Google set to support African startups with $6m funding programmes

Google has announced new initiatives to help African startups get access to capital and best of its resources.

The programmes, which include a $3 million Black Founders Fund for African startups and a $3 million Google.org grant to help low-income communities develop entrepreneurial skills and funding.

Nitin Gajria, managing director of Google Africa, and Rowan Barnett, Head of Google.org Europe, Middle East & Africa, disclosed this in a joint statement on Monday.

“Through the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund Africa, we are supporting early-stage Black-founded startups and startups that are benefitting the Black community on the continent. We want to bridge the existing fundraising gap for Black startup founders in Africa’s fast-growing technology landscape,” the statement reads.

“The programs, which include a $3 million USD Black Founders Fund for African startups and a $3 million USD Google.org grant to help low-income communities develop entrepreneurial skills and funding, will help Black founders grow their businesses not only by providing capital but also by providing access to the best of Google resources.”

They further explained that the fund will be allocated across a pipeline of 50 investable startups in Africa and is open to all startups that meet the criteria.

“The $3M non-dilutive fund will be allocated across a pipeline of 50 investable startups in Africa, with each firm receiving up to $100,000 in cash awards. Each selected company will also receive $220,000 in Google Cloud Credits and Ad Grants, as well as mentoring, technical and scaling assistance from the best of Google. The equity-free fund is available to entrepreneurs developing for Africa, on the continent,” the statement added.

Meanwhile, applications are open from today until July 7 and eligible startups can visit goo.gle/BFFAfrica now to apply.

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