88mph.ac

What 88mph.ac does

88mph is a privately-held seed fund and accelerator founded in 2011 in Nairobi, Kenya, that deploys early-stage equity capital ($25k–$250k per startup) into web and mobile companies targeting Sub-Saharan African markets. Its core products historically comprised a 3-month Accelerator Program with a Plutonium mentorship curriculum, a 1-week DealWeek sprint introduced in January 2015, a privately-funded Seed Fund, and Startup Garage co-working spaces in Nairobi, Cape Town, and Lagos. Between 2011 and 2014, 88mph deployed approximately $4.4M across cohorts (€500k Kenya pilot in 2011, $1.2M Kenya 2012-13, $1.2M South Africa 2013-14, $1.5M Nigeria 2014 via the 440.ng joint venture with L5Lab), investing in 45+ startups spanning fintech, music streaming, gaming, e-commerce, advertising, transport, and real estate.

Revenue is generated through equity returns on portfolio companies rather than disclosed management fees or product pricing; this means realized P&L depends on exits, follow-on funding rounds, and IPOs of portfolio companies. The most notable exit is Mdundo's September 2020 listing on Nasdaq First Growth Market Denmark, which was oversubscribed by 111%. The company stopped running accelerator programs in 2015 after fully investing its funds and stated it would focus on slightly later-stage startups going forward, leaving active new investment activity at a low level relative to its 2012-2014 peak. Distribution is event-driven: applications are sourced through the platform.88mph.ac online application, filtered through interviews, and cohorts are run out of physical Startup Garages, with senior operator-investors brought in for DealWeek to compress due diligence, negotiation, and term-sheet execution into a single week.

The investor and partner base includes Google for Entrepreneurs (2012 partnership), Samsung's "Built for Africa" app store (2013), 4Di Capital, eVA Fund, and a syndicate of angel investor-LPs (Ranjith Cherickel, Jesper Drescher, Virginie Gudmundsson, Hannes van Rensburg, Nadeem Juma, Rishad Karimjee, Bernard Spoerry, Chloe Spoerry, Stefano Zorzi, Pierre Vendelboe) plus in-kind partners (Grant Thornton, Bambuser, Microsoft BizSpark, Seacom). The team is intentionally lean at 6-7 core members, anchored by founder Kresten Buch (two prior exits including CenterBet at €200M+ revenue) and supplemented by a rotating DealWeek investor bench with exit pedigrees at Groupon, Publicis, Visa ($110M Fundamo acquisition), and IBM.

Name

88mph.ac

Legal name

88mph

Website

https://88mph.ac

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

88mph is a Nairobi-based privately-held seed fund and accelerator that invests $25k–$250k equity checks into early-stage web and mobile startups targeting African markets, having deployed ~$4.4M across 45+ portfolio companies in Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria between 2011 and 2014 before pausing new investment activity in 2015.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital / Startup Acceleration

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM)

Keywords

• Seed venture capital
• Startup accelerator programs
• Early-stage investment
• Equity investment funding
• African startup funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Nairobi

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Equity Investment Returns: 88mph invests seed capital in early-stage web/mobile startups in exchange for equity. Returns are realized through follow-on funding rounds, acquisitions, or IPOs of portfolio companies. Example: Mdundo went public on Nasdaq First Growth Market Denmark in September 2020.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

88mph is a seed fund and accelerator that provides equity capital ($25k–$250k) to early-stage web and mobile startups targeting African markets. It runs accelerator programs (3-month Plutonium intensive) and DealWeek sprint investment events from Startup Garages in Nairobi, Cape Town, and Lagos, offering portfolio companies mentorship, investor network access, and follow-on funding support.

Product overview

88mph is a seed fund and accelerator for web/mobile startups targeting African markets. The core offering consists of the Accelerator Program (a 3-month intensive program with up to $100k seed funding and the Plutonium Program for mentorship and training), DealWeek (a 1-week sprint investment program offering $25k-$250k), and the Seed Fund providing early-stage equity investment. The company operates from startup hubs in Nairobi, Cape Town, and Lagos, providing portfolio companies with access to co-working spaces, mentor networks, and follow-on funding opportunities. The 88mph Platform serves as the application and investor interface.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 440.ng: A joint venture between 88mph and L5Lab focused on early-stage investing and accelerator programs in Nigeria.

Products and services

• Accelerator Program A 3-month intensive program offering up to $100k in seed funding, mentorship, and training (Plutonium curriculum) to help early-stage web/mobile startups prove their business model and become investor-ready. Targeted at African-market web and mobile companies.
• DealWeek A week-long sprint investment program where selected startups can receive investment offers between $25k and $250k through intensive evaluation, due diligence, and term-sheet negotiation with entrepreneur-investors. Designed for startups that already have a team, paying customers, and ongoing operations.
• Seed Fund Privately funded seed investment capital deployed in exchange for equity in early-stage web/mobile startups targeting African markets, with no repayment required if the business fails. Investment amounts range from $25k to $250k per startup.
• Startup Garage Co-working spaces and startup hubs located in Nairobi, Cape Town, and Lagos that provide portfolio startups with office space, mentorship access, and network opportunities during and after accelerator programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• Mdundo IPO on Nasdaq First Growth Market Denmark, oversubscribed by 111%
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• L5LabcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 March 2014Joint venture to bring early-stage investing to Nigeria via 440.ng. L5Lab brings strong networks to local investors, corporates, and entrepreneurs. 88mph brings accelerator model and experience.
• SamsungcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 July 2013Partnership enabling startups opportunity to have apps placed on Samsung's 'Built for Africa' app store and preloaded on Samsung smartphones across the continent. Potential reach of 10 million+ phones.
• eVA FundminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 April 2013Partnership to enhance Africa-Europe link for startups
• Google (Google for Entrepreneurs)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 August 2012Partnership with Google for pan-African expansion. Google partnership launched in Cape Town with Google Umbono to encourage Africa's entrepreneurial culture. Provides startups access to Google's resources, mentorship, and ecosystem.
• Grant ThorntonminorOthersProvides free professional services to 88mph startups
• BambuserminorOthersProvides free product/services to 88mph startups
• Microsoft BizSparkminorOthersProvides free software and services to 88mph startups
• SeacomminorOthersProvides free bandwidth/connectivity to 88mph startups

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/88mph_africa
• Facebookfacebook.com/88mphafrica
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/88mph-ac

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments39 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about 88mph.ac