Nigeria Tops List of Qualcomm Startup Programme for Africa Development 

Emma Okonji

Four Nigerian startups have topped the list of 10 selected startups across Africa that will be mentored by Qualcomm to develop technology solutions that will address the immediate and long term needs of Africans. 

Qualcomm Technologies announced the selected 10 startups at the weekebd, drawn from 550 applications across 34 African countries. 

The selected 10 startups will participate in the six months inaugural Qualcomm ‘Make in Africa’ startup mentorship program, as part of the Qualcomm Africa Innovation Platform announced in December 2022. 

The startups will be developing innovative products in clean energy, agricultural technology, computing for education, geospatial predictive analysis, medical technologies, and innovations utilizing electric vehicles. 

Among the selected 10 startups, four came from Nigeria, two each from Kenya and Uganda, and one each from Rwanda and Ghana.

The four startups from Nigeria include: Fixbot, which developed vehicle diagnostics and inspection solution; OneTouch Diagnostics, which developed solution for diabetes patch and monitoring system; QuadLoop, which developed solar e-Lanterns and battery storage from e-waste; and Maotronics Systems Limited, which developed IOT-enabled precision agriculture solution. 

The two selected startups from Kenya inclde: Ecorich Solutions, which developed organic composting solution and Neural Labs Africa Ltd, which developed solution for healthcare diagnosis. 

The two startups from Uganda include: Microfuse, which developed affordable plugin computers for the education sector and Karaa, which developed e-Bike tracking and rentals solution. 

SLS Energy from Rwanda, developed recycled lead-cell battery storage banks solution, while SolarTaxi from Ghana, developed electric vehicle (EV) taxi and fleet management solution. 

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. 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. 

Vice President, Engineering, Qualcomm Incorporated, Sudeepto Roy, said: “I am beyond excited to hear about their respective problem domains and innovative solutions. They have applied their talents and ingenuity to address Africa’s present-day needs in areas of reliable access to clean energy, precision agriculture to conserve water and other resources, among others.”

Vice President and Head of Government Affairs (Middle East and Africa), Qualcomm, Elizabeth Migwalla, said: “We believe that startups based in Africa are best placed  to identify uniquely African problems that can be solved through end-to-end systems solutions and new business models.”