African Tech Startups Selected to take Part in the Smart Cities Innovation Programme

Thirty-one African tech startups have been selected to take part in the Smart Cities Innovation Programme, which will help them scale up their products and services to boost urban transformation. Launched by the Rwandan Ministry of ICT and Innovation and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the six-month Smart Cities Innovation Programme is designed to help African startups scale innovative products which can boost the potential of urbanisation, ensuring smart cities achieve inclusive and sustainable economic growth.  By scaling innovations for smart cities, the programme concretely contributes to Africa’s urban transformation in line with the Sustainable Development Goals. The programme uses Rwanda’s pilot initiative towards green urbanisation, Green City Kigali, as an application case for smart city. By testing and adapting their solutions under realistic market conditions startups work on a viable business opportunity and explore the potential of the Rwandan market. After more than 300 applications were received for the programme, 31 startups have been selected to take part across three tracks addressing common topics of smart cities – cleantech and smart housing, smart mobility, and fintech for affordability. The selected startups in the first track include three from Nigeria, namely Scrapays, Koolboks and Gas360, as well as Rwanda’s Urbany Africa, South Africa’s Dove Air, Uganda’s EcoPlastile, and Ivory Coast’s Messibat.

SOURCE: DISRUPT AFRICA