Introducing The First Pariti Founder Fellows

In March 2022, we put out a call inviting startups across Africa to apply to the first Pariti Founder Fellowship. Today, we’re pleased to announce the first cohort of remarkable founders for the Pariti Founder Fellowship. This 6-week virtual fellowship brings the best of Pariti’s programs, products, people and technology to startups doing interesting and impactful work across the continent.

We received over 300 applications for this Fellowship, from which we selected 8 fantastic founders. We’re excited to welcome the founders to the fellowship and invite you to learn more about them, the companies they’re building and why they joined the Pariti Founder Fellowship.

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Eric Annan

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Aya Holding, Inc (Ghana) — A web3-focused marketplace in Africa that allows global businesses to access on-demand, vetted talent and skilled professionals.

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“I want to know how I can use what I know as a way to give back to the society and other entrepreneurs who are starting up now, second, I want to connect with experts who are ahead of me to also learn from them — Those are my two major goals”

Eric Annan, Co-founder and CEO, Aya Holding, Inc.

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Annabel Angwenyi

Ziada  (Kenya) — Matching informal service providers to local clients and providing them with access to value added services including equipment rental, marketing support and business advisory services.

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“Last year, we had sent in our company for review. We received some very helpful feedback that we implemented and we were able to get into an accelerator program. When I saw that Pariti was offering a fellowship for founders, I was interested because of the support we had already received from them. And when I read more about the program, especially how it combined the training with a demo day - I thought it was a great fit.”

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Annabel Angwenyi, Co-founder and CEO, Ziada.

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Emeka Nwachinemere

Kitovu Technology Company (Nigeria) — Building climate-smart farm and post-harvest infrastructure to enable smallholder farmers make better decisions that result in increased yields, increased access to markets and reduced post-harvest losses.

“That peer community approach with people who are invested in your success is something that I felt was quite remarkable and I also felt like the kind of experience and network in the room would be quite helpful in unlocking strategic partnerships when we decide to scale our services in other parts of Africa.“

Emeka Nwachinemere, Founder and CEO, Kitovu Technology Company.

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Tale Alimi

Owoafara (Nigeria) — A digital bank for low-income communities.

“I’m always looking out for opportunities that match our goals. We wanted to fine tune our story because we are fundraising and to work on our go to market strategy. I saw that the fellowship ticked all these boxes. I liked that it was community focused, it was rooted in a culture of giving and it provided the close-knit support that we need at this stage”

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Tale Alimi, Founder and CEO, Owoafara.

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Damilola ​​Odunlade-Akeju

DriveMe Mobility Technology (Nigeria) — A mobility technology company that connects individuals and businesses to verified and professional drivers. Through a one-stop platform, users can access driver education, buy motor insurance, renew vehicle documents and other mobility operations services.

“My motivation for joining Pariti really is community. I believe no great company is built alone, you need to be able to share ideas, get guidance, and solve problems and I identify Pariti as one of those fellowships that I believe will add great value to me.”

Damilola ​​Odunlade-Akeju, Founder and CEO, DriveMe Mobility Technology. 

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Peter Wachira

Tripitaca (Kenya) — Automating Africa's packaged holidays market by allowing hosts and hotels to create their own packages and sell directly to travelers.

“I'm excited to join the Fellowship, tap into the Pariti network, and learn alongside some of the most promising founders in Africa.”

Peter Wachira, Founder and CEO, Tripitaca.

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Kariuki Gathitu

Quikk (Kenya) — Building hassle-free APIs for the African market.

“I'm looking for fundraising support and also help with how to approach building my company for the long-term. I’m hoping that this will be an amazing first step for me in building out this scaleable, VC backed business.”

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Kariuki Gathitu, Founder, Quikk.

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Funke Faweya

​​Jasper (Nigeria) — Building access and community management solutions for closed communities across Africa.

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“I was attracted to join by the fact that this was started by people who are deeply passionate about the continent. I also like Pariti’s approach, it’s directly trying to solve our problem and build its exact solution. I have trust and faith that they will continue to integrate to continually solve problems.”

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Funke Faweya, Founder, Jasper.

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What should the Founders expect in the coming weeks?

The Fellowship is personalized for each founder based on their challenges and needs. It’s an intense six week program; essentially a bootcamp where founders will get the tools to rapidly progress within a short period of time.

Each founder is matched to an advisor. Our advisors are experienced in growing and scaling startups, raising funds and sometimes, are looking to make angel investments themselves. Each founder works closely with their advisor to develop a journey map to identify their goals for the Fellowship, and how they intend to achieve them.

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We also have on demand experts with subject matter expertise who can support our founders with sector specific challenges. For this cohort, we have experts in logistics, healthtech, edtech, fintech and agritech as well as other technical verticals such as Product, Design, GTM, Finance, and more.

In addition to workshopping their startups with our advisors and experts, we have a variety of other programs to support our founders during the fellowship. We have a full calendar of events that include campfires with seasoned entrepreneurs, investors and experts, in addition to networking as well as pitch coaching events.

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Finally, at the end of the Fellowship, our fellows will pitch during the Pariti Demo Day which is scheduled for June 14th, alongside some hand-selected startups from the Pariti community. We invite you to get a front row seat to that event and support them on their journey. Click the link to RSVP.

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