The companies will also join Madica’s intensive 18-month support programme, designed to help early-stage founders build scalable, investment-ready businesses.

Madica is seeking to close Africa’s funding gap by backing founders and startups usually overlooked by traditional venture capital. 

Since launching in 2022, the programme has focused on entrepreneurs from underrepresented regions and industries, providing capital and the kind of mentorship as well as structure that can make or break early ventures.

Both startups bring artificial intelligence into real-world African contexts. Anavid, founded by Ahmed Chaari and David Nilsson, uses AI to integrate with retail surveillance systems, reducing theft losses and improving in-store experience. 

Hypeo AI, led by Meriam Bessa and Salah Eddine Mimouni, provides a software solution that automates influencer marketing, from brand matching to campaign payments.

For Madica, these investments will help enhance innovation, which is also thriving across Africa, not just in a few well-known hubs.

“At Madica, we believe and continue to prove that some of the world’s most transformative ideas come from places that are too often ignored,” said Emmanuel Adegboye, head of Madica. “The founders we’ve just welcomed are visionaries, building solutions with the power to uplift communities and shape industries. We’re proud to stand with them as they take on the next stage of their journey.”

For the founders, the partnership provides access to Madica’s growing investor network, business coaching, and two fully funded immersion trips to leading tech ecosystems both within and outside Africa. 

These trips, part of Madica’s structured learning model, give founders a platform to engage directly with investors, mentors, and other founders solving similar challenges.

Speaking on Hypeo AI’s mission, Meriam Bessa, the company’s co-founder and CEO, said, “Our region is rapidly growing with creative energy, but without the right digital backbone, it often goes untapped. We’re changing that by using AI to reimagine how brands and creators find each other, collaborate, and thrive. Backing by Madica will help us strengthen our AI capabilities to achieve this goal.”

Madica has also partnered with the African Business Angel Network (ABAN) to expand deal flow and co-investment opportunities for its portfolio companies. The collaboration, unveiled at the ABAN Congress in Lagos, aims to improve access to local capital and connect angel investors with institutional partners.

According to Yemi Keri, President of ABAN, “The future of Africa’s innovation economy depends on how effectively we can mobilise local capital and empower local investors. Our collaboration with Madica helps bridge the gap between angel investors and institutional capital, ensuring that more funding comes from within the continent, and that startups everywhere in Africa can access the right type of support to scale.”

Madica’s portfolio already includes a mix of standout startups such as Medikea, Daleela, Pixii Motors, and ToumAI, with a strong focus on gender diversity and regional inclusion. 

Its model combines funding with hands-on learning, helping founders refine governance, growth strategy, and personal well-being, areas often neglected in early-stage business building.

To date, Madica has continued to scout for new investment opportunities across the continent. Eligible startups must have a minimum viable product (MVP), ideally with paying customers, and be led by full-time African founders with limited prior institutional backing.

The team recently participated in Moonshot by TechCabal in Lagos and is heading to Big Angels Day Africa in Dakar this October, part of its approach to meet founders where they are, and to bring early-stage capital closer to the people shaping Africa’s digital future.

This hybrid initiative is aimed at startups between Seed and Series A stage that are solving tough problems with technology.

If you’re building a scalable solution that uses advanced tech to tackle local or global challenges, this could be the most important application you submit this year.

Benefits

Selected startups will receive equity-free support throughout the programme. That means you get help — not bills. But there’s more:

• Access to Google experts: Work directly with Google engineers, product managers, and mentors to overcome your toughest technical challenges.
• Up to $350,000 in Google Cloud credits: These are not just perks — they’re real tools to help you scale faster and smarter.
• Strategic support: Founders are guided on product strategy, business development, customer acquisition and leadership.
• Specialist deep dives: Gain insight through hands-on sessions covering product design, growth, machine learning, and more.
• Exclusive training: Bootcamps and workshops, tailored to your needs.
• Cloud TPU access: Participants also get 30 days free use of Google’s TPU Research Cloud — a rare opportunity for AI and ML-driven startups.
• Demo Day: Graduating teams will present to Google teams, partners, and the wider startup ecosystem — a potential springboard to new partnerships or investment.

Eligibility

Not every startup will make the cut. Here’s what Google is looking for:

• Stage: Seed to Series A funded startups.
• Product: Scalable technology solutions with a clear growth model and measurable market opportunity.
• Tech: Startups using advanced technology, especially AI or machine learning, are preferred.
• Team: A committed CTO or senior technical lead must be fully engaged throughout the programme.
• Location: Startups operating across Africa are welcome. Google is also committed to diversity and encourages applications from underrepresented founders.

How to Apply

Here are details to apply for the 2025 Google for Startups Accelerator Africa:

• Application Deadline: 9 May 2025
• Programme Start: June 2025
• Demo Day: August 2025

Founders ready to take the leap can apply directly via the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa website. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, but don’t wait until the last minute — this is a highly competitive programme, and space is limited to just 10–15 startups.

If your startup is building an innovation, this is your chance to build it better — with Google by your side.