Google Selects 60 African Startups for Equity Free $4m Funding

American multinational company, Google has been on a mission in offering support to thriving diverse, and inclusive startup communities around the world.

Recently, the company announced the selection of 60 eligible black-founded startups across Africa for its second cohort of Google for startups Black Founders Fund (BFF) for Africa.

The startups joining the program will receive a total of $4 million in equity-free funding and support to enable them to scale up their ongoing project.

They will also receive support in the form of a 6-month training program that includes access to a network of mentors to assist in tackling challenges that are unique to them. 

The selected startups will also be part of tailored workshops, support networks, and community-building sessions.

The 60 grantees will get non-dilutive funding between $50,000 and $100,000, and up to $200,000 in Google Cloud credit. 

It is interesting to note that 50% of women-led businesses made up part of guarantees as they hail from countries such as Botswana,  Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, and Uganda.

These women-led businesses specialize in sectors such as fintech, healthcare, e-commerce, logistics, agtech, education, hospitality, and smart cities.

It doesn’t come as a surprise that Nigeria is among the top five countries with the most startups selected for the program with twenty-three grantees, followed by Eastern African country Kenya with twelve grantees, Rwanda with six grantees, South Africa with five grantees, and Uganda with four grantees.

Botswana and Senegal have one selected startup each,  Cameroon and Ghana both have three grantees each while Ethiopia has two selected grantees.  

Africa is a diverse continent with massive opportunities but the continent is faced with the challenge of limited diversity in venture capital funding flow. We hope that the Black Founders Fund program will be able to bridge the gap of disproportionate funding between expat startups over local and b black-led companies.”, says Folarin Aiyegbusi, Head of Startup Ecosystem, SSA.

Launched in April 2012, the Google for Startups program has created over 4,600 jobs and raised more than $290m in funding.

The Google for Startups Black Founders Fund program will introduce the grantees in Africa to Google’s products, connections, and best practices which will help the founders to level the playing field as they build better products and services that add value to the African economy.

60 Startups Selected for Google for Startup Black Founders Fund