Google Selects 15 African AI Startups for Latest Accelerator Cohort
TLDR
- Google has announced the selection of 15 African startups for the ninth cohort of its Google for Startups Accelerator: Africa
- Selected ventures span Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, South Africa, Senegal, and Ethiopia
- Each startup will receive up to $350,000 in Google Cloud credits, tailored AI product support, and mentorship from Google engineers
Google has announced the selection of 15 African startups for the ninth cohort of its Google for Startups Accelerator: Africa. The three-month programme targets early-stage, AI-first companies and aims to support their growth with technical mentorship, business development resources, and cloud credits.
Selected ventures span Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, South Africa, Senegal, and Ethiopia. Among them are Nigeria’s Pastel, which develops AI fraud detection for banks; Kenya’s Shamba Records, which helps farmers access smart credit; and Rwanda’s Smartel Agri Tech, which offers solar-powered AI devices to detect crop diseases.
Each startup will receive up to $350,000 in Google Cloud credits, tailored AI product support, and mentorship from Google engineers. The programme received nearly 1,500 applications from across Africa.
Since its launch in 2018, the initiative has supported 140 startups across 17 countries. Google’s goal is to promote locally relevant AI innovation in critical sectors like agriculture, health, finance, and logistics.
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Key Takeaways
The rise of African AI startups shows how local innovation is shaping the continent’s digital future. These ventures focus on sector-specific problems—agricultural financing, crop disease detection, cross-border trade, and health data management—rather than generic AI applications. This approach reflects Africa’s need for problem-first, not tech-first, innovation. By embedding AI in tools for farmers, SMEs, and clinics, startups are building context-aware solutions that drive inclusion and productivity. Support from tech giants like Google gives these companies access to infrastructure and expertise otherwise out of reach. But the key value lies in how these startups blend AI with cultural and infrastructural knowledge, bridging formal and informal systems. As access to computing grows and regulation evolves, African AI will likely accelerate beyond experimentation into scaled products. These 15 startups signal a broader shift: from consuming global AI tools to building homegrown systems that can serve millions on their own terms.
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