LAGOS, NIGERIA – April 21, 2026 – 4 Nigerian technology startups –
Bani, MasteryHive AI, Regxta, Termii – have been selected to join the
10th cohort of the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa. Chosen from
an exceptionally competitive pool of nearly 2,600 applications, these
innovators are part of a final pan-African group of 15 companies. With
an acceptance rate of less than 1%, their selection highlights the
immense technical talent and resilience emerging from Nigeria’s
digital ecosystem.
The selected Nigerian startups are utilizing Artificial Intelligence to
address critical local and regional challenges:
Bani : A cross-border payments infrastructure platform eliminating
settlement delays for African businesses trading globally.
MasteryHive AI : An AI-native platform automating transaction
reconciliation, fraud detection, and AML monitoring.
Regxta : Combines alternative data-driven credit scoring with a hybrid
digital-agent distribution model to deliver financial products to
unbanked micro businesses.
Termii : An AI-native communications infrastructure platform ensuring
reliable financial messaging for banks and fintechs.
African tech founders are actively solving fundamental infrastructural
challenges, bridging gaps in financial inclusion, healthcare, and supply
chains with complex AI. The continent’s venture ecosystem showed
remarkable resilience by raising $3.9 billion in 2025. However, scaling
deep-tech solutions requires specialized technical infrastructure,
advanced cloud capabilities, and strategic mentorship to complement this
capital. Accelerator programs provide these exact tools, ensuring local
innovations can sustainably grow into businesses that power the
continent’s digital economy.
Gbolade Emmanuel, CEO of Nigeria-based Termii, noted: “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.”
“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome these exceptional founders into
Class 10,” said Folarin Aiyegbusi, Head of Startup Ecosystem, Africa.
“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.”
Running from April 13th to June 19th, 2026, the hybrid program will
provide the 15 startups with dedicated guidance from experienced mentors
and industry experts, alongside hands-on technical workshops focused on
AI and machine learning.
Since launching in 2018, the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa
program has supported 106 startups from 17 African countries, empowering
them to collectively raise over $263 million and create more than 2,800
jobs.
For more information on the full list of 15 startups participating in
Class 10, please visit the Google Africa Blog at
https://blog.google/intl/en-africa/company-news/meet-the-15-startups-joining-the-google-for-startups-accelerator-africa-class-10/
