Kenyan retail-tech startup MarketForce 360 selected for Y Combinator Summer 2020 Batch
Kenyan retail-tech startup MarketForce has been selected for the Silicon Valley based Y Combinator Summer 2020 batch.
Twice a year, Y Combinator, the most prestigious global VC seed accelerator that has been used to launch some of the top startups including Stripe, Airbnb, Flutterwave, PayStack, Quora and Dropbox invests $150,000 in a large number of startups. This happens trough two batches per year – one from January through March (Winter) and one from June through August (Summer).
YC has funded close to 2,000 startups since it began its program in 2005 and the combined valuation of its portfolio is $100 Billion. The YC program lasts for three months. During those three months, founders participate in group office hours every two weeks and can meet with partners for office hours as often as needed.
During the batch, YC hosts a weekly talk at Y Combinator, where they invite an expert in some aspect of startups to speak. Typically, speakers include startup founders, venture capitalists, and executives from well-known technology companies.
The S20 batch was run fully remotely, amid the COVID-19 crisis. Interviews for the batch were remote, and office hours, evening talks, and meetups throughout the batch all took place over video conferencing, as well as on an online platform and forum for YC founders.
Interviews.
[Interview] Caroline Mutuku, General Manager, Glovo, Kenya
Caroline Mutuku is Kenya's General Manager of multi-category app Glovo. Caroline joined Glovo in December 2022 from Swvl Kenya where she also served as the General Manager from December 2021. In this interview...read more here
[Interview] Renate Swanepoel, COO, INC. Networking
Renate Swanepoel is an entrepreneur, global networker and inspirational speaker that has helped thousands of people around the world to find their purpose. She has gained significant networking and communication...read more here
[Interview] Anne-Marie Chidzero, Chief Investment Officer, FSD Africa
Anne-Marie Chidzero is the Chief Investment Officer at the Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FSD Africa) Investments. In this interview, she talks about the risks and opportunities in backing Africa’s early-stage startups...read more here
[Interview] James Kilpatrick, Chair, Gravitilab, UK
Gravitilab is a "Space as a Service" business providing research, testing and qualification facilities to space agencies, government, academia and commercial enterprises. The company’s Chair and Chief Finance Officer...read more here
[Interview] Ramanjeet Singh, CEO, Woosper, USA
Woosper is a US-based digital advertising and marketing agency focused on creating experiences that help clients discover their place in the digital world. The CEO Ramanjeet Singh...read more here