After whitling down 1 057 applications, Google has announced the 15 startups selected for its third cohort of the Google for Startups Accelerator: South Africa.
The programme offers local founders a three-month period of equity-free funding, Google’s AI tools, and one-on-one mentorship to grow their businesses and is aimed at companies using AI in education, financial services, legal services, mobility, health, retail and supply chains.
Each startup receives hands-on access to Google’s cloud infrastructure and AI models including Gemini, mentorship from Google engineers and industry experts, and up to R1-million in equity-free funding. Google takes no equity or fee. The programme runs from 28 September to 4 December in a hybrid format that combines remote sessions with in-person work, and ends with a Demo Day where founders present to investors and partners.
“We’re backing South Africans building for South Africa, because they read this market better than anyone,” says Kabelo Makwane, country director, Google South Africa. “When these companies grow, they hire here – and they prove that AI built on the continent can compete anywhere.”
The 2026 cohort includes an app that teaches children to read in their mother tongue, a WhatsApp tutor built for low-data connections, a fintech giving underbanked adults access to fair credit, an AI mentor for township and rural youth, and platforms that simplify everything from booking flights to buying school supplies.
The full cohort is:
- Ambani Africa: An African language learning app that helps children connect with their mother tongue.
- Anvaya Legal AI: An AI legal assistant that speeds up research, drafting and document review.
- Boleka Africa: A community-based fintech helping underbanked adults access fair credit, savings and payments.
- Bro: A mobility platform connecting passengers with affordable transport.
- Buddy Learning: An AI tutor on WhatsApp that delivers low-data, multilingual tutoring.
- Daedalis: Verified data infrastructure and enterprise AI for supply chains.
- Dataseka: An AI analytics platform that turns scattered business data into usable insights.
- Fly n Pay Later: A travel fintech that lets people book flights and pay in manageable installments.
- Kasicoach: An AI mentorship platform on WhatsApp and Telegram for township and rural youth.
- Muna Africa: Infrastructure that helps retailers run circular fashion resale programmes.
- Propela Health: A marketplace connecting African healthcare professionals with global employers.
- Scale: A platform that lets startups launch and issue card products.
- Thuto: An edtech building AI tools to improve learning outcomes.
- Tradeflow: An AI platform that automates supplier invoicing and ordering for restaurants.
- Zumii: A WhatsApp platform that sources, packs and delivers school stationery to parents.
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