12 Selected African Startups Receive Nearly USD 6 K Each From The HiiL Justice Accelerator
A total of twelve African startups drawn out from countries like Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and the Republic of Benin, have been selected to join the latest cohort of the Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL) Justice Accelerator.
By virtue of their selection, each of the selected startups has received grant worth EUR 5 K (which is equivalent to USD 5,750). The twelve startups will also benefit from continuous business development support.
Amongst the countries represented in the latest cohort of the program, Uganda appears to be leading the pack as the East African nation has four innovations selected to benefit from the program. These include Justice Bot, Yunga, Zzimba Games, and Tunga-Nkola App. Kenya has two representatives in BTrack and Wakili Mkononi, while the duo of Baobab and Epoq Legal represent the offerings from South Africa. The rest of the innovations that have been selected to benefit from the latest cohort are Rwanda’s Viamo, Benin’s HeLawyer, Nigeria’s FarmWorkerzApp, and Sierra Leone’s CrimeSync.
These African startups are believed to have made the cut on account of their respective performances in the Innovating Justice Challenge; a competition that involved regional pitching finals in up to seven different locations across the globe.
“This year is our largest ever cohort and we are delighted to have participants from countries where HiiL hasn’t operated previously,” enthused Ellen Tacoma, Director of the HiiL Justice Accelerator, with regards to the development.
The HiiL Justice Accelerator is aimed at providing assistance to innovators that have set out to proffer sustainable and scalable solutions to problems associated with access to justice. As part of the perks that come with the program, participants are rewarded with grant funding, as well as additional funding and business development support which is made available throughout a one year period.
In addition to the grant and business support, the twelve selected African startups will also be joining the Justice Entrepreneur School and Innovating Justice Forum which is slated for next year at The Hague.
“We’re looking forward to working with such a range of different ideas and experiences. One of the most important parts of the program is learning from others as we all work towards the goal of access to justice for all,” Tacoma added.
In total, this latest cohort of the accelerator saw 17 entrepreneurs join the program, of which 12 are based in Africa. This cohort can be said to have footprints across a range of justice services as the startups selected are known to be working on solutions designed to cater for legal services, business contracting issues, property rights, and criminal procedures. And with the support provided by the HiiL Justice Accelerator, it is believed that these solutions will see further development.
Image via PCTechMag
