African accelerator for European scaleups Chapter54 now in full swing

African accelerator for European scaleups Chapter54 now in full swing

Published: 20-07-2022 10:49:00 | By: Pie Kamau | hits: 3020 | Tags:

Chapter54, the first accelerator dedicated to European scaleups wishing to expand into African markets, launched in January 2022 by Partech, has started to support its first batch of European scaleups. Be Energy, Kawarizmi, Cellcube, CoachHub and SumUp are some of the European scaleups that have been onboarded to the Chapter54 program.

Africa, with its young, tech-savvy population as well as its fast-growing tech ecosystem, offers unprecedented growth potential for European scaleups. However, a successful launch in Africa requires market expertise, local networks, and access to local talent with existing expertise and operational capacity. Chapter54 has been designed to support European tech scaleups committed to entering African markets. The tailor-made program has now started accelerating its first batch. The scaleups that have been chosen represent various sectors and have different expansion plans. Chapter54 is here to help them find their own path to success.

The program boasts a large and curated network of C-Level mentors and speakers, hailing from some of Africa’s biggest names in tech such as Fawry, Jumia, Copia Global, Wasoko, to name a few, but also from major international companies already operating on the continent including the likes of Uber, Glovo, Galileo Global Education. These diverse, hands-on mentors all think think hard about viability before starting any new operations, the mindset needed for success in African markets.

Kamil Senhaji, VP Emerging Markets and New Territories, Galileo Global Education: “From my experience, I know that African markets require both a strategic vision and precise operational execution. That’s why I am more than happy to share my expertise with entrepreneurs and teams eager to invest in this continent.”

Each of these partners help the selected companies refine their operational models, construct solid expansion roadmaps, and align their plans with the local context. The program kicked off with original and insightful reviews of African operating models, success stories and post-mortems, and then continued with dozens of dedicated working sessions with experts from a curated network.

Vincent Previ, Managing Director, Chapter54: “It’s a privilege to help these great companies on so many different topics. It’s not just a matter of additional flags. Co-building a B2B lead machine, switching from an export business-model to a directly operational one, enriching a diaspora-centric positioning... These are just a few examples of the objectives of different acceleration journeys.”

Chapter54 believes that European scaleups won't succeed in Africa without support on the ground from the best-in-class local ecosystems. With this in mind, Chapter54 has partnered with innovators on the continent, such as AfricaWorks in Cape Town, Flat6Labs in Cairo and Tunis, Nairobi Garage in Nairobi, Westerwelle Startup House in Kigali, and many others. Likewise, companies in the program also have access to a unique catalogue of perks selected to aid market entry, from Afriwise, an intuitive platform for the African legal sector or Asoko Insights, Africa’s Leading Corporate Data and Research Platform to Talent2Africa, a Pan-African Digital Recruitment platform.

www.chapter54.com