More than 100 African startups across 20+ countries have been selected for a new “Data for Founders” programme designed to help early-stage companies raise capital by leveraging structured market intelligence, underscoring growing pressure on founders to become more data-driven in a tightening global venture funding environment.
The initiative, launched by Africa: The Big Deal in partnership with FMO Ventures, will give selected startups free access to a proprietary deal database for two years, alongside structured support to build fundraising strategies based on real-time investment data.
Announcing the cohort, programme co-founder Max Cuvellier Giacomelli said:
“A few weeks ago, we launched our ‘Data for Founders’ initiative, in partnership with FMO Ventures. Our objective was simple, to ensure that our data and expertise actively contributed to helping start-ups on the continent raise funding to finance their growth. And to do it at scale.”
“Today, we’re happy to announce our first cohort of 100+ start-ups!”
The launch comes at a critical moment for Africa’s venture ecosystem, which has seen a slowdown in global funding flows after years of rapid expansion.
Startups across the continent are increasingly being forced to justify valuations with clearer revenue pathways, stronger market benchmarks and improved financial discipline as investors shift away from speculative growth narratives.
The “Data for Founders” programme is designed to respond directly to that shift by equipping founders with structured deal-flow intelligence, comparable transaction data and fundraising benchmarks.
According to the organisers, more than 250 startups applied for the programme from over 20 countries, reflecting strong demand for tools that can improve fundraising outcomes in a more selective capital market.
Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa Dominate as Agriculture and Fintech Lead Sectors
The selected cohort reflects a broad cross-section of Africa’s startup economy, with representation from all five sub-regions of the continent.
Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa emerged as the most represented countries, reinforcing their positions as Africa’s primary venture capital hubs.
Sector-wise, agriculture and fintech accounted for roughly 40% of participating startups, followed closely by deeptech and artificial intelligence ventures. Africa: The Big Deal noted that the most frequently used descriptors among applicants included “AI,” “platform,” and “climate,” signalling a strong shift toward digitally enabled and climate-relevant business models.
Women founders were also strongly represented in the cohort, with 53% of startups reporting at least one woman co-founder and 21% led by women CEOs.
While still below parity, the organisers noted that these figures exceed broader market averages observed among African startups that raised funding in 2025, where comparable figures stood at 27% and 15% respectively.
The cohort is not made up of early idea-stage ventures.
According to programme data, 92% of participating startups have already raised some form of funding, with two-thirds securing between $10,000 and $250,000 to date.
A significant proportion of founders are now preparing for their next financing phase, with 70% targeting rounds between $100,000 and $1 million.
Nearly half of the cohort (46%) are already actively fundraising, while the remainder are expected to begin capital-raising within the coming months.
Programme organisers said this signals a “high-intent, investment-ready pipeline” of founders positioned at the critical transition point between early traction and scale.
Wide Cross-Section of African Startups Selected for Data-Led Growth Support
The cohort includes a diverse set of startups spanning agriculture, fintech, energy, healthtech, logistics and artificial intelligence.
Selected companies include Aetos Dairy, Afripesa, agriBORA, Agrify, AquaMnara, Bfarm-Tech, BioPartners Life Sciences, Blue Lab, Blutechnova, Bosso Africa, BraceMoni, C STAR, Cardri Finance, Career Plug AI, Dawa Mkononi, Digifarmer AI, Everlend Agritech, FarmXic, FieldWatch Technology, FigX, FinFex, Flexpay Technologies, FriendnPal, Green Voyage, Huntrecht, Hydropool, Khwezi Innovations, Konnekt Digital Networks, La Dame qui Range, LocaleNLP, Loop, Myitura, NoMa SRS, Rafode, Renewables Vault, Solar Taxi, TaxStreem, Ubuntu Alliance, Urban Greens, Vioo, Waribei, Yelen, among others.
The organisers said the breadth of sectors reflects Africa’s increasingly diversified startup ecosystem, which is moving beyond fintech dominance into climate, mobility, healthcare and AI-driven productivity solutions.
Under the programme, selected startups will receive free access to a proprietary venture capital database for a period of two years, valued at nearly $500 per startup.
The database is updated monthly and currently contains close to 4,500 investment deals worth more than $20 billion, covering transactions above $100,000 across equity, debt, grants and exits.
In addition to data access, startups will participate in quarterly webinars focused on building data-driven fundraising strategies, including how to benchmark competitors, identify investor patterns and prioritise outreach.
The programme also includes visibility support, with organisers promoting participating startups to investors, clients and ecosystem partners, alongside selected fundraising success stories.
African Startup Ecosystem Increasingly Turns to Data as Capital Tightens
Analysts say initiatives like “Data for Founders” reflect a structural shift in African venture markets, where access to capital is becoming more competitive and data-driven decision-making is increasingly central to fundraising success.
With global venture funding under pressure, African founders are being pushed to demonstrate stronger evidence of traction, market fit and financial discipline earlier in their growth cycle.
At the same time, Africa’s startup ecosystem continues to expand, supported by a young population, rising mobile penetration and accelerating digital adoption across key sectors such as payments, logistics, agriculture and energy.
Africa: The Big Deal said the initiative is designed to help founders “generate critical market insights, benchmark competitors, and prioritise investor outreach” in an increasingly selective funding environment.
With more than 100 startups now entering the programme, attention is shifting to how effectively data-driven tools can improve fundraising outcomes across Africa’s early-stage ecosystem.
The initiative signals growing recognition that access to capital alone is no longer sufficient, founders increasingly require structured intelligence to navigate complex global venture markets.
As Max and Maxime, co-founders of Africa: The Big Deal, put it in their closing note:
“We thank FMO Ventures once again for their partnership, and we now look forward to supporting the cohort members on their fundraising journey.”
