Rand Merchant Investment Holdings (RMI), Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Royal Bafokeng Holdings have invited applications for the AlphaCode Incubate startup support initiative.
To qualify, a business must be at least 51% black-owned and must operate in the financial services space.
Eight businesses will be chosen, with each to receive a package valued at R2-million, including R1-million in grant funding and R1-million in support services.
This includes mentorship; monthly expert-led sessions; exclusive office space in Sandton; marketing, legal and other business support; and access to like-minded entrepreneurs, RMI’s network of thought leaders, potential clients and capital.
Applications will close on June 18 and will be followed by a rigorous selection process that involves a business review and boot camp for shortlisted candidates.
The top 16 candidates will then be selected to present their businesses to a judging panel on August 1, after which the top eight businesses will be selected.
The AlphaCode initiative was launched four years ago and has since disbursed R21-million in funding to 23 black-owned financial services businesses.
In 2018, more than 200 startups applied for inclusion in the AlphaCode initiative. A self-service credit life insurance platform called Yalu and a gamified savings tool company called Akiba Digital were the winners.