Safaricom, M-PESA Africa and Sumitomo Corporation Open Applications for the Latest Edition of the Spark Accelerator

Safaricom first launched the Spark Venture Fund back in 2014, to invest and support late-seed, early growth stage companies with a presence in Kenya, whilst leveraging Safaricom assets to enable the companies to scale. A US$1 million fund, it invested an average of US$175,000 in six Kenyan startups, namely Sendy, Lynk, Ajua, Eneza, procure, and FarmDrive, and a second fund was announced in 2020, though little was heard of it thereafter. Now, it has partnered M-PESA Africa and Sumitomo Corporation, a leading Fortune 500 global trading and business investment company, to open applications for another edition. The three-month accelerator program will provide a blend of training, mentorship, funding, and go-to-market support to spark the growth and scale of ventures that come into the accelerator and set them up for long-term success.