Clarus and Norrsken East Africa are launching Scale Velocity Lab, a four-week GTM accelerator aimed at helping traction-stage startups build repeatable sales.
Clarus is starting Scale Velocity Lab with Norrsken East Africa. The programme targets traction-stage startups in East Africa. It focuses on GTM, which means go-to-market plans for selling and distributing a product.
Clarus says fundraising across Africa is rising, but deal counts are falling. Between January and April 2026, African startups raised $887 million across 84 deals, up from $803 million in the same period of 2025, but down from 173 deals.
Clarus argues that this shift is pushing investors to back fewer companies, and mostly those with strong traction and clear unit economics. Unit economics is the basic maths of a business, how much it costs to serve a customer versus how much revenue that customer brings in.
To help more startups reach that “growth ready” bar, Clarus is partnering with Norrsken East Africa to run its first GTM accelerator cohort, called Scale Velocity Lab. Clarus founder Victor Ekwealor says many startups struggle because they lack repeatable processes, not because they lack marketing.
The programme is designed as a four-week virtual sprint. Clarus says it will include specialist partners and mentors and will involve co-building with participating startups, meaning founders work hands-on with operators to set up commercial systems.
Clarus also named two supporting partners for the first cohort. These include advertising technology company Dochase and AI engineering lab Visolab.
East Africa has strong startup activity, but many teams still hit a gap between building a product and scaling revenue. A GTM accelerator that focuses on repeatable sales and delivery processes can help founders move from pilot customers to predictable growth.
The emphasis on “traction-stage” also signals a tighter market. If investors keep prioritising retention, margins, and measured growth, more accelerators may shift away from demo-day hype and towards revenue operations, sales playbooks, pricing, and customer success.
For operators and investors, programmes like Scale Velocity Lab can become a filter for identifying startups that can execute, and not just pitch.
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