The startups will be interacting with deep tech and hardware communities in Japan, Singapore, South Korea, China and Hong Kong, engaging in pitching events and seeking out collaborations, partnerships and potential investment opportunities to help them further grow and scale their businesses.

“We find that there’s a lot of interest from Asia in Africa and we believe there are opportunities for collaboration that could help strengthen the hardware and deep tech ecosystem in Africa,” says Damilola Teidi, Director of Incubation at CcHUB.

The startups were selected from a highly competitive pool of over 200 applications from across the continent. 

The participating startups are: Moroccan safety IoT device company Casky; Rwandan smart transport solution company, AC Group;  Nigeria’s Gricd Frij, a cold chain technology for transportation of healthcare and agricultural produce; Access Afya, a Kenyan primary healthcare social enterprise using technology to deliver affordable and effective health access;  Ugandan CHIL AI Lab which leverages AI to improve cancer diagnostic services; and taeillo, a Nigerian furniture and design company leveraging mixed reality to improve customer experience.

Others include Enova Robotics from Tunisia which specialises in mobile robot development for security purposes; Flare, a Kenyan uber-like company which aggregates ambulance/emergency options for easy access; LIFI-LED, an Ivorian energy startup providing electricity and internet connectivity to difficult-to-access communities, and Nigeria’s Reliance HMO, which employs a consortium of tools to make health insurance accessible and affordable.

Tech-focused media company, TechCabal, will be curating the tour in images, film and text during the tour which will culminate in a documentary production to be aired at the end of the tour. The production will follow the founders’ entrepreneurial journeys as they interact with the technology and culture richly present in Asia.