Flapmax has announced joining forces with Microsoft to help strengthen and scale Africa’s digital ecosystem with the launch of FAST, a startup accelerator. Entrepreneurs based in Africa are invited to apply by February 22, 2022 to participate in the program’s first accelerator cohort, starting March 2022. FAST is designed to help startups that are building cloud technology and artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled products and services supporting Africa’s communities, governments, and companies.
“At Flapmax our mission is to enrich the lives of everyone on the planet and make the world more sustainable, using accelerated AI technology,” said Dave Ojika, founder and CEO, Flapmax. “We are proud to partner with Microsoft to make that dream a reality for startup founders committed to strengthening the digital ecosystem in Africa. Together, we can build an AI-enabled future that serves everyone, everywhere – improving industries from healthcare and education to agriculture and government services.”
Created by Flapmax in partnership with Microsoft, the FAST program combines business development, technology integration, funding and community building opportunities designed to enable African startups to scale more rapidly and sustainably. Program participants will work with Microsoft engineering team members on co-innovation projects ranging from product integrations to new offerings. Members of the Flapmax engineering team will help startups apply new technology solutions, including Measure, Coral Imaging, and Fast Portal. Participants will benefit from additional perks including up to $250,000 in Microsoft Azure cloud credits, access to Founders Hub, Dynamics 365, and Microsoft 365 (including Teams).
“Africa is poised to become the next international technology hub,” says Gerald Maithya, SME and Startups Lead: Africa Transformation Office at Microsoft. “We are excited to partner with Flapmax in our mission of empowering every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. The FAST program will provide direct investment in the technology leaders of tomorrow in the region, helping build key infrastructure that uses artificial intelligence as the basis for solutions development.”
FAST is a technology accelerator committed to expanding opportunities for technology innovation and implementation worldwide. It’s partner-centric approach encourages collaboration across borders and helps companies upskill their team, find customers, hire talent, and raise funds.
Flapmax is committed to creating partnerships that help ignite technology growth across Africa, strengthen local economies, and grow the local tech industry. The Flapmax AI Academy offers training and apprenticeships in AI and cloud computing, cutting edge research opportunities, and ways to collaborate with industry leaders. Working with universities around the world, Flapmax is helping connect the next generation of innovators with sustainable technology goals and cutting-edge career skills.
FAST is prioritizing business to business (B2B) startups in the first cohort, with all industries welcome. Of special interest are companies in healthtech, fintech, edutech, industrial and agritech, sustainability, and deeptech. FAST applicants must be based in Africa, ready to scale or expand within the continent, have an established product-market fit, and available for the full program: March 7 – May 27, 2022.
