Post Date: 08-Nov-2021 Deadline Date: 14-Jan-2022

Donor Name: Google

Grant Size: Not Available

Applications are now open for the Google for Startups Accelerator Program, a three-month accelerator program for Seed to Series A technology startups across the African continent.

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The accelerator is designed to bring the best of Google’s programs, products, people, and technology to startups that leverage machine learning and AI in their company today or plan to in the future. In addition to mentorship and technical project support, the accelerator also includes deep dives and workshops focused on product design, customer acquisition and leadership development for founders, specialized training, media opportunities, and access to Google’s network of engineers and experts.

The accelerator runs as a fully digital program for a period of 3 months. As part of the Google for Startups Accelerator, selected founders outline the top challenges facing their startup, and are then paired with relevant experts from Google to help solve those challenges. Participating startups receive deep mentorship on technical challenges and machine learning, as well as connections to relevant teams from across Google. Founders will also have access to labs and workshops addressing different aspects of managing a tech startup.

Benefits

• Equity-free support: Three months of equity-free support
• Mentoring: Mentoring from 20+ Google teams
• Training: Training on design, marketing, and leadership
• Strategic support: Support on company and product strategy
• Product credits: Google product credits for your tech stack
• Early access: Early access to new Google products and tools
• Access to experts: Access to Google’s network of industry experts
• Technical project partnership: Partnership on an advanced technology project

Eligibility Criteria

• Seed to Series A-stage technology startups is eligible for the program. The Accelerator program is sector-agnostic and thus welcomes startups leveraging machine learning (or plan to in the future) from any vertical.
• Accelerator Africa accepts applicants from 17 African countries. These are Algeria, Botswana, Cameroon, Côte D’ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.
• The CEO and CTO must participate in all three online boot camps of the program, and a third core team member can also attend, but this is optional. A maximum of three total company representatives can participate in each Bootcamp.

Entry Criteria

Each program has specific requirements, but generally, teams that are chosen fit the profile.

• Deeply technical, preferably leveraging technologies like Machine Learning and AI
• Demonstrating traction, ideally between Seed and Series A stage
• Building a scalable product or service with a significant total addressable market and defensible growth model

For more information, visit Google.