Four Nigerian startups join Google Africa accelerator cohort

Four Nigerian technology startups: Bani, MasteryHive AI, Regxta, and Termii, have been selected for the 10th cohort of the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa.

The Head of Startup Ecosystem, Africa at Google, Folarin Aiyegbusi, said the organisation was pleased to welcome the new cohort.

Aiyegbusi said in a statement that African startups were driving economic growth and social development.

He said Google’s role was to provide technical infrastructure, mentorship and a global network to help founders scale their solutions and increase their impact.

According to him, the companies were chosen from nearly 2,600 applications across Africa and are among 15 selected startups, representing an acceptance rate below one percent.

He said: “Their selection underscores the growing technical capacity and resilience within Nigeria’s digital innovation ecosystem.

“The selected startups are deploying Artificial Intelligence (AI) to address key challenges in financial services and digital infrastructure.”

Aiyegbusi said Bani was a cross-border payments infrastructure platform designed to eliminate settlement delays for African businesses trading globally.

He said MasteryHive AI focused on automating transaction reconciliation, fraud detection and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) monitoring using AI-driven systems.

According to him, Regxta leverages alternative data for credit scoring alongside a hybrid digital-agent model to deliver financial services to unbanked micro businesses.

The startup ecosystem head said Termii provided AI-powered communications infrastructure to ensure reliable financial messaging for banks and fintech firms.

Industry stakeholders noted that African startups continued to tackle critical infrastructure gaps across sectors such as financial inclusion, healthcare and supply chains using advanced technologies.

In spite of raising about $3.9 billion in venture funding in 2025, experts said scaling deep-tech solutions on the continent required access to specialised technical infrastructure, cloud capabilities and mentorship.

Speaking on the development, the Chief Executive Officer of Termii, Gbolade Emmanuel, said the accelerator programme would support the company’s growth plans.

Emmanuel said: “At Termii, we are building AI-powered infrastructure that ensures financial transactions do not fail, from login PINs to payment OTPs and fraud alerts.

“The Google for Startups Accelerator is helping us accelerate our AI roadmap and scale globally.”

He added that even in the first week, access to technical support and insights had been valuable for the company’s next phase of growth.

He said: “The hybrid accelerator programme, scheduled to run from April 13 to June 19, will provide participating startups with mentorship, technical support and workshops focused on AI and machine learning.

“Since its launch in 2018, the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa programme has supported 106 startups from 17 African countries, helping them raise over 263 million dollars and create more than 2,800 jobs.”