Google for Startups Accelerator Africa announces Class 5 online

Google for Startups Accelerator Africa has announced Class 5 of the Accelerator. Previously called Google Launchpad Accelerator Africa, will hold online, as one combined class of 20 startups, rather than the two classes per year held previously.

The programme will run for the usual three months, with a one week ‘virtual bootcamp’ per month, from June 29 til September 11, 2020. The selected pools of startups for 2020 are from Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia and Zimbabwe. The startups cut across an array of industries including logistics, transportation, education, agriculture, e-commerce, media, health and professional services.

Since its launch in 2018, the Google for Startups Accelerator programme has worked with 47 startups from 17 African countries: These include: Algeria, Botswana, Cameroon, Côte D’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. They have contributed to economic prosperity & empowerment by collectively raising millions of dollars in investment, and creating hundreds of jobs.

Google continues to support developer communities across sub-Saharan Africa, through Google Developer Groups, Developer Student Clubs and Women Techmakers, providing training and support for developers aligned with real-life job competency requirements. Community groups engage in activities like Study Jams: study groups facilitated by developers, for developers. Today, there are over 120 active developer communities across 25 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Google’s first regionally-based startup accelerator programme, Google for Startups Accelerator Africa runs out of a dedicated space in Lagos. Announced in 2017, Google has committed to training 60 African startups over three years, representing over $3-million in equity-free support, working space, and access to expert advisers from Google, Silicon Valley, and Africa. Participants also receive travel and PR support during each three-month programme.