The venture capital firm, 440.ng, has opened applications for its 2014 Lagos Accelerator programme. The fund is a partnership between venture capital firms, 88mph and L5Lab, to bring early stage funding and the accelerator model to the country.
Having raised $1.5m, the company said it had begun screening start-ups for investment.
The statement said, “The 440 model, innovated by Y-combinator in 2005, invests small amounts – such as $20,000 to $110,000 – in about 10 start-ups at a time. These start-ups are enrolled in a three-month intensive programme designed to rapidly accelerate the start-ups’ product development, revenue generation, and customer acquisition.”
According to the statement, start-ups are connected to mentors, investors and partners such as Google for Entrepreneurs, and key clients that may increase their chances of success.
The statement quoted the founder, L5Lab, Mr. Chika Nwobi, as saying, “While we’ve been incredibly lucky to invest in great teams in the past, trying out this more scalable and intense model is the logical next step as we try to maximise our impact.”
More: Punch