Kenyan Startup RideSafe Set To Receive USD 140 K In Seed Funding From Aeternity
RideSafe; a Kenya-based first-time ‘insuretech’ mobile-based platform offering real-time health solutions to the public motorbike sector in the event of an accident, has confirmed that it is set to receive as much as USD 140 K in seed funding.
The latest injection of capital into the Kenyan startup is coming in the after its participation in the Bulgaria-based Aeternity Starfleet Incubator; a program designed for startups that have set their sights on leveraging the potentials of blockchain technology. On the backs of the new development, the startup looks set to benefit from all the perks that come with their success in the program as they now join nine other promising startups who made it into the final cohort of Aeternity.
As revealed by Asiimwe Benson, CEO and Founder, RideSafe, in an exclusive interview with WeeTracker, “We will be receiving USD 140 K in seed funding from Aeternity. We met with the Aeternity team at the World Blockchain Conference that was hosted in Nairobi, Kenya, by Trescon. From there, we were able to sign up for an incubation and funding opportunity where over 60 startups had signed up from all over the globe.”
The CEO further disclosed, “We were shortlisted among the top 17 teams to participate, with Vite and UTU Technologies being the only two other African startups that had qualified. After that, we went through a tough week of tests and training and we were again shortlisted amongst the top ten startups who were eligible to join the incubation program fully and stand a chance to secure funding. We made our final pitch at the end of the incubation program and we qualified for the funding.”
When questioned with regards to how the company intends to utilize the funding, Mr. Benson offered, “Most of the capital will be used in expanding our operation scope and capacity to reach as many public service motorbike riders in Kenya as we can. Then, we will as well ensure we have the best technical support that we can get so as to deliver not only quality but also efficient service.
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On the subject of whether Aeternity gets some amount of equity in the startup as part of the funding agreement, the CEO suggested that agreements are yet to be reached on the topic. He also indicated that RideSafe is also looking to put strategic plans in place with a view to going nationwide in the coming year and regional by the end of 2019. “We are looking at making our solution a global service since we are passionate about solving real-world problems for the masses.” the CEO offered.
Aeternity and Aeternity Ventures; the organized body which sees to the activities of the programs and partnerships of the global incubator, have also announced a combined investment of USD 1.3 Mn into all nine projects that made it to the final.
On the occasiion of the program’s closing, Nikola Stojanow, CEO, Aeternity Ventures, also expressed his satisfaction and delight at the passion, dedication and far-reaching potential of the teams that made it to the finals. According to him, “The finalists have demonstrated an innate ability to take our feedback and fine-tune their business models and roadmaps accordingly. I am very excited to see the project progress to the next phase of its development.”
Another Kenyan startup, UTU Technologies, which has developed a machine learning algorithm optimized for trust, is also set to get funding from the blockchain accelerator having made it to the final cohort of the program alongside RideSafe.
