Ten startups from five African countries have been selected by NBA Africa as finalists of the second edition of the Triple-Double Accelerator, which the league launched last year to support the continent’s technology ecosystem and the next generation of African entrepreneurs.
NBA Africa is an affiliate of the National Basketball Association (NBA), a global sports and media organisation, and conducts the league’s business in Africa, including the Basketball Africa League (BAL).
Disrupt Africa reported in April 2024 it had launched Triple-Double, a startup accelerator providing early-stage African startups with cash prizes and other support. Triple-Double is aimed at early-stage startups in Africa developing solutions in event management and ticketing, youth development, AI, and digital marketing in the sports and creative industries.
The 10 finalists, which were selected from more than 700 applications, will pitch their products to a panel of international industry leaders at a Demo Day at Carnegie Mellon University Africa (CMU-Africa) in Kigali, Rwanda, on Friday, December 5.
Five winners will then be chosen to receive financial support and the opportunity to join CMU-Africa’s 12-month Business Incubation Programme as part of its Innovation Hub, which helps African tech startups transform proof-of-concept prototypes and preliminary market assessments into scalable, market-ready products and services.
Here are the 10 startups that will compete for the five prize-winning spots:
- Athlon Technology (Egypt) (https://AthlonTechnology.com/) aims to leverage accessible mobile technology and AI to provide video analysis for amateur and budget-constrained sports teams while addressing a market gap with a user-friendly, hardware-light solution.
- Atsur (Nigeria) (https://apo-opa.co/4pxsTCH) leverages blockchain technology to promote investment in African art and support artists and art communities.
- CoLab (South Africa) (https://apo-opa.co/3XiPvek) is a platform that brings together creatives, entrepreneurs and industry professionals, providing a space to connect, manage projects and bring ideas to life.
- Contestify (Nigeria) (www.Contestify.io) is an all-in-one platform that streamlines contest management, offering real-time judging, transparent scoring and instant payouts.
- Fitclan (Egypt) (https://Fitclan.co/) is a digital fitness hub that leverages a flexible subscription model for individuals and corporate clients.
- Novate (Morocco) (www.Novate.ltd/en) offers a unique, immersive virtual reality (VR) football viewing experience with features such as seat selection, camera switching, social voice chat and live stats.
- ProPath Sports (Kenya) (www.ProPathSports.com) revolutionizes athlete discovery in Kenya with data-driven talent identification; its iSTEAM program covers all aspects of talent development.
- Reborn (Morocco) (https://RebornSportsTech.com/) offers comprehensive performance indicators that give athletes deep insights into their physical condition and on-field performance, essential for identifying strengths, areas for improvement, and optimizing overall performance.
- Safia Health (Kenya) (https://SafiaHealth.com/) offers personalized training regiments that integrate fitness, recovery and mental wellbeing tracking into a unified platform, offering value to athletes and coaches.
- SongDis (Nigeria) (www.SongDis.com) provides comprehensive digital distribution and services tailored for African independent artists and labels.
“The quality of this year’s applications reflects the incredible talent and creativity among Africa’s young entrepreneurs as well as the important role that the sport and creative industries are playing in the continent’s development,” said NBA Africa CEO Clare Akamanzi. “These startups represent the bold spirit of innovation rising across the continent – where creativity meets purpose, and ideas have the power to scale beyond borders.”