Kenya’s tech ecosystem took center stage on 21st March 2025 as Safaricom, alongside its partners, hosted the inaugural Spark Accelerator Investor Demo Day. The event marked the culmination of a months-long accelerator program designed to fast-track the growth of early-stage startups in fintech, healthtech, digital content, and SME productivity.
Held at MJC Nairobi, the demo day celebrated the achievements of nine startups—Health X Africa, Vunapay, BlackRhino VR, Twiva, Chpter, Churpy, Nobuk Africa, Faidi HR, and Chumz—offering them a platform to pitch their solutions to leading investors and venture capital firms.
Kenya’s Venture Ecosystem Resilient Amid Global Slowdown
In his keynote, Michael Mutiga, Safaricom’s Chief Business Development and Strategy Officer, highlighted Kenya’s strength in the African venture capital scene. “Last year, Kenya emerged as Africa’s leading investment hub, attracting $638 million in venture capital—29% of all funding across the continent—despite a global downturn,” he noted.
This success, according to Mutiga, underscores the country’s robust entrepreneurial spirit and investor confidence in the potential of local startups.
The Spark Accelerator: From Vision to Impact
Launched in 2023, the Spark Accelerator is a reimagining of the earlier Safaricom Spark Venture Fund, now operated in partnership with Sumitomo Corporation, M-PESA Africa, and implementing partner iHub, alongside support from Vodacom, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and PwC.
The program offers startups a multi-pronged approach, including:
- Access to capital
- Product development support
- Technology infrastructure, with each startup receiving up to $25,000 in AWS credits
- Market access through Safaricom and partner platforms
- Mentorship and training
Notable Startup Milestones
During the program, the nine startups demonstrated significant traction:
- Chumz, a digital savings platform, integrated Safaricom’s Daraja APIs and acquired 72,000 new users.
- Twiva, a social commerce startup, deployed its mini-app within the M-PESA app, with similar integrations from HealthX and Chpter expected to go live by April 25.
- Twiva also conducted a pilot campaign with Masoko, Safaricom’s e-commerce platform, achieving a 20% uplift in GMV, and grew its influencer base from 15,000 to over 26,000 through collaboration with Safaricom Hook.
- BlackRhino VR, focusing on immersive media, ran a campaign across 11 universities and won the “Best Emerging Technology in Marketing Campaign” award at the 2024 MSK Gala.
- FaidiHR and Churpy, both SaaS providers, are onboarding onto Safaricom’s Enterprise Business Hub, unlocking access to over 2 million SMEs.
- HealthX Africa has partnered with Safaricom’s Digital Services Tribe to launch Afya Daily, a health information platform targeting non-communicable diseases and mental health awareness.
These developments underscore the program’s tangible value in driving startup growth through technology integration, distribution support, and enterprise partnerships.
Safaricom Opens Applications for Spark Accelerator Phase Two
Building on the momentum, Safaricom has announced that applications for the second cohort of the Spark Accelerator will be open from April 1st to May 15th, 2025 via safaricom.co.ke/sparkaccelerator. The next phase will focus on:
- Fintech and embedded finance
- SME productivity tools
- Creative economy
- Healthcare and digital inclusion
Startups selected will benefit from the same high-level access to capital, mentorship, tech infrastructure, and market linkages that defined the success of the first cohort.
A Call to Investors: Back the Next Wave of Innovation
Speaking at the demo day, Safaricom CEO Dr. Peter Ndegwa emphasized the company’s vision of using technology as a force for transformation:
“We are investing in our future leaders while contributing to significant societal change and economic growth.”
Michael Mutiga echoed this sentiment, calling on investors to recognize the impact potential beyond financial returns.
“This isn’t just about ROI—it’s about catalyzing change across Kenya’s digital economy.”
Building a Collaborative Ecosystem
The Spark Accelerator’s success lies in its ecosystem-centric model. Partners like M-PESA Africa, which now serves over 60 million users across Africa, and Sumitomo Corporation, with a global footprint in tech investment, provide foundational support.
iHub Kenya, through its parent company Co-Creation Hub (CcHUB), has enabled a conducive environment for experimentation, validation, and scaling of tech startups across Africa.
Together, this collaborative framework represents a forward-thinking model for tech acceleration on the continent.
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