Vodacom Tanzania and Smart Lab, a well-known innovation hub recently launched “Vodacom Digital Accelerator,” a program that intends to help early-stage and growth-stage technology startups become profitable and revenue generating businesses.
The new program which will run yearly aims at identifying and supporting startup entrepreneurs in mobile, telecom, fintech, media, health, education, and e-commerce will have three phases which include application, selection and acceleration.
The partnership aims to bring tangible results that will disrupt the innovation eco-system. This will be an opportunity for startups and innovators in the selected criteria to showcase their products and also gain from the platform including exclusive partnership deals with Vodacom, mentorship, technical assistance, marketing and exposure to Vodacom and Smart Lab’s large network of partners and finally customers to test and experience their solutions’.
Vodacom said that it is investing more than 150,000 dollars into the accelerator program which will go towards educating and empowering Tanzania‘s youth. Vodacom is leading in the evolution of the fintech sector in Tanzania which is one of the fastest growing sectors on the continent with technology increasingly defining the day-to-day running of businesses and services.
Hisham Hendi, MD, Vodacom Tanzania
The partnership between Vodacom Tanzania and Smartcodes is a crucial move towards providing opportunities to startup businesses via technological paths which will result into workable business models which will benefit communities, especially scores of youth across the country.