Barely a week after three Nigerian start-ups got £5,000 each from the United Kingdom government, two more start-ups have received £80,000 from the UK Aid-supported Catalyst Fund.
According to a statement from the grant providers, the two Nigerian fin-tech startups, WellaHealth and Flex Finance, will also benefit from a six-month programme of tailored venture-building support from experts from the research, advisory and data analytics firm, BFA Global.
The small companies were awarded the grant alongside four other fin-tech star-tups from Mexico (Mango Life and Graviti), South Africa (PayMeNow) and India (KarmaLife). All six are now part of a cohort of 31 companies from around the world who are receiving Catalyst Fund support.
WellaHealth is a Nigeria-based platform offering affordable healthcare coverage to protect families from the financial shock that came from unexpected health emergencies, including hospital cash during COVID-19.
Flex Finance provides a financial management tool that enables micro and small businesses to digitise operations and establish a digital footprint that can enable them to improve operations, operate digitally and become eligible for credit lines and other financial services.
The Catalyst Fund is a global inclusive fin-tech accelerator managed by BFA Global. It works with innovators in emerging markets who are building affordable, accessible and appropriate solutions for underserved communities to accelerate the local innovation ecosystems around them.
Speaking on being accepted in the 2020 Catalyst Fund cohort, the Chief Executive Officer of Flex Finance, Babayemi Olulana, said, “After winning the Accion Venture Labs competition, I was ready to take Flex to the next level, and began searching for an accelerator that had a good track record of supporting fin-tech start-ups to scale. I am glad we found Catalyst Fund and got accepted into the 2020 cohort.”
In his remarks, the CEO of WellaHealth, Ikpeme Neto, enthused that, “We’re delighted to be joining the Catalyst Fund to leverage their experience and expertise during these critical times, to make health more accessible and affordable.”
Commenting on the latest funding supports to the beneficiary start-ups, Catalyst Fund Director, Maelis Carraro, said, “We believe we are facing a catalytic moment during which there is an opportunity to use technology to help low-income consumers and small businesses recover from the impact of COVID-19 and build greater financial resilience for the future.
“If we support the right companies now, these innovations can grow to play a critical role in improving financial health globally.”
