YC Summer Batch: Record Number of African Startups

Y Combinator’s 2021 Summer Batch: A Record-Breaking Cohort

The 2021 summer session of Y Combinator showcased 377 startups originating from 47 different countries. This represents the 33rd Demo Day for the renowned accelerator program and constitutes its largest cohort to date. Compared to the 198 startups featured in YC S20, this signifies a substantial 90% increase in participation.

Global Representation and Key Countries

Approximately half of the participating companies are headquartered outside of the United States. Among those nations with significant representation, India leads with 33 startups, followed by the U.K. with 18, Mexico with 17, Singapore with 12, and both Canada and Brazil contributing 11 startups each.

Demo Day Structure and Expansion

Unlike the single-day format of the winter batch’s Demo Day, this summer’s event is spread over two days. 189 companies presented their ventures today, with the remaining startups scheduled to pitch tomorrow.

Growth in African Startup Participation

The number of African startups included in the cohort has risen from 10 in the winter batch to 15, establishing a new record for African representation within a single YC program.

Factors Driving Increased African Representation

Michael Seibel, Y Combinator managing director and group partner, noted the overall size and international scope of the batch as contributing factors to the increased African participation. He stated this to TechCrunch when questioned about specific influences on the rise in accepted African startups.

The Influence of Success Stories

Kat Mañalac, head of Outreach at YC, suggests that the recent successes of companies like Paystack and Flutterwave are inspiring more African founders to apply. She believes that these alumni serve as powerful advocates for the program.

“Our alumni consistently prove to be the most effective spokespeople for YC,” Mañalac explained to TechCrunch. “Many African founders I’ve spoken with were motivated by the success of Paystack and its subsequent acquisition, and the achievements of our African alumni are encouraging more teams to apply.”

Leading African Nations and Startup List

Nigeria is at the forefront with five startups, while Egypt boasts four. Morocco has two, and Kenya, Ghana, Zambia, and South Africa each have one representative. The following is an alphabetical listing of the African startups selected for YC S21:

Spotlight on African Startups

Amenli (Egypt)

Insurance penetration rates are notably low across Africa, with Egypt experiencing a particularly minimal rate of just 1%. Amenli, established in 2020 by Shady El Tohfa and Adham Nauman, is targeting a largely untapped $2 billion market as the nation’s first licensed online insurance broker.

Chari (Morocco)

A trend of digitizing informal retail stores is gaining momentum in emerging markets, and Chari is actively participating in this transformation. Founded by Sophia Alj and Ismael Belkhayat in 2020, Chari enables traditional retailers in Morocco and parts of North Africa to order consumer goods through its platform, with free delivery provided. The company also offers credit facilities to these retailers.

Fingo (Kenya)

The rise of neobanks has been a global phenomenon, and Africa represents the next frontier for this innovative fintech approach. Fingo, founded in 2020 by Kiiru Muhoya Gitari Tirima James da Costa and Ian Njuguna, aims to provide a modern banking experience for African millennials, beginning in Kenya. They claim to offer fees that are 90% lower than those of traditional Kenyan banks.

FloatPays (South Africa)

In South Africa, an estimated 5 million employees resort to borrowing money to cover their monthly expenses when their salaries are depleted. However, these lending options often come with excessively high interest rates. FloatPays, founded by Simon Ward in 2019, is an on-demand wage access platform designed to help employees manage, save, and access their earnings.

Freterium (Morocco)

Delivery businesses often manage hundreds or thousands of delivery points daily, requiring efficient planning for fleets of trucks and vans. Optimizing for both cost and efficiency is a significant challenge. Freterium, founded by Omar El Kouhene and Mehdi Cherif Alami in 2018, provides a solution by enabling contractors, manufacturers, distributors, and logisticians to plan and optimize B2B and B2C shipments, offering a cloud platform for real-time visibility and collaboration.

Infiuss Health (Nigeria)

A significant number of Africans are excluded from clinical research studies due to time constraints, with studies often taking up to ten months to complete. Infiuss Health, founded by Melissa Bime and Mbah Charles in 2020, is developing a decentralized platform to facilitate remote research and clinical trials in Africa, connecting researchers with patients in under a week.

Lemonade Finance (Nigeria)

Millions of African immigrants reside in Europe and North America, many of whom have businesses operating in both regions and in Africa. Lemonade Finance, founded by Rian Cochran and Ridwan Olalere in 2020, provides multi-currency accounts to these migrants, enabling seamless transactions and banking services.

Mecho Autotech (Nigeria)

Vehicle repair in Africa can be challenging due to issues with pricing and quality, often stemming from a lack of vetting for mechanics. Mecho Autotech, launched in 2021 by Ayoola Akinkunmi and Olusegun Owoade, is an on-demand auto maintenance and repair platform that connects car owners with a network of vetted mechanics through a mobile app.

Odiggo (Egypt)

Similar to a previously mentioned startup, Odiggo connects car owners with mobile mechanics in the Middle East. The platform also offers additional services such as car washing and maintenance. While listed as Dubai-based, Odiggo originated in Egypt and initially launched operations there.

Payhippo (Nigeria)

Access to credit remains a significant obstacle for the millions of small and medium-sized businesses in Nigeria. Payhippo, founded in 2019 by Zach Bijesse, Uche Nnadi, and Chioma Okotcha, provides loans to businesses that are typically unable to secure financing from traditional banks or financial institutions.

Pylon (Egypt)

Water and electricity distribution companies often experience losses due to leakages and theft when expanding into emerging markets. Pylon, founded in 2017 by Ahmed Ashour and Omar Radi, acts as an infrastructure management platform, helping these companies reduce losses and optimize their operations.

ShipBlu (Egypt)

As e-commerce businesses grow, managing end-to-end delivery and fulfillment becomes increasingly complex. ShipBlu, founded in 2020 by Ahmed ElKawass, Abdelrahman Hosny, and Ali Nasser, offers a comprehensive suite of delivery services for e-commerce merchants, ranging from overnight delivery to five- to seven-day options.

Suplias (Nigeria)

Suplias is a B2B marketplace that connects mom-and-pop stores in Africa directly with manufacturers through a mobile app. Founded by Stephen Igwue, Michael Adesanya, and Sefa Ikyaator in 2019, the platform facilitates the digitization of informal retail in Nigeria.

Union54 (Zambia)

African fintechs often face challenges and high costs when issuing virtual and physical cards in partnership with banks. Union54, founded by Alessandra Martini and Perseus Mlambo in 2021, provides an API that enables them to issue debit cards more affordably and efficiently.

Yemaachi Biotechnology (Ghana)

Yaw Attua-Afari, Yaw Bediako, David Hutchful, and Joyce Ngoi founded Yemaachi Biotechnology in 2020 with the goal of expanding access to precision cancer diagnostics and treatments across the continent, starting with Ghana. With an estimated 752,000 new cancer cases occurring in sub-Saharan Africa in 2018, Yemaachi is focused on developing molecular diagnostics tailored to the African population.