director call, Partner/ expert call, and the Deal call.
- After the startup has successfully gone through the due diligence process they are invited to the Selection Bootcamp.
- TOP 10-12 teams are selected to participate in the acceleration program.
Investment conditions include a 65K euro (45K cash + 20K program) investment for 12% equity of the company. Further details are provided to the founders.
Throughout the program, there are four main focus areas on which we are working to help you build and grow your startup: Company building, Sales and marketing, Fundraising and Pitching, and Product building.
Work in these areas happens through intensive collaboration with almost 100 mentors at workshops, one-on-one sessions, and sprint weeks, as well as through a dedicated implementation time throughout the program.
A full-time commitment is a requirement to participate in the program. The program is designed to be fully online – and we expect founders to attend in person at least 2/3 of the modules.
We, as an accelerator, run different programs for startups in different stages, therefore we have also split the Wise Guys SaaS – Africa program into two stages to better support startups and their needs according to the stage they are at.
Acceleration part I is an equity-free 8-week long Pre-acceleration program. This is an additional step in the scouting process.
Acceleration part II is a 5-month program and comes with an investment. The main criteria to be eligible for the equity-based program are:
– a working MVP
– at least 2 co-founders
– initial traction. MRR/ revenues.
The Scouting team evaluates each application and decides what program the startup is eligible for. If we see the potential in the project, but it is still a little too early for acceleration part II – we invite the startup for the 8-week online acceleration part I program, where we provide mentoring and support to help startups grow faster.
The program is focused on early-stage B2B startups from Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, and Ghana.
Yes, you can. However, you will need to establish a company, if selected for the program.
The program will only be held in English.
We provide continued on-demand help. Once you complete the program, you’ll join the most vibrant community of Startup Wise Guys Alumni network, where our teams and mentors will keep routing for your success after the program completion. In addition, our Venture Partners in East- and West Africa will continue supporting you in sales and business development activities.