Overview:
The Ugandan startups are; Karaa, which makes electric delivery bicycles, and Microfuse Technologies, a startup which innovated microfuse stick, a plugin computer.
Two Ugandan startups are among 10 startups selected to participate in the inaugural Qualcomm Make in Africa startup mentorship programme.
The startups are developing innovative products in clean energy, agricultural technology, computing for education, geospatial predictive analysis, medical technologies, and innovations utilizing electric vehicles. Several startups also feature women in prominent leadership roles.
The Ugandan startups are; Karaa, which makes electric delivery bicycles, and Microfuse Technologies, a startup which innovated microfuse stick, a plugin computer.
Karaa’s founder is Geofrey Mutabazi while Microfuse Technologies was started by Ivan Karugaba.
Responding to the news, Karugaba said: “I expect to learn a lot. As microfuse, we want to enhance our capabilities from engineering, to sales and how big companies have made it is key.”
The startups, some based in Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, and Rwanda, were selected from a pool of 550+ applicants from 34 African countries. They were carefully selected by a global jury based on a variety of qualifications including technical capabilities, business factors, and potential for innovation and intellectual property generation.
“Over the next few months, we will mentor them in areas of business development, technology applications and intellectual property law. We are honoured to be able to participate in their entrepreneurial journey and their future impact in Africa,”
Sudeepto Roy, Vice President, Engineering, Qualcomm Incorporated.
The Qualcomm Make In Africa startups will receive equity-free mentorship in business planning, engineering, intellectual property protection, and the application of advanced connectivity, sensing, AI/ML and other processing technologies for innovative end-to-end systems solutions.
The programme is designed to add to the continued growth of the continent’s technology startup ecosystem.
The shortlisted companies and their technology solutions are (sorted by alphabetical order):
- Ecorich Solutions – patented organic composting in Kenya
- Fixbot – Vehicle diagnostics and inspection via OBD dongle in Nigeria
- Karaa – e-Bike tracking, charging, retrofit, and rentals in Uganda
- Maotronics Systems Limited – IOT-enabled precision agriculture in Nigeria
- Microfuse – Affordable plugin computers for the education sector in Uganda
- Neural Labs Africa Ltd – Deep learning and computer vision for healthcare diagnosis in Kenya and Senegal
- OneTouch Diagnostics – Diabetes patch and monitoring system in Nigeria
- QuadLoop – Leveraging e-waste for solar e-Lanterns and battery storage in Nigeria.
- SLS Energy – Recycled lead-cell battery storage banks in Rwanda
- SolarTaxi – Electric vehicle (EV) taxi and fleet management in Ghana
Announced in December 2022, Qualcomm Make in Africa will provide 1:1 mentorship for the shortlisted companies with Qualcomm leaders on a regular cadence to guide startups to product realization, as well as provide masterclasses on product management, pitch clinic, IPR, and hardware architecture.
The programme will culminate in a finale demo day in December 2023, connecting startups with various industry leaders, venture capitalists, investors, and other accelerators.
“I’d like to applaud and congratulate these 10 startups for their innovative solutions,” said Sudeepto Roy, Vice President, Engineering, Qualcomm Incorporated.
“Over the next few months, we will mentor them in areas of business development, technology applications and intellectual property law. We are honoured to be able to participate in their entrepreneurial journey and their future impact in Africa,” he added.