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Two Nigerian startups have been selected to join the 19th batch of the Silicon Valley-based 500 Startups programme, receiving US$150,000 seed investment each.

Nigeria’s Aella Credit and Talentbase were both selected to join the cohort of 44 startups embarking on the programme.

Selected startups receive US$150,000 funding in return for six per cent of their company; and join the four-month programme culminating in a Demo Day in front of an audience of investors.

500 Startups regularly focuses its cohorts on particular market segments, and for this round, the two focuses are B2B startups, as well as those active in the beauty and fashion space – with the two African entrants falling into the first category.

Aella Credit provides instant credit solutions to Africans by eliminating standard loan applications and enabling employees to borrow at competitive rates through their employers.

Talentbase is a Payroll and HR software targeting growing businesses across Africa.

This is not the first time African startups have made the 500 Startups cut – the programme encourages and accepts a diverse range of companies. Disrupt Africa reported in August 2015, on-demand home cleaning startup SweepSouth became the first South African company selected to participate; while Ghana’s Kudobuzz – which operates a reviewing and marketing tool for small businesses – also joined the programme.

Investors interested in attending the batch 19 Demo Day in February 2017 can register here; while applications to the 20th programme are open here.

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