A new cohort of African technology startups has been selected for a European-backed accelerator programme aimed at scaling digital innovation across the continent, as international investors intensify support for African-led entrepreneurship.
The Digital for Development Hub (D4D Hub) has announced five startups chosen for the Think Like an Investor 2026 programme, an initiative designed to help promising digital ventures strengthen commercial partnerships, expand into new markets and improve governance structures.
The selected companies — Twiva from Kenya, agriBORA from Kenya, Niajiri Platform Limited from Tanzania, Ipachi Capital from Botswana and OnCall – powered by Macquarie Medical from Namibia, were chosen after a multi-year evaluation process conducted between 2024 and 2025.
The programme targets ventures building Digital Social Innovations (DSIs), technologies designed to address social challenges while remaining commercially viable.
“These high-potential startups are selected to scale up their Digital Social Innovations following evaluations in 2024 and 2025,” the D4D Hub said in its announcement.
Digital ventures tackling real-world problems
Each startup reflects a growing wave of African entrepreneurs deploying digital technology to address structural economic and social gaps.
Kenya’s Twiva operates in the rapidly expanding creator economy, providing an influencer-driven marketing platform connecting brands with social media creators.
Fellow Kenyan startup agriBORA focuses on agriculture, offering cereal storage, trading and financing solutions for farmers, helping smallholders reduce post-harvest losses and gain better access to markets.
From Tanzania, Niajiri Platform Limited has developed an AI-powered applicant tracking and hiring platform, addressing recruitment inefficiencies across African labour markets.
Namibia’s OnCall – powered by Macquarie Medical is building an on-demand digital healthcare platform, part of a fast-growing telemedicine sector responding to persistent healthcare access gaps across the continent.
Completing the cohort is Botswana-based Ipachi Capital, a fintech company providing microloans for informal and small businesses, a segment often excluded from traditional banking systems.
Scaling startups through investor readiness
Under the Think Like an Investor programme, the startups will receive strategic support focused on strengthening their ability to attract capital and scale sustainably.
“This year, they will be supported in enhancing commercial partnerships, expanding into new markets, and improving governance to accelerate their sustainable growth,” the D4D Hub said.
The initiative reflects a broader push by international development institutions to help African startups transition from early-stage innovation to investment-ready enterprises capable of competing globally.
Africa’s technology ecosystem has grown rapidly over the past decade, with venture capital investment in the continent’s startups surpassing $5 billion in peak years before moderating amid global market tightening.
Yet a persistent gap remains between early innovation and scalable businesses capable of attracting long-term capital, precisely the challenge programmes such as Think Like an Investor aim to address.
EU-Africa digital cooperation deepens
The programme is implemented by HAUS Finnish Institute of Public Management Ltd and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) as part of the Team Europe Data Governance in Africa Initiative, known as D4DataGOV.
Funding comes from the European Commission as well as the governments of Germany and Finland.
The effort forms part of the European Union’s wider Global Gateway strategy, which aims to strengthen digital partnerships between Europe and emerging markets through investment, knowledge sharing and policy collaboration.
The D4D Hub describes itself as “a strategic platform that aims to strengthen digital cooperation between the European Union and its Member States and partners in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the EU neighbouring countries.”
The platform focuses on building human-centric digital transformation, ensuring that technological progress supports economic inclusion, environmental sustainability and fundamental rights.
Human-centric digital transformation
The initiative’s philosophy reflects a broader shift in global digital development policy away from purely technological expansion toward models that prioritise social impact.
According to the D4D Hub, the human-centric approach “respects fundamental rights and aims to ensure secure, equal and meaningful access to the benefits of digitalisation.”
Its programmes place particular emphasis on women, girls, minorities and marginalised communities, as well as environmentally sustainable digital innovation.
Across Africa, this approach is increasingly shaping digital development initiatives as governments, investors and development institutions seek to ensure that rapid technological growth translates into broader social and economic benefits.
Africa’s next wave of digital entrepreneurship
The five startups selected for Think Like an Investor 2026 represent sectors widely seen as central to Africa’s digital future: agritech, fintech, healthtech, recruitment technology and the creator economy.
Each sector addresses critical structural challenges, improving agricultural value chains, expanding financial inclusion, digitising healthcare access and unlocking employment opportunities.
For African founders, programmes like Think Like an Investor provide more than mentorship, they offer access to international investor networks and the strategic expertise required to transform promising technology into scalable businesses.
As global competition for digital leadership intensifies, the emergence of African-built platforms tackling global challenges signals a broader shift where the continent is increasingly producing not only digital consumers, but also digital innovators shaping the future of technology itself.
