Google, through the for Startups Black Founders Fund Africa, is supporting early-stage, Black-founded startups on the continent. The plan is to help bridge the existing fundraising gap for Black startup founders in Africa’s fast-growing technology landscape.
In 2021, the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund invested $3M into 50 Black led-startups in Africa. Since then, the selected startups have gone on to raise $73M+ in follow-on funding, hired more staff, and grown their revenues.
This non-dilutive $4M fund is allocated across a pipeline of 60 investable startups in Africa. Applications for the latest $4M Black Founders Fund in Africa are now open until May 31st (23:59 GMT).
Founders will receive up to $100K in equity-free cash, up to an additional $200K in Google Cloud Credits, and access to the best of Google—people, products, and practices.
Applications are being accepted from the following countries in Africa: Botswana, Cameroun, Côte D’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. (These countries are the prime focus due to their active tech and startup ecosystems, but Google will consider very strong applications from other African countries not listed.)
Startups must be:
Headquartered in Africa or has a legal presence on the continent
Building for Africa and a global market
Creating jobs, able to show growth potential to raise more funding, and making an impact
With a founding team that is:
Diverse, with at least one Black C-level founding member
Directly supporting the Black community
Technical requirements:
Technology startups with a live product in-market or a business where technology is core to their ability to scale (the initiative is not for consultancies or not-for-profits)
Compatibility with Google products—Google products can accelerate your growth
Each startup will receive either $50,000 or $100,000. Funding varies according to each startup’s product development stage, current needs, and how much they’ve already raised.
