WithOnyeka Community, a mentorship initiative has officially unveiled its first cohort of startups at its inaugural Demo Day, held recently. Founded by serial tech entrepreneur and founder of Treepz Onyeka Akumah, the initiative is designed to support early-stage African entrepreneurs with mentorship, access to investors, a community to grow with, and market access. The community was created in March 2024 and already has over 150 entrepreneurs
The inaugural Demo Day held on the 10th of November, 2024 provided an opportunity for 10 promising startups from the WithOnyeka Community mentorship program to showcase their innovative solutions to global investors and connect with industry experts. These startups, which spanned diverse sectors included health tech, fintech, real estate, events, VR/AR, and retail.
A reputable list of venture capitalists were invited and attended the Demo Day including renowned investors such as Y Combinator, Antler Africa, Plug and Play Ventures, ODBA, Microtraction, BKR Capital, Jedar Capital, Funema Group, Nubia Capital, The Continental Ventures Partner, Backroom Capital, HOAQ, Black Founders Network, Niche Capital, Africa Impact Initiative, JJL Angel Investors, and The Lynch Brothers.
The 10 high-potential startups included two women-led companies, three artificial intelligence startups, two virtual reality startups, and a few businesses with over $10 million in transaction volumes based on their demo day presentations. These startups included;
AlajoApp - a fintech platform offering offline banking solutions for low-income earners
Ace Talent - an AI platform focused on tech talent training and upskilling driven by their patented technology.
Shoptreo - a B2B platform redefining retail connections in Africa’s fashion sector
HealthGo - a health insurance and financing platform for underserved populations
MyKreeb - an AI-powered real estate search and neighbourhood insights
NotJustEvent - a marketplace connecting event planners with verified vendors
Afiari - a one-click app delivering groceries to users
LiveParte - a fan engagement platform for live entertainment events
Nile - an AI platform simplifying the setup of online stores
MandatesVR - a platform enabling immersive VR/AR content creation
While applauding the initiative and overall experience at the WithOnyeka Demo Day, Gbite Oduneye, Founder & Managing Partner, ODBA VC, one of the prominent investors in attendance, said: “Unlike other Demo Days that lose momentum as the pitches happen, the WithOnyeka Demo Day had founders who were prepared to pitch live on the day and gave us as VCs a great show of the ingenuity of African startups solving problems for Africans”. I congratulate Onyeka Akumah for bringing his experience and network to not only support the next generation of entrepreneurs but and showcase them to many global investors who turned up to honour this event”, Gbite added.
Lauren DeSouza, Co-Founder & CEO of Ace Talent. who showcased her startup at the Demo Day expressed her immense gratitude for the opportunity. She shared that being part of the WO Community has been nothing short of amazing and eye-opening. “One of my favourite experiences was the WO Demo Day. Not only did I get invaluable advice from Onyeka on what makes a compelling, exceptional pitch, but the connections and network present at the event were one to none. This was truly an opportunity to get in front of some of the best investors and ecosystem partners, which was only possible with the power of this community”, Lauren explained.
Speaking about the event's success, Onyeka Akumah noted that this Demo Day demonstrates the ingenuity and innovative spirit of African entrepreneurs. “It also represents a key milestone in WithOnyeka Community's mission to support innovative startups and connect them with the right resources, mentorship, and networks”.
“We understand the importance of partnerships for growing businesses, which is why we created the WithOnyeka Community to empower innovative ideas and help them thrive. Africa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem is full of untapped potential, and this is just the beginning. We’re excited to continue solving challenges and enabling startups to grow and succeed on a global scale”, Onyeka added.
About WithOnyeka Community
Onyeka Akumah launched the WithOnyeka Community as a mentoring platform in June 2024 and the platform has grown to over 150 entrepreneurs and builders from 16 countries in Africa, North America, Europe, and the Middle East. The invite-only community has a mission-driven entrepreneurial purpose to become a close-knit and impactful place where entrepreneurs and investors share ideas and engage in conversations for mentorship through masterclasses, knowledge-sharing sessions, business partnerships, and direct connections to startup capital.
