The Nigeria-based Co-creation Hub (CcHub) has partnered with Google for Entrepreneurs to launch a three-week campaign across five European cities to lobby for funds to support startups in Africa.
The PitchDrive campaign will run through London, Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam, and Zurich. The campaign will bring together 15 elite African tech companies to learn about cutting edge technology in the market, pitch before investors, and explore various international partnerships for startups across Africa.
The campaign kickoffs in London on August 14th, where the team will visit Google’s Campus London, Factory Berlin, TQ Amsterdam, and Impact Hub in Zurich. The campaign will wind up at NUMA Paris where the inaugural participants will make a pitch before a live audience of 300 investors with a goal of raising € 20M in three weeks.
“Entrepreneurs from across Africa are building world-class tech companies, and we are delighted to be able to use the power of the Google for Entrepreneurs network to showcase their fantastic products to audiences in some of Europe’s most important tech ecosystems,” said David Grunwald, Head of Global Partnerships Google for Entrepreneurs.
The participants set to pitch on the PitchDrive will benefit from immense mentorship from some of the big time tech startup founders like Jason Njoku the CEO and Founder of Iroko, Stephen Newton of the Illuminate African, Saidah Nash Carter of Reuters and David Grunwald of Google for Entrepreneurs.
Application to PitchDrive is now open, and startups able to fundraise at seed stage and above are welcome to submit their applications. However, they need to meet at least the following requirements:
Ø The startup must have been running for at least two years.
Ø Legally registered.
Ø Able to show at least 12 months revenue-generating operations.
Ø Based in Africa.
Based on their selection criteria, the startups that do get selected will need to have a strong management team that has worked together for at least the past 12 months. Also as one of the requirements, the founder(s) of the startup must own between 30-60% of the business. The founders are also required to be available for at least three weeks during the summer of 2017.
“Google started in a garage two decades ago. Our bus is the equivalent of their garage. We hope that with the support of Google for Entrepreneurs on the PitchDrive tour, we may secure capital to launch a new trajectory for one or two African unicorns of the future,” says Bosun Tijani, the Founder, and CEO of CcHub.
