Africa
A three-month hybrid accelerator program for Seed to Series A technology startups. The accelerator program is designed to bring the best of Google's programs, products, people and technology to communities across Africa.
About the program
About the program
A global series of programs
Each cohort of 10-15 startups comes together to tackle technical challenges that can help grow their businesses through a mix of remote and in-person, 1-to-1, group learning sessions, and sprint projects.
Dedicated expert help
Founders outline the top technical challenges for their startup, and are paired with experts from Google and the industry to solve those challenges and grow their business.
Specialist deep dives
Accelerators include deep dives and workshops focused on product design, customer acquisition, and leadership development for founders.
Google product benefits
Early access to AI products: Eligible participants receive Early Access Program and Trusted Tester benefits for Google’s AI products.
Cloud credits: Eligible participants can apply separately for Google Cloud credits to support their business’ growth. Find out more.
Cloud TPUs: Participants are eligible to receive free Cloud TPU access to accelerate open source machine learning research. Find out more.
Key benefits
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Equity-free support
Equity-free support: For duration of program.
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Mentoring
Dedicated mentoring from Google teams.
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Training
Exclusive invitations to technical bootcamps hosted by Google where offered.
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Access to experts
Access to Google's network of industry experts.
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Early access to AI products
Access new Google AI products and tools as relevant through Trusted Tester and EAP benefits.
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Google product credits
Eligible startups receive product credits.
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Strategic support
Support on company and product strategy.
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Technical project partnership
Work hand in hand with experts from Google on your biggest tech challenges.
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Funding
Participating startups will receive R1 million each.
Entry criteria
Entry criteria
- Startups demonstrating traction, ideally between Seed and Series A stage
- Building a scalable product or service with a significant total addressable market and defensible growth model
- Deeply technical, preferably leveraging technologies like machine learning and AI
- Commitment from CTO and/or technical roles to participate and engage in required program sessions
- We are committed to building accelerator classes with great startups, and encourage applications from all qualified startups
Key Dates
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September 29, 2025
Program Kick-off
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December, 2025
Graduation
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December, 2025
Demo Day
Accelerator Alumni
Frequently asked questions
The Google for Startups Accelerator: Africa will kick off in September 2025 and run until December 2025.
The hybrid accelerator runs for a period of three months, with digital workshops, programming, and mentorship. As part of the Google for Startups Accelerator, selected founders outline the top technical challenges facing their startup, and are then paired with relevant experts from Google's network of Experts to help solve those challenges. Participating startups receive deep mentorship on technical challenges with an emphasis on data and machine learning, as well as connections to relevant teams from across Google. The program will consist of in-person bootcamps and virtual workshops and mentorship.
This particular cohort will be accepting South African-based startups only. The Google for Startups Accelerator: Africa is best suited for Seed to Series A revenue generating tech startups. The founder and appropriate team members must be available to join all program elements of their cohort. In order to ensure Google can provide meaningful value, startups should aim to leverage AI/ML technology in their product, service or operations and/or show an interest in leveraging this technology in the future.
The Google for Startups Accelerator: Africa is equity-free for all participating startups. Please note that we do require all founders (CEO and CTO) and appropriate team members to be available to join all elements of the program.
Selected startups are given:
- Access to Google engineers, technical project partnership, Google product support and advice, custom mentorship
- Inclusion in the Google for Startups Accelerator Global Community and network of alumni
- Google Cloud Credits
- Marketing spotlight opportunities
Startups must meet specific criteria to be eligible for Google product credit offerings. To learn more about the Google Cloud credit eligibility requirements, please visit the Google Cloud startup page.