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Kenyan start-ups in World’s ‘Top 10 African Companies’ list
The three companies – Eneza Education, M-Kopa and One Acre Fund – came first, seventh and eighth respectively, the list has…
The three companies – Eneza Education, M-Kopa and One Acre Fund – came first, seventh and eighth respectively, the list has brief descriptions of why each of the companies are on it, the description for the three start-ups from Kenya read as follows:
Eneza Education: – For providing kids in rural Africa with a virtual tutor. The Kenyan startup, co-founded by two former members of Nairobi’s iHub community, creates educational content that kids in low-income rural areas can access on low-end cell phones. Through its “virtual classroom,” students between the ages of 11 and 18 can study subjects including math, science, and English, and take any of its 2,000 quizzes and more than 16,000 questions, with the option of a mini lesson if they score below 50 per cent – all for the equivalent of 50 U.S. cents a month. It hopes to reach more than 1 million students in rural Africa this year, and 50 million in the next five years in at least 10 different African countries.
M-Kopa: – For making solar energy affordable for the poor. Since launching its pay-as-you-go solar-energy service in Kenya in 2012, M-KOPA has grown to serve 150,000 households in east Africa, adding 100,000 in the last year alone. M-KOPA aims to provide households living without electricity a cheaper, safer alternative to kerosene. “You can make solar affordable by making it a daily payment,” says M-KOPA’s co-founder and managing director, Jesse Moore. “Affordability to a low-income person is about very small amounts on a daily or weekly basis because cash flows are very tight. It doesn’t work to offer somebody a monthly plan.”
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One Acre Fund: For improving the livelihoods of African farmers. One Acre Fund offers seed and fertilizer on credit to farmers living in remote areas. It trains them in agricultural techniques and helps them sell their harvests.
The list was published recently. Other companies on the the list include; Konga, IrokoTV, Ubongo (Tanzania), Leti Arts, MELTWATER Entrepreneurial School of Technology, Praekelt Foundation and Jobberman.