Five businesses graduate from Senegal Start-Up Accelerator; receive $10,000 seed-funding

Kosmos Energy announced today the winners of the Kosmos Innovation Center Senegal Start-Up Accelerator 2019, a program supporting innovative young entrepreneurs to develop the skills they need to run successful businesses in the agriculture and fishing sectors in Senegal.

 

At the Senegal Start-Up Accelerator Demo Day at Hotel King Fahd Palace, the leadership teams of the five graduating businesses shared the progress they have made over the course of the six-month program. They were able to present their businesses in front of an audience of government officials, program mentors, staff and peers, demonstrating the strength of their business model and benefit they will bring to customers.

 

The five businesses are:

 

• Fraisen, which has created a support and training network for strawberry growers
• Jappandil, which has created a platform to help farmers access and compare service providers
• Tolbi, which has created a device to detect soil composition and help farmers make effective decisions about irrigation
• Senphytomed, which is producing teas and beauty products from medicinal plants
• Senbioagro, which is producing food products from the Moringa plant

 

All the businesses will now continue to grow their customer base and receive support from the KIC to find and access additional funding required to grow. They have already each received $2,000 seed-funding from Kosmos Energy, and Fraisen has secured an expression of interest in providing additional funding from Delegation à l’entrepreneuriat rapide (DER), a government fund for entrepreneurship.

 

Mamadou Mar Faye, External Affairs & CSR Manager, Kosmos Energy Senegal said: “The businesses graduating from the Senegal Start-Up Accelerator all have the potential to solve real problems for customers, create jobs, and drive growth.

 

“At Kosmos, we aim to be a long-term partner, deeply engaged in helping our host countries create a brighter future beyond oil and gas. We are delighted to be driving this innovation where it is needed most, in Senegal’s agricultural sector, and I look forward to watching the businesses continue to grow and prosper.”

 

Over the 26-week Senegal Start-Up Accelerator the entrepreneurs were supported to turn their innovative ideas into high potential businesses. They were provided with expert individual and group training, organized visits to established businesses and professional mentoring. The program was delivered by Kosmos Innovation Center’s non-profit partner, Reach for Change, which specializes in accelerators and incubators designed specifically to support social entrepreneurs.

 

Mayacine Diop, Program Director at Reach for Change said: “Through the KIC program, we have demonstrated what Senegalese start-ups can achieve when they get appropriate support. We are honored to show partners and stakeholders the results of the entrepreneurs’ work over the past six months. We thank Kosmos for their belief in this project and entrepreneurship in Senegal.”