Stanbic Bank has sponsored the 3x3x3 Scale-Up Residency program to the tune of P200 000. The residency, which is an initiative by Ngwana Africa, Botswana's first and only pre-seed accelerator, aims to curate tech-driven start-ups to make them investment-ready for angel investment, venture capital as well as debt funding.
The residency was mainly for Batswana startups who are at early-stage digital B2B SaaS in Agritech, Fintech, Cleantech and Edtech with initial traction and solid teams. The residency was further supported by 14 experienced mentors and the Stanbic Bank Accelerate incubator.
For Stanbic Bank, Chief Executive Officer Samuel Minta said that the mandate of the Stanbic Bank Accelerate Incubator mandate is to produce successful young business owners who are creating jobs and raising capital for investment on the continent. He also iterated that initiatives like the 3x3x3 Scale-Up Residency will unlock possibilities for youth empowerment by reviving the SME sector and hence the need to support them
For Ngwana Africa, co-founder Mooketsi Tekere mentioned that the residency was a great opportunity to showcase a new instrument for financing top-end Innovative Disruptive Enterprises (IDEs) in the Botswana startup ecosystem.
He also mentioned that the program aims to influence digital entrepreneurship culture among youth startups and innovators that are solving problems in their communities and creating future economic solutions.
Furthermore, he said that Ngwana Africa continues to invest and empower youth with requisite skills, finance and support to adopt new climate and technological advancements.
Some of the startups which are part of the residency include Seriti Insights, Bantu Vision, Lime Gig, Classmate Online,Ipachi Capital, AgriNect, Creative Insights.