4 Nigerian Startups Selected to Join Milestone 10th Google for Startups Accelerator Africa Cohort
Nigeria’s rapidly evolving tech ecosystem has secured another significant milestone as four homegrown startups have been selected for the 10th cohort of the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa programme. The cohort features a highly competitive lineup, with just 15 companies chosen across the continent from nearly 2,600 applications—an acceptance rate of under 1%.
The Nigerian representatives—Bani, MasteryHive AI, Regxta, and Termii—stand out in a field increasingly defined by artificial intelligence-driven solutions tailored to African realities. Their selection reflects both the depth of technical expertise emerging from Nigeria and the growing relevance of locally built innovation in addressing systemic challenges across finance, communication, education, and digital infrastructure.
Across the continent, the accelerator programme has become a key pipeline for scaling startups that are not only technology-forward but also grounded in solving immediate, real-world problems. For the Nigerian cohort, that mission is particularly pronounced, with each company leveraging AI in different ways to improve efficiency, access, and decision-making within critical sectors.
The broader context of their selection also highlights a shift in Africa’s startup narrative—from experimentation to execution at scale. Nigerian founders continue to play a central role in this transformation, building products that compete globally while remaining deeply responsive to local constraints such as infrastructure gaps, fragmented data systems, and financial inclusion barriers.
As these startups enter the accelerator programme, they join a network designed to provide technical mentorship, cloud infrastructure support, and strategic guidance—resources that could accelerate their growth trajectories and strengthen their impact across African markets.
The latest cohort reinforces Nigeria’s position as one of Africa’s most dynamic innovation hubs, where artificial intelligence is increasingly moving from concept to practical deployment in solving everyday challenges.
African tech founders are actively solving fundamental infrastructural challenges, bridging gaps in financial inclusion, healthcare, and supply chains with complex AI. The continent's venture ecosystem showed remarkable resilience by raising $3.9 billion in 2025. However, scaling deep-tech solutions requires specialized technical infrastructure, advanced cloud capabilities, and strategic mentorship to complement this capital. Accelerator programs provide these exact tools, ensuring local innovations can sustainably grow into businesses that power the continent's digital economy.
Gbolade Emmanuel, CEO of Nigeria-based Termii, noted: “At Termii, we’re building AI-powered infrastructure that ensures financial transactions don’t fail, from login PINs to payment OTPs and fraud alerts. The Google Startup Accelerator is helping us accelerate our AI roadmap and scale globally, and even in the first week, access to technical support and insights has been incredibly valuable for our next phase of growth.”
“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome these exceptional founders into Class 10,” said Folarin Aiyegbusi, Head of Startup Ecosystem, Africa. “African startups are driving essential economic growth and social development. Our role is to serve as a supportive partner, providing these developers and founders with the technical infrastructure, mentorship, and global network they need to scale their solutions and amplify their real-world impact.”
Running from April 13th to June 19th, 2026, the hybrid program will provide the 15 startups with dedicated guidance from experienced mentors and industry experts, alongside hands-on technical workshops focused on AI and machine learning.
Since launching in 2018, the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa program has supported 106 startups from 17 African countries, empowering them to collectively raise over $263 million and create more than 2,800 jobs.
For more information on the full list of 15 startups participating in Class 10, please visit the Google Africa Blog at https://blog.google/intl/en-africa/company-news/meet-the-15-startups-joining-the-google-for-startups-accelerator-africa-class-10/.