Editor’s note: African-Startups is a sister publication of EU-Startups, bringing trusted coverage of startups, venture capital, and innovation across Africa.
Qualcomm has announced the 10 startups selected for the fourth edition of its Qualcomm Make in Africa Startup Mentorship Programme. The equity-free initiative, part of Qualcomm’s Africa Innovation Platform, is designed to help early-stage African startups bring their innovations to the market, with a focus on advanced connectivity and processing technologies, including Edge AI/ML, compute, and IoT.
The registrations for the programme began in December 2025, and this year’s cohort was selected from a record pool of over 1,200 applications across more than 45 African nations. The selected 10 startups showcased their ability to apply advanced connectivity and processing technologies to innovative, end-to-end systems solutions. These startups represent industries like span agriculture, assistive technology, smart cities and utilities, smart infrastructure, electric vehicle transportation, and education.
Wassim Chourbaji, Senior Vice President and President for the Middle East and Africa at Qualcomm, said, “Four years into Qualcomm Make in Africa, what stands out is not only the growing number of applications we receive, but the increasing sophistication of the solutions being built.
“These startups are pushing the boundaries of what technologies such as Edge AI and 5G can enable, and how they can be deployed at scale across the continent.”
Each participating startup will receive direct mentorship with Qualcomm subject matter experts, edge-AI capable platforms from Arduino, one-on-one technical mentorship, business coaching, and engineering consultation for product development.
The Make in Africa programme also offers a pathway to patent filing, with startups getting access to free IP education through L2Pro Africa and the option to claim up to $5,000 in filing fee reimbursements. All participating startups will be eligible for a $5,000 stipend upon successful completion of program requirements, while one startup will be awarded a Social Impact Fund grant from Qualcomm Wireless Reach at the finale.
Here are the 10 startups making up the 2026 cohort of Qualcomm Make in Africa programme:
Amperra Charging Company
Founded: 2019
HQ: Windhoek, Khomas Region
Namibia-based Amperra Charging Company is working to accelerate the transition to sustainable mobility across Southern Africa by providing state-of-the-art EV charging solutions. From smart home charging stations, public and B2B EV charging hubs to ultra-fast chargers up to 450kW, Amperra offers and supports the full-stack of EV charging with modular and sustainable designs for EV charging hubs.
Anatsor
Founded: 2022
HQ: Jos Plateau State, Nigeria
Nigerian startup Anatsor is bringing modern technology to poultry farming with Anatsor Integrated Digital Poultry Management System (AIPMS), capable of improving productivity, health tracking, and farm efficiency. The technology is designed to empower farmers and equip them with technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and mobile technology for sustainable and efficient farm operations.
D-Olivette Labs
Founded: 2018
HQ: Lagos, Nigeria
D-Olivette Labs is a team of engineers, scientists, farmers, and environmental thinkers turning waste into biogas, fertiliser, and animal feed. The Nigerian startup builds smart biodigesters that turn everyday waste into clean cooking gas, electricity, and organic fertiliser. With Bio-360°, the startup is becoming a bio-intelligence platform delivering data-driven insights for sustainable and efficient agricultural production.
Mindora Corporation
Founded: 2025
HQ: Ruwa, Harare
Accessibility remains a major challenge even in 2026, and Mindora’s Braille keyboard aims to solve digital accessibility for visually impaired users. It is a compact, 3D-printed device with 8 tactile buttons that maps directly to standard braille cells. When connected via USB, you can type immediately on Windows, macOS, Android, or iOS.
MVUTU (GreenBox)
Founded: 2019
HQ: Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo
MVUTU is an agricultural products and services marketing platform that provides information on the availability and needs of agricultural products and promotes fast transactions. The Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo-based startup’s GreenBox project is shortlisted for its solar-powered IoT cold storage solution that reduces post-harvest losses for smallholder farmers.
QualiKeeper Investments
Founded: 2024
HQ: Lusaka, Zambia
Zambia-based QualiKeeper Investments offers an affordable AIoT livestock monitoring system designed for low-connectivity rural environments.
SafeSip
Founded: 2025
HQ: Dodoma, Tanzania
SafeSip has its mission mentioned in its name. The Tanzanian startup develops smart water access and monitoring solutions that ensures safe, reliable drinking water in urban and peri-urban areas.
Sesi Technologies
Founded: 2018
HQ: Kumasi, Ashanti Region
Located in Kumasi, this Ghana startup is made up of young people empowering farmers and businesses with impactful technology solutions. Sesi Technologies has built an AI-powered field device that enables early cocoa quality assessment and transparent supply chains.
TWave
Founded: 2023
HQ: Uganda
Uganda’s TWave develops an automated, solar-powered fish feeding system that optimises aquaculture productivity.
Zerobionic
Founded: 2023
HQ: Nairobi
Zerobionic is an inclusive EdTech startup using AI-powered humanoid robots to translate spoken language into sign language. The Kenyan startup is making STEM education accessible for deaf and hard-of-hearing students.
