Four Nigerian technology startups have achieved a significant milestone by being selected to join the 10th cohort of the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa. The companies—Bani, MasteryHive AI, Regxta, and Termii—were chosen from an exceptionally competitive pool of nearly 2,600 applications, forming part of a final pan-African group of 15 companies. With an acceptance rate of less than one per cent, this selection underscores the immense technical talent and resilience emerging from Nigeria's rapidly growing digital ecosystem.
Innovative AI Solutions Addressing Critical Challenges
The selected Nigerian startups are harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence to address pressing local and regional issues. Bani operates as a cross-border payments infrastructure platform, specifically designed to eliminate settlement delays for African businesses engaged in global trade. MasteryHive AI offers an AI-native platform that automates transaction reconciliation, fraud detection, and anti-money laundering monitoring, enhancing financial security and efficiency.
Regxta combines alternative data-driven credit scoring with a hybrid digital-agent distribution model to deliver essential financial products to unbanked micro businesses, promoting greater financial inclusion. Termii serves as an AI-native communications infrastructure platform, ensuring reliable financial messaging for banks and fintechs, from login PINs to payment OTPs and fraud alerts.
Supporting Africa's Tech Resilience and Growth
African tech founders are actively solving fundamental infrastructural challenges, bridging gaps in financial inclusion, healthcare, and supply chains through complex AI applications. The continent's venture ecosystem demonstrated remarkable resilience in 2025 by raising $3.9 billion in funding. However, scaling deep-tech solutions requires specialised technical infrastructure, advanced cloud capabilities, and strategic mentorship to complement this capital effectively.
Accelerator programs like Google's provide these exact tools, ensuring that local innovations can sustainably grow into businesses that power the continent's digital economy. The hybrid programme, running from April 13th to June 19th, 2026, will offer the 15 startups dedicated guidance from experienced mentors and industry experts, alongside hands-on technical workshops focused on AI and machine learning.
Leadership Perspectives on the Accelerator's Impact
Gbolade Emmanuel, CEO of Nigeria-based Termii, expressed enthusiasm about the opportunity, stating, "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."
Folarin Aiyegbusi, Head of Startup Ecosystem for Africa at Google, added, "We are absolutely thrilled to welcome these exceptional founders into Class 10. 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."
A Legacy of Empowerment and Job Creation
Since its launch in 2018, the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa program has supported 106 startups from 17 African countries. These companies have collectively raised over $263 million in funding and created more than 2,800 jobs, highlighting the program's significant contribution to the continent's economic and technological advancement. This latest cohort continues the tradition of fostering innovation and entrepreneurship across Africa.
