Google has opened applications for the second Class of Launchpad Accelerator Africa program, expanding it to 18 African countries.
Launchpad Accelerator Africa, a program for African startups to improve and grow their business, was announced less than a year ago by Google CEO Sundar Pichai at the event Google for Nigeria, set up in Lagos on July 27th, 2017.
The Google Launchpad Accelerator Africa program will provide African startups with over $3 million in equity-free support, working space, and access to expert advisers from Google, Silicon Valley, and Africa over the next three years, helping to build a better ecosystem and so much needed hubs for startups in Africa.
Participants also receive travel and PR supports during each three-month program.
The first Class of this program took place from March to June 2018, with the participation of 12 startups, including OkadaBooks (e-books – Nigeria), swiftVEE (livestock buying and selling – South Africa) and Flexpay (e-commerce – Kenia).
To qualify, startups have to be a technology startup, based in Sub-Saharan Africa, targeting the African market, and have raised seed funding.
In June 2018 the program has been expanded to 12 more African countries (up from 6 in the first Class): in addition to Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda, the countries Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Cameroon, Botswana, Sénégal, Ethiopia, Côte d’Ivoire, and Algeria have been included.
Applications for Class 2 will close on July 8. Interested startups can apply on the Launchpad Accelerator Africa page.
