Ten Web/mobile Startups Make Their Debut At 88mph’s Cape Town Demo Day

April 25th, 2013

88mph startups leverage internet and mobile growth in Africa, solving problems that address unique needs of the continent

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – April 25, 2012 – Demo Day has arrived for 88mph, the African seed fund and startup accelerator. Today, 10 startups are set to show off the products they’ve worked on over the past three months. This marks the second batch of startups going through 88mph’s accelerator program, where startups receive intensive mentorship and seed funding.

“Our startups in Cape Town are solving problems very unique to Africa such as leapfrogging the inefficient address system here and changing the way Africans monitor and manage energy costs,” says Kresten Buch, 88mph founder and managing director.

88mph invests in startups that leverage mobile and internet growth in Africa. The continent is the biggest mobile market in the world with 65% mobile penetration, and by 2015, there will likely be more than one cell phone for every African.

A rising middle-class of 313 million consumers (34% of Africa) and rapid urbanization make 88mph’s arrival on the continent even timelier. Africa is the world’s second-fasting region, with forty-five percent of growth coming from consumer-facing or partially consumer-facing sectors. McKinsey and Ernst & Young are forecasting that $150 billion will flow into Africa by 2015, and that consumer spending power will reach $1.4 trillion by 2020.

88mph’s Cape Town startups are set to capitalize on this opportunity across industries like adventure travel and property management to services geared at home repair, taxi services, short time financing and more.

“The three-month program goes by incredibly quickly,” says Buch. “It’s very action-oriented, trial and error. We push teams to get products to market quickly so we can test business models right away and pivot mid-way through if we see a strategy isn’t quite working. It’s the lean startup model.”

At the end of three months, startups are ready for the next level of investment. 88mph hosts a Demo Day, where investors, media and entrepreneurs are invited to listen to the startups present their business models, market strategies, current sales and user acquisition as well as plans for the future.

“The ultimate goal for Demo Day is follow-on funding for our startups,” says Buch. “We’re going into Demo Day very positively. The startups have progressed more in these three months than some companies do in a year or even two.”

Demo Day will be live streaming on April 25, starting at 4pm South African Standard Time. http://bambuser.com/channel/88mph and live tweeting throughout the event via @88mph_Africa.

The 10 Cape Town startups pitching at Demo Day include:

Adrenaline Hunter
Compare and book adventure travel online.

ApexPeak
Web based short-term funding & invoice finance platform.

Homebug
Increasing transparency and convenience for Africans monitoring their prepaid electricity meters.

The Massive
Property management platform.

MyDoorHandle
Adresses in Africa are inefficient. Create and share unique GPS-based addresses for any mobile device.

Near A Builder
Homeowners find reliable builders. Builders find solid leads.

Peach Payments
Payment solutions for online and mobile commerce in emerging markets.

Shop Deploy
An end-to-end e-commerce solution for brands and publishers.

Wabona
Bringing African movies and series to Africa.

Zapacab
Aggregating cabs in Africa to make bookings faster and more reliable.

About 88mh

88mph is a private startup accelerator and seed fund, investing in web/mobile startups targeting the African market. The company is partnered with Google and offers three-month accelerator programs in Nairobi and Cape Town.

88mph makes investments in 10-12 startups and is Africa’s most active seed fund, with over 24 investments since 2011. To date, the company has spent over $1.5 million dollars investing and supporting startups in Africa.

88mph provides startups in Cape Town with funding, an in-house team of experienced entrepreneurs with skills ranging from coding and product development to marketing and business development. 88mph also provides a vast network of local and international mentors as well as office space. Emphasis is placed on great teams with scalable products and speed to market.

Media Contacts

Katie Sarro
+27 74 233 8816
ks@88mph.ac

Chwayita Nqiwa
+27 74 258 4275
press@88mph.ac