Jumo accepted into Google’s Launchpad class

JUMO, a Cape Town-based software company, has been accepted into Class Four of the Google Launchpad Accelerator.

The Google Launchpad Accelerator leverages all that Google has to offer, to help participating tech companies reach their true potential.

It targets growth-stage companies and has invited them to their headquarters in Mountain View for workshops and networking with the Silicon Valley ecosystem.

Jumo, a large-scale, low-cost financial services platform for emerging markets, announced last week that it would be part of the leadership boot camp designed to help scale businesses.

Jumo’s communications director, Russell Jarvis, said: “I’m pleased to tell you that Jumo has been selected for Google’s Launchpad Accelerator. We are one of the first African companies to be selected and the first FinTech from South Africa.

“The Accelerator affords us a two-week boot camp at Google Headquarters in San Francisco from July 17 to 28, as well as six months ongoing support and mentorship plus $50 000 (R639 270) funding.”

Jumo joins start-ups from Asia and Latin America as well as peers from Africa and Europe.

Google said in a post on the Google Developers Blog: “In addition to expanding our reach, we’re also expanding our curriculum. We’ll help the startups dig deeper into machine learning and artificial intelligence, to help them leverage Google’s latest technologies to scale their apps.”

The Launchpad Accelerator includes intensive mentoring from more than 20 Google teams, and expert mentors from venture capital and top technology companies in Silicon Valley. Participants receive equity-free support, credits for Google products, and continue to work closely with Google back in their home country during the six-month programme.

The Launchpad Accelerator, which opened to African countries for the first time this year, selects the best emerging market start-ups via a rigorous application process.