Singularity University Calling For Startups In Africa To Apply To Its $100K Accelerator Program

The Singularity University (SU)’s accelerator program Labs Startup Accelerator, is calling on African startups to apply to its $100,000 acceleration program. Eligible startups must demonstrate capacity to use exponential technologies like artificial intelligence, sensor networks, synthetic biology and robotics to provide solutions to problems in society.

These startups’ solutions must be applicable in the areas such as public health, education, governance, environmental conservation, security, and poverty eradication. Application for the Spring 2016 intake is currently open.

Successful applicants will be taken through an eight-week intense training program that will see the startups’ products mature from prototype to market-ready products. The training program will kick off with a one-week Exponential Thinking Bootcamp, which will be followed by a four week accelerated learning; where the startups will cover topics ranging from rapid prototyping, the business fundamentals key in raising capital, and future forecasting. The last weeks of the program will be for demonstrating what the startups have learnt thus far.

The for-profits startups will stand a chance to walk home with a $100,000 in seed funding, while the non-profit startups will be given unrestricted grants worth $50,000. The startups will also get to work at the SU Labs co-working space at the NASA Ames Research Park located at the heart of Silicon Valley. This opportunity will give them a rare access to the investment community comprising of the Fortune 500 companies that are also found in SU’s Corporate Executive Program. The startups will also get ongoing support from the SU Startup Network program.

These are the conditions for eligibility for startups that would wish to apply to the Singularity University acceleration program; they must have a working prototype of an exponential technology, the startups must be made up of at least 2 active co-founders, and the solutions they solve must address a global challenge.

The startups that meet the above requirements have up to until February 19, 2016 to apply. For more details on the acceleration program and/or to apply for the same, click here.