To support creative blockchain solutions in Africa, StarkWare, the development company behind the industry-leading Ethereum scaling solution Starknet, is establishing a US$4 million venture fund. Zero-knowledge proof technology is used by the blockchain technology startup StarkWare. With investors like Sequoia and Coatue Management supporting it, the company is valued at US$8 billion and most recently…
America’s Cultivation Corridor and the World Food Prize Foundation are pleased to introduce the Innovate for Impact Challenge, a ground-breaking program aimed at boosting agricultural technology (AgTech) innovation. In order to address the pressing issues of global food security and sustainability, this challenge aims to find and assist tech-driven, early-stage enterprises with game-changing ideas. The…
For the first-ever Africa Tech Summit Awards, which honor people and businesses influencing the continent’s technology industry, fifty-five candidates have been chosen. The inauguration of the Africa Tech Summit Awards, a new platform created to honor the most creative and influential tech solutions, businesses, and leaders around Africa, was covered by Disrupt Africa in November….
Applications are now open for the latest edition of the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP), which will provide entrepreneurs with training, mentoring, and US$5,000 in funding. The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) runs the scheme, which is a 10-year, $100 million commitment to identify, develop, mentor, and invest 10,000 African entrepreneurs. Applications for the latest edition…
By providing young African entrepreneurs with a platform to grow their enterprises and provide ground-breaking solutions for the continent’s energy transition, this innovative program seeks to promote innovation in the renewable energy industry. Reputable partners like Enel Green Power, European Investment Bank, EDP, EY Foundation, CSIR, and SAICA ED will help RAISEAfrica continue its aim…
Do you believe your business can provide patients with high-quality, reasonably priced healthcare services and goods closer to where they are? You could be a good fit for our next group. Read more about our selection criteria and application procedure. Eligibility With an emphasis on the distribution of health products in Africa, i3 aims to…
Visa, a world leader in digital payments, has invested in Nigeria’s Moniepoint, a platform for commercial payments and banking services. Tosin Eniolorunda and Felix Ike founded Moniepoint, formerly known as TeamApt, in 2015. It is a comprehensive financial ecosystem that provides 10 million consumers and organizations with easy access to banking, credit, payments, and company…
People who lack access to technology and digital literacy are increasingly excluded from social and economic opportunities as society grows more digitally connected. Nonprofits promoting digital inclusion can increase their influence with the aid of the Digital Equity Accelerator. Serving 27 nonprofit groups in nine countries since 2022, the Digital Equity Accelerator has helped partner…
SMEDAN’s program is a timely answer to the issues that Nigerian small businesses confront, especially when it comes to market expansion, capacity building, and financing access. The organization seeks to empower entrepreneurs, enhance business practices, and establish a more conducive climate for MSMEs to flourish by providing customized programs and assistance. Access to financial services,…
The third iteration of the Grooming Endowment Trust’s (GET) annual GET Accelerated program has been successfully completed. GET is a non-profit organization that supports Nigeria’s business environment. This program gives early-stage businesses the tools they need to grow without giving up stock. GET has helped more than 50 entrepreneurs in sectors like education, healthcare, and…
The fourth iteration of Visa’s biennial Africa Fintech Accelerator, which gives businesses access to resources, industry connections, and mentorship to help them develop their creative solutions, is now accepting applications. Visa is a global payment card network. The Africa Fintech Accelerator, which was started in 2023 in accordance with Visa’s commitment to invest US$1 billion…
The 2024 cohort of the Africa SDGs Mentorship Program, a seven-month fellowship that aims to train young African professionals to empower them to become advocates for sustainable development in their nations, is proudly presented by AIIDEV Africa. In keeping with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN, the program seeks to equip the next…
The Empowering Mary Ojulari FoundationA recently established nonprofit organization in Lagos, the Mary Ojulari Foundation aims to empower young Nigerian women by offering them financial assistance, coaching, and training to help them develop and expand their enterprises. The Vanguard Fellowship Program Early in 2025, the Vanguard Fellowship Program, the foundation’s flagship program, will get underway….
Similar to 2023, 2024 has been a difficult year for funding tech startups in Africa as the industry continues to be impacted by the worldwide capital crisis. Although capital is beginning to flow back into the ecosystem, success stories are what will entice additional domestic and foreign investors to begin backing the continent’s digital sector….
Similar to 2023, 2024 has been a difficult year for funding digital startups in Africa as the industry continues to be impacted by the worldwide capital crisis. However, we are hopeful that 2025 will be a better year because capital is beginning to flow back into the ecosystem. Here, we examine the ten most significant…
Are you a woman entrepreneur ready to scale your business and secure the funding you need to scale? This is your moment! The Women Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines & Agriculture (WCCIMA), in collaboration with KVP Nigeria Project, brings you a transformative 3-month access to finance program designed to empower high-potential women entrepreneurs across Nigeria….
According to a recent research, the biggest obstacles facing entrepreneurs in Nigeria’s startup ecosystem are talent, money, and regulatory constraints. The report “A Decade of the Nigerian Venture Ecosystem: Numbers, Insights & Stories,” published by the Lagos-based venture law firm TLP Advisory, offers an examination of the startup scene in Nigeria, highlighting the expansion, difficulties,…
Fifteen firms, groups, and individuals were selected winners at the African leg of the Global Startup Awards (GSA), and they will now go to the global final. Global Startup Awards (GSA) Africa, in conjunction with the Global Innovation Initiative Group (GIIG), recently announced the 15 African winners during the GSA Africa Finale in Cape Town,…
The third edition of Visa’s biennial Africa Fintech Accelerator, which gives businesses access to resources, industry connections, and mentorship to help them develop their creative solutions, has chosen 19 entrepreneurs from throughout the continent to participate. The Africa Fintech Accelerator was started in 2023 in accordance with Visa’s commitment to invest $1 billion USD in…
AfriLabs and the African Union (AU) have chosen 19 innovators from over the continent to participate in the second iteration of the AU Digital and Innovation Fellowship Program, which aims to use innovation and technology to promote socioeconomic development throughout the continent. The goal of the ground-breaking 12-month AU Digital and Innovation Fellowship Program is…
The 14th Orange Social Venture Prize (OSVP) in Africa and the Middle East has awarded cash prizes to five African startups. Since 2011, Orange’s strategy to support the expansion of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and the inclusive development of the nations in which the Group operates in the Middle East and Africa has been centered on…
The Growth4Her Accelerator initiative, which attempts to close the gender finance gap in Africa, is open to female entrepreneurs in Nigeria. The six-month Growth4Her Accelerator gives female entrepreneurs the skills and resources they need to build their companies from tiny to growth-stage companies that can be funded. The fourth cohort of the investment-readiness program is…
The Harvard Business School’s Africa Business Club is accepting applications for its New Venture Competition, which gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to earn up to $55,000 in cash prizes. In an effort to highlight the variety of entrepreneurs making an impact on the continent today, the student-run Africa Business Club will hold its most recent annual…
The first-ever Africa ICT Summit Awards have been unveiled by Africa Tech Summit as a new platform to honor the continent’s most creative and influential ICT firms, executives, and solutions. At the annual Africa Tech Summit in Nairobi, where the continent’s leading innovators, entrepreneurs, and business executives come together to discover, network, and invest in…
Ten startups and ten scale-ups are among the twenty African digital businesses that have been chosen to present at the Angel Fair Africa event, which will take place in Nairobi, Kenya, on November 7–8. In addition to Johannesburg, Lagos, Accra, Nairobi, Abidjan, Maputo, Dar es Salaam, Mauritius, and Cape Town last year, Angel Fair Africa…
The Sterling Bank Green Innovation Challenge, which is providing award financing to projects in the cleantech, social enterprise, or agriculture sectors, has extended an invitation to Nigerian startups to apply. Those developing startups, SMEs, or other business models centered around innovation, sustainability, and environmental change are eligible to apply for the Sterling Bank Green Innovation…
STEP, a leading initiative dedicated to empowering startups across Nigeria, partnered with StartupSouth9 to host the STEP x StartupSouth9 Event on October 3rd to 4th, 2024, in Port Harcourt. This collaboration aimed to strengthen the South-South and South-East regions by connecting startups with essential resources, including growth strategies, funding opportunities, and mentorship. The event reached…
Green Innovation Challenge (GIC) 2024: Encouraging innovation by providing access to capital. GIC is committed to making capital accessible to cooperatives, social companies, MSMEs, SMEs, and startups that are promoting innovation and good environmental change. It is intended to connect you with the resources you need to scale operations, create a lasting effect, and realize…
Unconventional Capital, a EUR30 million (US$33 million) fund, has been established by early-stage African investor Uncap with the goal of offering non-dilutive, revenue-based financing to early-stage small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) throughout Africa. Through its unique, revenue-based financing model, Uncap has invested in early-stage African SMEs since its founding in 2019 and official launch in…
TechNvst, a prominent innovation commercialization firm based in South Africa, has announced an exciting new collaboration with Microsoft through the African Transformation Office (ATO) to launch the TechNvst AI Startups Uhuru Program. This new initiative is set to transform the landscape for AI-focused startups across Africa by providing them with essential resources and strategic support….