The second edition of the Labs by ARM programme Demo Day was held last Friday, 26th June 2020 at 4 PM (WAT) over Zoom. The event had in attendance over 100 investors, corporate tech leaders, members of the press, , and senior executives of the ARM Group, was an avenue for startups in this year’s cohort of the programme to pitch their companies in order to secure additional investment.
LABS by ARM is a 12-week Accelerator programme by Asset & Resource Management Holding Company Limited (ARM) in partnership with the Ventures Platform designed to fund and support compelling fintech startups solving key problems in the financial services industry, unlocking industry verticals and new markets thereby changing how users access and consume financial services.
The second edition of the programme commenced in February 2020, and was designed to help five early and growth stage Fintech start-up companies commercialise and grow the distribution of products and services.
The teams participated in deep-dive sessions and were supported to create unique strategies for solving peculiar challenges. In addition, programme mentors and advisors, who are thought-leaders in various relevant fields, also provided support in specific areas including business growth, product-market fit, distribution and software engineering thereby helping the start-ups navigate specific challenges but more importantly, a better position for growth.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the programme had to transition to a fully virtual accelerator programme mid-stream, and the programme was extended by 4 weeks.
Within the 16-month period, one of the startups whose goal is to make Dollar investment accessible to Nigerians, grew its AUM by over 300%, while a rent financing startup gave out 200% more rent loans. An automated trading and investment startup also improved its algorithm and expanded its services.
The three startups who pitched at the demo day event, are:
Rise helps Nigerians grow wealth by connecting customers with diverse, seamless and affordable investment opportunities globally,
Kwaba is a property rental financing platform solving bulk rental payment problems for low to middle income earning Nigerians. Kwaba makes the upfront rent payment for retail customers allowing these customers to pay their rent on a monthly basis.
QUANTIS LABS
Quantis is leveraging technology to automate trading and investments in order to make financial markets and instruments more accessible to local investors.
ARM
Established in 1994, ARM is an asset management firm that offers wealth creation opportunities through a unique blend of traditional asset management and alternative investment services. ARM currently manages total assets of approximately N1.25 trillion (as at December 2019)
Ventures Platform
Ventures Platform is creating Inclusive and Sustainable wealth in Africa, by building the capacity of African Entrepreneurs and Innovators leveraging technology to create sustainable solutions to the most urgent problems on the continent. They are one of the most active early-stage investors on the continent.
Ventures Platform also works with big corporations in driving innovation internally and in building lasting relationships with the startup ecosystem to help fuel business growth and achieve innovation goals.
