WSO2 Launches Startup Program to 'Accelerate Journeys to Success' for App Entrepreneurs

WSO2, the leader in digital transformation technology, announced WSO2 for Startups, a bold program for empowering new app-building businesses across the world, including those in the Middle East and Africa, to accelerate their journeys to success.

Uday Shankar Kizhepat, Vice President and General Manager - Middle East and Africa Region, WSO2

Targeted at early-stage startups building mobile or web apps for consumers, businesses, or employees, WSO2 for Startups gives fledgling businesses access to the company’s core offerings, Choreo and Asgardeo, which provide all the technology an organisation needs to get its operations off the ground. Participants in the program will receive access to sample apps, product credits, support, and mentorship by a dedicated solutions architect. The benefits are designed to focus startups’ leadership teams in ways that will make them stand out in the market.

The World Bank estimates that by 2030, 600 million jobs will be needed to support the growing global workforce. Governments everywhere will be looking to new enterprises to create these jobs. By one estimate, Q1 2023 funding for Middle East and North Africa startups stood at US$1.1 billion, but according to the World Bank, the region has one of the world’s largest finance gaps, at 88% of demand.

WSO2 for Startups is therefore especially relevant to start ups in the Middle East as the program aims to plug these gaps. The company’s Choreo platform is a SaaS application development suite designed to accelerate the creation of digital experiences. Organisations can increase developer productivity to rapidly build, deploy, monitor, and manage a range of cloud-native applications. And in a region plagued by ransomware attacks, digital businesses can secure their multi-experience apps with WSO2’s SaaS customer identity and access management (CIAM) solution Asgardeo. Built for secure access for consumers, business partners, employees, or even APIs, Asgardeo gives developers advanced but easy-to-use tools for creating smarter, more engaging, intuitive, and data-driven digital experiences.

“We designed WSO2 for Startups with a view to accelerating time to market,” said Uday Shankar Kizhepat, Vice President and General Manager - Middle East and Africa Region, WSO2. “Developers can reuse our B2C and B2B sample app code that has all the out-of-the-box functionality needed to create a secure cloud-native experience for users. They have expert advice at their fingertips, free support, and their Choreo and Asgardeo credits can be put towards component or infrastructure costs, meaning they enjoy a lower cost of ownership straight out of the gate.”

Upon signing up, startups receive up to US$18,000 in Choreo credits, which can be used on components such as APIs, microservices, and integrations or on pass-through infrastructure costs in Choreo’s Pay-as-you-go tier. The startup also receives US$15,000 in Asgardeo credits, which can be used for B2C, B2B, or B2E monthly active users in Asgardeo’s Professional tier.

Mentoring services include one-to-one sessions for one month with a senior architect who can identify challenges and requirements and advise on how Choreo and Asgardeo can best fit into the organisation’s growth strategy. This period includes help with building a proof of concept. Startups also gain access to WSO2’s customer success team for help with setup and making sure the enterprise is getting the most out of Choreo and Asgardeo. In addition, each WSO2 for Startups member is given basic support, worth US$2,100, for three months.

On top of all these benefits, the program encourages participants to use Ballerina, an open-source programming language for the cloud that makes it easier to use, combine, and create network services. Ballerina is built for acceleration, allowing project teams to deliver their offerings up to three times faster when compared to those built on NodeJS, Java, or Python.

“The start-up is the secret sauce of every successful economy; and this is nothing new,” Kizhepat added. “They have always been there, creating jobs, shaking up industries, adding GDP. We must nurture innovation. If we do not, our communities cannot hope to taste success in the global digital economy. WSO2 offers this program as part of our commitment to sustainable growth in the Middle East and Africa. We are confident it will have a significant impact.”