The 15 Startups in the 2025 Google for Startups Accelerator Africa Cohort You Should Know

In 2025, Google for Startups selected 15 exceptional businesses for its Accelerator Africa Class 9. These startups are solving urgent problems across Africa using AI, logistics, health data, and more. They represent the kind of innovation that wins grants, users, and investor support.

Here are a few from this cohort and why they matter:

• Apexloads (Kenya): A logistics SaaS platform aimed at helping freight brokers and carriers move cargo more efficiently.
• E-doc Online (Nigeria): A company that simplifies compliance and credit checks by using real-time banking data.
• GoNomad (Nigeria): Enables global invoicing for businesses and solopreneurs to get paid locally and internationally.
• Myltura (Nigeria): A digital health platform for remote care and health data management.
• Pastel (Nigeria): Provides AI solutions for fraud detection and anti-money laundering to financial institutions.
• Regulon (Ghana): Works on regulatory onboarding tools across Africa and beyond.
• Smartel Agri Tech (Rwanda): Uses AI and solar-powered tools to help smallholders forecast pests and disease.
• YeneHealth (Ethiopia): Streamlines access to affordable medications via a digital health app.

What Makes This Cohort Special

They were picked from nearly 1,500 applications. These ventures are not just using AI for novelty. They are addressing real issues: financial access, health in remote areas, compliance burdens, and agriculture gaps.

Program benefits include access to Google’s mentorship, technical expertise, and exposure to global users and partners. This kind of support accelerates growth more than funding alone.

What Founders Can Learn

If you are building a startup, here are lessons from the Accelerator cohort:

• Use AI responsibly and with purpose. Models matter when solving African challenges.
• Focus on interoperability and regulatory compliance early. Many successful ventures already consider regulation, eligibility, and trust from Day One.
• Solve for local impact before scaling globally. Companies that test in Nigerian cities, Kenyan counties, or Rwandan districts often build stronger foundations.

Do you want to build a startup that could be part of such a cohort?

Book a call with BuildX Consult. We help you align your product-market fit, technology readiness, and strategy to win accelerator programs and funding.