Nigerian, Ugandan Logistics Startups Selected for MAN Impact Accelerator

Nigerian startup Arone and Uganda’s Zembo have been selected for the third edition of the MAN Impact Accelerator, which helps logistics and mobility startups scale.

Organised by MAN Truck & Bus in partnership with Yunus Social Business, the MAN Impact Accelerator helps scale social businesses in transport and logistics with a considerable impact on society.

The eight-month structured mentoring programme is focused on impact, purpose, growth, customer development, marketing, communication, investment, tech and product-market fit, and includes five weeks in each of Munich, Sao Paolo, Lisbon and Johannesburg.

Eight startups have been selected to take part in the programme, including two from Africa. They are Nigeria’s Arone, which uses smart drones to deliver blood and medical supplies to remote villages, and Uganda’s Zembo, which is providing affordable electric motorcycles for motorcycle taxi drivers.

Alongside other participants from Brazil, France, Spain and Sweden, the two African startups will receive mentoring from more than 300 leading industry experts from companies like Airbnb, Amazon, Uber, Google and Maersk, and the chance to build connections with experts from MAN Truck & Bus. There will also be the opportunity to build valuable connections with potential investors.

“At Yunus Social Business, we believe in the power of business to end poverty. A social business is a for-profit company with a social mission at its core 100 per cent dedicated to solving human problems,” said Arunima Singh, accelerator programme lead at Yunus Social Business.

“The founders who have been chosen to be a part of the MAN Impact Accelerator embody that enormous opportunity to harness the power of business to impact people’s lives in many different geographies.”