Four Nigerian startups selected for 10th Google Accelerator Africa cohort

Four Nigerian technology startups have been selected to join the 10th cohort of the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa, organisers announced on Tuesday.

The selected startups, Bani, MasteryHive AI, Regxta and Termii, emerged from nearly 2,600 applications to make a final list of 15 companies drawn from across Africa, reflecting an acceptance rate of less than one per cent.

According to the organisers, the Nigerian startups are leveraging artificial intelligence to address key challenges across sectors, including financial services and digital infrastructure.

Bani focuses on cross-border payments infrastructure aimed at reducing settlement delays for African businesses operating globally, while MasteryHive AI provides automated solutions for transaction reconciliation, fraud detection and anti-money laundering monitoring.

Regxta deploys alternative data-driven credit scoring alongside a hybrid digital-agent model to expand financial access to underserved micro businesses. Termii, on its part, offers communications infrastructure designed to support reliable financial messaging for banks and fintech companies.

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Commenting on the development, Chief Executive Officer of Termii, Gbolade Emmanuel, said participation in the programme would help accelerate the company’s artificial intelligence roadmap and global expansion plans.

“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 scale globally, and even in the first week, access to technical support has been valuable,” he said.

Also speaking, Head of Startup Ecosystem, Africa at Google, Folarin Aiyegbusi, said the company remains committed to supporting African innovators.

“We are thrilled to welcome these founders. African startups are driving economic growth and social development, and our role is to provide the infrastructure, mentorship and global network they need to scale,” he said.

The programme, which runs from April 13 to June 19, 2026, will provide participating startups with mentorship, technical support and workshops focused on artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Since its launch in 2018, the accelerator has supported over 100 startups across 17 African countries, helping them raise more than $263 million and create over 2,800 jobs.