NAIROBI, Kenya – In a remarkable stride to bolster Africa’s burgeoning tech landscape, Qualcomm Incorporated has unveiled the select group of startups for its Qualcomm Make in Africa 2024. This initiative is complemented by the announcement of the 2023 Wireless Reach Social Impact Fund recipient. The Qualcomm Africa Innovation Platform, now in its sophomore year, is dedicated to nurturing the continent’s nascent technology ecosystem via mentorship, education, and training, centering on areas such as 5G, Edge-AI/ML, Compute, and IoT. Interest in the program was high, with a resounding 250 applications from 30 different countries.
Key Announcements Include:
- Revealing the 2024 startup cohort for the Qualcomm Make In Africa incubation program that spotlights innovative technologies
- Introducing the recipient of the 2023 Wireless Reach Social Impact Fund, aimed at bolstering startups to amplify their societal and market presence
- Progress on the L2Pro Africa website, offering free online intellectual property training
As a pioneering equity-free mentorship initiative, Qualcomm Make In Africa selects promising early-stage startups eager to leverage cutting-edge connectivity and processing technologies in creating comprehensive system solutions, including hardware components. These startups have shown outstanding potential in utilizing advanced technologies for inventive solutions. The chosen startups are set to receive complimentary mentorship, business coaching, product development engineering consultations, and intellectual property protection guidance. The 2024 cohort comprises:
- Aurora Health from Kenya, offering AI-powered cardiovascular healthcare tools
- CropScan from Kenya, innovating with solar-powered smart farming IoT devices
- Cure Bionics from Tunisia, creators of smart 3D printed prosthetic arms
- DevisionX from Egypt, developers of AI-based low-code computer vision tools
- Kalio from Cameroon, focused on AI tools for Agricultural IoT
- Kitovu from Nigeria, enhancing smart agricultural warehouse management systems
- NextAI Studios from Kenya, integrating AI-based emotion detection in toys for children’s mental health
- RIM Nextgen from Kenya, innovating in smart propane consumption monitoring
- Sparcx from South Africa, enhancing AI for radar signal processing
Qualcomm takes pride in recognizing Ecorich Solutions Limited as the 2023 Wireless Reach Social Impact Fund awardee. This Nairobi-based, female-led enterprise will receive funding to scale their smart organic food composter, tackling the challenges of organic waste management and promoting sustainable agricultural practices to reduce environmental pollution and waste-related health risks. The remaining nine startups from the 2023 cohort will also be granted stipends to fuel their continued growth, having demonstrated innovative applications of wireless technology to address community needs.
The L2Pro Africa IP e-learning Platform, a free online training initiative, has reached a significant milestone. Created in collaboration with Adams and Adams, a premier African IP law firm, the platform aims to empower startups, SMEs, and researchers in Africa to secure and maximize their inventions. The training content now includes detailed filing procedures for patents, industrial designs, and trademarks applicable in several African countries and regional patent organizations, ARIPO and OAPI, enabling inventors to engage effectively with IP professionals and offices.
“The enthusiastic response to the Africa Innovation Platform this year is a testament to the immense talent present within Africa’s tech ecosystem,” remarked Alex Rogers, President of QTL & Global Affairs at Qualcomm Incorporated. “We are eager to collaborate with these selected startups to foster innovation and engender a positive societal impact.”
John Omo, secretary-general of the African Telecommunications Union (ATU), commended Qualcomm for its continued investment in African innovation and the empowerment of the continent’s entrepreneurs through expertise and intellectual property education. He reaffirmed ATU’s dedication to nurturing young African visionaries and expressed eagerness to partner with additional entities to further this mission.
Qualcomm, a pioneer in intelligent computing, continues to drive industry transformation with its proven solutions, setting benchmarks in AI, high-performance computing, and connectivity, in partnership with its ecosystem allies, to facilitate digital transformation and enhance lives, businesses, and societies.
