A couple of weeks after announcing its first Cloud region in Africa, Oracle has detailed a startup-focused programme that it has launched.

The programme is aimed at identifying and assisting African startups that have new solutions with the potential to address many of the continent’s challenges.

These range from, “Financial inclusion to e-health and market access—solving critical challenges for business and government, and, importantly, stimulating economic growth,” Oracle explained in a press release sent to Hypertext.

The programme has also earmarked R15 million for startups (up to R153 000 per startup), which will assist with funding, as well as offering hands-on technical support, executive mentoring, go-to-market resources and customer engagements.

“At Oracle for Startups, we help new businesses grow from grassroots through scaling. So far, enrolments from South African startups have grown by 91%, while enrolments from new businesses in over 13 other African countries have grown by 39% within the last year – all of which is evidence that Africa is at the forefront of the digital economy,” highlighted Jason Williamson, VP at Oracle for Startups.

“This R15 million investment will further boost the efforts of tech entrepreneurs in Africa to utilise the latest digital technologies for the success of their startups,” he adds. 

The portal for interested Africa startups to see if they qualify for the programme can be found here.

[Image – Photo by Med Badr Chemmaoui on Unsplash]