Solar Taxi Limited, a company that assembles electric vehicles in Ghana, has been shortlisted to participate in the inaugural Qualcomm Make in Africa startup mentorship programme.

The program is part of the Qualcomm Africa Innovation Platform launched in December 2022.

The mentorship program aims to support startups in Africa that are developing innovative products and solutions in areas such as clean energy, agricultural technology, computing for education, geospatial predictive analysis, medical technologies, and innovations using electric vehicles.

Solar Taxi Limited is one of 11 startups recognized by Qualcomm Technologies, a global American multinational corporation.

The other startups selected for the program are also developing groundbreaking products and include female leaders in prominent roles.

This recognition is a significant boost for Solar Taxi Limited, as the mentorship program is expected to provide invaluable support for startups as they navigate the challenges of growing their businesses in Africa's competitive market.

The startups based in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, and Rwanda, were selected from a pool of 550+ applicants from 34 African countries.

• Microfuse – Affordable plugin computers for the education sector in Uganda

• Neural Labs Africa Ltd – Deep learning and computer vision for healthcare diagnosis in Kenya and Senegal

• OneTouch Diagnostics – Diabetes patch and monitoring system in Nigeria

• QuadLoop – Leveraging e-waste for solar e-Lanterns and battery storage in Nigeria.

• SLS Energy – Recycled lead-cell battery storage banks in Rwanda

• SolarTaxi – Electric vehicle (EV) taxi and fleet management in Ghana

Announced in December 2022, Qualcomm Make in Africa will provide 1:1 mentorship for the shortlisted companies with Qualcomm leaders on a regular cadence to guide startups to product realization, as well as provide masterclasses on product management, pitch clinic, IPR, and hardware architecture.

“I’d like to applaud and congratulate these 10 startups for their innovative solutions”, Sudeepto Roy, Vice President, Engineering, Qualcomm Incorporated said.

He continued, “I am beyond excited to hear about their respective problem domains and innovative solutions.

They have applied their talents and ingenuity to address Africa’s present-day needs in areas of reliable access to clean energy, precision agriculture to conserve water and other resources, adaptations of electric transportation for many last-mile needs, using AI and other innovations for accelerating disease pathology and treatment, and addressing energy efficient, affordable computing for the education market.

Over the next few months, we will mentor them in areas of business development, technology applications and intellectual property law.

We are honored to be able to participate in their entrepreneurial journey and their future impact in Africa.”

On her part, Elizabeth Migwalla, Vice President and Head of Government Affairs (Middle East and Africa) of Qualcomm International also added that, “As part of our new Africa Innovation Platform, the Qualcomm Make in Africa mentorship programme is one of many initiatives we are working on in close collaboration with government and industry stakeholders in Africa, to help position African entrepreneurs and researchers to service markets throughout the continent and realize their global ambitions”.

She continued, “We believe that startups based in Africa are best placed to identify uniquely African problems that can be solved through end-to-end systems solutions and new business models,” said “We congratulate the shortlisted companies and look forward to a fruitful collaboration for innovation in the coming months.”

The programme will culminate in a finale demo day in December 2023, connecting startups with various industry leaders, venture capitalists, investors, and other accelerators.

Elizabeth Migwalla, Vice President and Head of Government Affairs (Middle East and Africa) of Qualcomm International has over 20 years of experience in the legal, regulatory, and policy sectors, with a focus on the African market. Prior to joining Qualcomm, Migwalla worked as a lawyer in Kenya and later as a consultant in the telecommunications sector in East Africa.

She has also served as the Vice President of Public Affairs for Africa at Visa Inc.