Four Startups To Be Scaled In Accra Under The GTL National Incubation Program
Oct. 4, 2020, 8:33 p.m.
Accra West and Accra North have begun incubating four startups under the Ghana Tech Lab national incubation program. These are startups that made it through the Local Pitch summit at the end of Ghana Tech lab’s free web development training program.. This initiative by Ghana Tech Lab is in collaboration with the Mastercard Foundation, Ministry of Communications Ghana, and the World Bank under the Pathways to Sustainable Employment initiative (PaSE).
The incubatees will be taken through a 10-week incubation period. The purpose of the incubation is to provide the startups with the technical and business expertise, development support, training and exposure to opportunities to make them a powerhouse where they can provide solutions to real problems their societies are facing. The criteria for selecting a startup into the incubation program requires that the idea presented by the startup is feasible, business-wise and technically.
The participating startups/incubatees include:
XtraCash: an innovative startup founded by Benedicta Arhin Forson and Dzidzor Kumassah is aimed at reducing the rate of unemployment and the daily commute to work by creating an online poll of freelance opportunities to enable Ghanaians to work from the convenience of their homes.
House Hunt will help tertiary students secure affordable off-campus accommodation while avoiding excess agent fees and fraudulent activities. House Hun is founded by Angela Sarpong Amo and Success Okeibunor.
Medlyf: Eric Tweneboah and Jesse Osei Frimpong are the founders of Medlyf. Medlyf is an online health platform created purposely to make booking to see a medical specialist easier, cheaper, convenient and safe. The platform will also make it easier for people to find the nearest hospitals, pharmacies, laboratories or diagnostic centres based on their current GPS location.
Obaatampa was designed by Juliana Naa Ode Hammond and Emmanuel Sarfo to fill the information gap concerning maternal and child health, by educating women on what they need to know about pregnancy, childbirth and the first year after birth. It will connect clients to specialists and establish personalized two-way communication between both parties. Clients can have location-based recommendations of hospitals and health centres that fit their geographical location, reminders on antenatal appointments and also restock their prescriptions using the online pharmacy.
Prior to the Incubation, a training of trainers (ToT) program was held to take Business and Technical facilitators through an intensive 4-day training on the program manual, the incubation curriculum and other relevant information required for the successful implementation of the incubation program. The facilitators are trained and qualified people with relevant on-the-field experience to train and coach the startups during the incubation. The main purpose of the ToT program was to equip the business and technical facilitators on the needed skills and training to groom the startups for incubation. It is expected that at the end of the ToT sessions, the facilitators will be competent enough and plugged into the program content, expectations and successfully implement the incubation program.
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The incubation program is a 10-week intensive program through which startups are taken through the various stages of startup training, coaching, development and growth. This involves 4 (four) weeks of entrepreneurship training and exposure to the startup ecosystem, business development, idea development, validation and rapid prototyping through design thinking and soft skills training. The almost fully-fledged entrepreneurs will also be taken through 4 (four) weeks of product development, two weeks of market testing including sales hustling, product testing and incorporating feedback into final products to be presented at the NSIPS (National Startups Investment Pitch Summit).
During the incubation program, the business facilitators will organize the startups to pitch their developed solutions four (4) times during the 10-week incubation to ensure that they can pitch their products very well to meet investment standards. In view of this, the startups will be required to pitch their solutions after completion of every task assigned to them or after every milestone achieved. Amongst the many sessions that will be held during the incubation program is the Expert Session or MTE (Meet the Expert) Session. This session allows the startups the chance to meet industry experts to give them relevant information, expertise and aid them in developing their startups. There will also be a set and rigorous performance appraisal structure that ensures that the startups are meeting key timelines and deliverables. This will help them achieve their overall goals and ensure that their zeal does not ebb away.
tag: Africa, Ghana Tech Lab, Incubation, Young Africa Works, Mastercard Foundation, Ministry of Communication, West Africa, World Bank, ghana, PaSE, startups,
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