Moroccan solar irrigation startup MIRRIAH and Ugandan food preservation company Freza Nanotech are among the cash prize winners after the SANAD ElevateHer accelerator selected 22 startups from across Africa and the Middle East for further support.
The ElevateHer programme, delivered by Seedstars and funded by the SANAD Fund for MSME through its advisory and capacity-building arm, managed by Finance in Motion, supports 38 startups from prototype to growth stage. It focuses on women-led businesses, as well as companies that boost women’s participation through ownership, leadership, employment or their customer base.
Startups pitched at Techne Summit Alexandria, held at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt on October 3, with 22 selected for the next phase. Prize winners were announced the following evening at the Seedstars Villa networking event.
MIRRIAH, led by CEO Nidal Tafah, supplies solar irrigation to smallholder farmers and trains rural women and young people to install and sell its systems. Freza Nanotech, represented by COO Samantha Ainembabazi, develops products that preserve fruit and vegetables where cold storage is limited. The third prize went to Jordan’s SmartWTI, led by CEO Hebah Asa’d, which uses connected sensors to monitor water consumption and detect leaks.
The selected startups come from nine markets, with Kenya – Riziki Nature Based Solutions, Soko Kijiji, VunaPay and Wavu – and Ghana – Biowax, Gardpath Technologies, Sackan Farms and SmartWatt Company – providing four apiece.
Alongside MIRRIAH, Morocco was represented by a further two startups, in the shape of Jafife and SMART COLLECTE, while Tunisia also has three representatives – E-Tafakna, GoToGreen and Pixii Motors.
Egyptian startups EcoDahab and TSNGF were also selected, and Uganda had an additional representative in the shape of Essymart Africa. Zimbabwe was represented by Nyamula Logistics Solutions, and Jordan also had a further startup selected. One Lebanese startup was also selected.
The first phase of the programme combined workshops, one-on-one mentoring and practical work on business models, with training in Marrakech covering pricing, unit economics, sales and investor readiness. A founders’ bootcamp ahead of the Alexandria event focused on refining pitches through peer feedback and guidance from coaches and investors. All startups will now receive further coaching and investment-readiness support, including tailored guidance on fundraising, partnerships and scaling.
“Making technology work for customers means deciding who installs it, how it is delivered and what people can afford to pay. We help founders test those choices and build a business around them,” said Sabrina Salama, MENA partnerships lead at Seedstars.
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