Connecting Africa is part of the Informa Tech Division of Informa PLC

This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 3099067.

Innovation Hub

Interview: Qualcomm execs on mentorship for African startups

Qualcomm Technology VP for Engineering, Sudeepto Roy, and Elizabeth Migwalla, VP for Government Affairs, join Connecting Africa for an interview about Qualcomm's Make in Africa Mentorship Program.

Ten startups from across Africa were chosen for the inaugural seven-month mentorship program, part of the Qualcomm Africa Innovation Platform announced in December 2022.

The startups – based in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal and Rwanda – were selected from a pool of over 550 applicants from 34 African countries.

Roy and Migwalla spoke about the types of innovations they are hoping the program will help to create and how important diversity is in Africa's startup ecosystem. Roy said Qualcomm sought out women entrepreneurs to encourage them to apply for the program to improve gender balance.

"About 20% of startups [globally] are headed by women, but the amount of VC funding [for women-led startups] is in the pathetic single digits. Yet, if you go and look at small and medium enterprises, more than half are run by women. This is something that drives Qualcomm," Roy told Connecting Africa.

The selected startups are developing innovative products in clean energy, agricultural technology, computing for education, geospatial predictive analysis, medical technologies and innovations utilizing electric vehicles. Several startups also feature women in prominent leadership roles.

The Qualcomm executives also discuss how valuable the role of mentorship is in the process of building a successful innovation company and how the program has been designed to add to the continued growth of the continent's technology startup ecosystem.

"We realized that it's well and good to have adopters of technology on the continent but given where things are going – with 5G being a platform that enables innovation – and with Africa's young population, that youth dividend fits in very well with the capabilities that 5G can enable. We thought that if we could convert that into innovators and inventors, because remember they're the future consumers, that interface would create the kind of effect we've seen in other regions," added Migwalla.

"We believe that startups based in Africa are best placed to identify uniquely African problems that can be solved through end-to-end systems solutions and new business models," she said.

The shortlisted companies and their technology solutions are:

  • Ecorich Solutions – patented organic composting in Kenya

  • Fixbot – Vehicle diagnostics and inspection via OBD dongle in Nigeria

  • Karaa – e-Bike tracking, charging, retrofit and rentals in Uganda

  • Maotronics Systems Limited – IOT-enabled precision agriculture in Nigeria

  • Microfuse – Affordable plugin computers for the education sector in Uganda

  • Neural Labs Africa – Deep learning and computer vision for healthcare diagnosis in Kenya and Senegal

  • OneTouch Diagnostics – Diabetes patch and monitoring system in Nigeria

  • QuadLoop – Leveraging e-waste for solar e-lanterns and battery storage in Nigeria.

  • SLS Energy – Recycled lead-cell battery storage banks in Rwanda

  • SolarTaxi – Electric vehicle (EV) taxi and fleet management in Ghana

    — Paula Gilbert, Editor, Connecting Africa

  • Innovation hub

    Story

    Omdia View: February 2024

    Highlights in February 2024 in the Middle East and Africa included 5G launches in Senegal and 5G trials in Egypt as well as Kenya's first 5G MVNO. Airtel also launched a new wholesale connectivity business while MTN and Huawei are planning a joint Innovation Technology Lab in South Africa – that and more in this month's Omdia View.

    Story

    Key adoption areas for machine learning in Africa

    ICT analyst Francis Hook identifies some of the key sectors that could be positively impacted by machine learning, including education, government services, healthcare and climate tech.

    More Innovation hub

    Latest video

    More videos

    Upcoming events

    Africa Tech Festival 2024
    November 11-14, 2024
    Cape Town, South Africa
    More Upcoming events

    Sponsored video

    More videos

    Industry announcements

    More Industry announcements

    Africa Tech Perspectives

    Story

    Uber's Marjorie Saint-Lot on inclusion and sustainability in Africa

    Uber's Country Manager for Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire, Marjorie Saint-Lot, shares how the ride-hailing company is approaching public-private partnerships, environmentally friendly initiatives and gender inclusion in Africa.

    Story

    The 100 most influential African leaders in 2023

    A new report from Africa Tech Festival and Connecting Africa puts a spotlight on the top 100 African leaders in the telecoms and technology sector in 2023.

    Story

    Deep dive into East Africa's tech startup ecosystem

    New survey reveals a lack of access to investors, reliance on international VCs and global recession trends as the biggest barriers for East African tech startups to access funds.

    More Africa Tech perspectives

    Partner perspectives

    All Partner Perspectives

    Guest Perspectives

    Story

    Omdia View: January 2024

    By Omdia Analysts

    Highlights in January 2024 in the Middle East and Africa included a $200 million fintech deal between MTN and Mastercard as well as 5G network trials by Telecom Egypt – that and more in this month's Omdia View.

    Story

    Omdia View: September 2023

    By Omdia Analysts

    Highlights in September 2023 in the Middle East and Africa included more 5G spectrum licenses, vendor and operator strategies, and partnerships – that and more in this month's Omdia View.

    More Guest Perspectives

    Like us on Facebook

    Newsletter Sign Up


    Sign Up
    Tag id test-002