Zoora, Bidhaa Sasa, and Hive Online have been selected to take part in the prestigious F-LANE accelerator programme.

The Vodafone Institute in Germany programme is a five-week virtual acceleration gathering designed for early-stage entrepreneurs with ambitious outcomes to advance women’s and girls’ leadership, equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Development Diaries learnt that a record number of 455 startups from 84 countries worldwide applied for the Vodafone Institute’s global F-LANE accelerator programme.

Through the training, the women are exposed to different experts in entrepreneurship, training, and mentorship.

It was learnt that they were chosen for their use of cutting-edge technology to tackle issues that impact women’s lives in Uganda, Kenya, and Rwanda.

An Official of F-Lane, Julia Ebert, said, ‘Their success is a testament to the ongoing fintech innovation that is changing women’s lives across the African continent’.

Uganda-based Zoora, which was founded in 2019 by Sarah Baryaija, empowers women in rural Uganda.

The startup is a digital platform for accessing digital education in finance, enterprise development, smart agriculture, climate change, gender dynamics and proper record keeping, developed for members of VSLAs (Village Savings and Loan Association).

As for Kenya-based Bidhaa Sasa, a last-mile distribution service that operates in Bungoma, Nandi, Uasin Gishu, Kakamega, Vihiga, Siaya, Bomet, Homabay, and Kericho, it finances essential goods to under-served rural communities in order to improve their quality of life.

Hive Online, founded in 2017 by Sofie Blakstad and Matthew Mims, uses block chain technology to enhance the financial profile of rural women in Rwanda by building a financial trust history and giving women the tools for financial inclusion.

Source: Vodafone Institute

Photo source: Pool/Nation Media Group