African high tech startup accelerator 88mph expands to Nigeria

African tech startup accelerator 88mph is expanding to Lagos, Nigeria in the later part of 2014. The accelerator currently has operations in Nairobi and Cape Town, according to ZDNet. 88mph founder Kresten Buch said: “There’s a lack privately funded initiatives run by experienced entrepreneurs [in Lagos]. You can’t substitute that with government incubators and startup consultants that haven’t built a business and don’t have the pressure to deliver a return.”

88mph, a high tech startup accelerator with offices in Nairobi and Cape Town, is branching out to a third African country later this year when it begins a new operation in Nigeria’s most important tech centre, Lagos. The company is forming a new venture, 440, in partnership with L5Lab, a local seed funding specialist and business mentor. Since it launched in Kenya in 2011, 88mph has raised over $4.5m from African and European investors and funded 34 companies through its three month “start-up garage” programs. Applications for the first cohort of 10 to 12 Nigerian companies will begin in May, and the program itself is expected to kick off in August.