Two South African technology startups—Loop and Vambo AI—have been selected to join the 10th cohort of the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa. Chosen from an exceptionally competitive pool of nearly 2,600 applications, these innovators are part of a final pan-African group of 15 companies. With an acceptance rate of less than 1%, their selection highlights the immense technical talent and resilience emerging from [Country]’s digital ecosystem.

The selected South African startups are utilising Artificial Intelligence to address critical local and regional challenges:

·  Loop: Digitises mobility and payments in Africa, helping people, businesses and communities access simpler, more connected transport and payment solutions.

·  Vambo AI: Builds multilingual AI infrastructure powering translation, speech, and generative AI across African languages.

African tech founders are actively solving fundamental infrastructural challenges, bridging gaps in financial inclusion, healthcare, and supply chains with complex AI. The continent's venture ecosystem showed remarkable resilience by raising $3.9 billion in 2025. However, scaling deep-tech solutions requires specialized technical infrastructure, advanced cloud capabilities, and strategic mentorship to complement this capital. Accelerator programs provide these exact tools, ensuring local innovations can sustainably grow into businesses that power the continent's digital economy.

Imtiyaaz Riley, CEO of Loop says: ““African languages remain largely underrepresented in today’s AI systems, limiting access to digital tools and opportunities for millions. At Vambo AI, we are building multilingual AI infrastructure to change that - enabling developers, enterprises and institutions to build for African markets in the  local languages spoken daily. Being part of the Google for Startups Accelerator is a powerful milestone for our team. We are excited to scale our technology and impact with the support and expertise provided through the program.”

“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome these exceptional founders into Class 10,” said Folarin Aiyegbusi, Head of Startup Ecosystem, Africa. “African startups are driving essential economic growth and social development. Our role is to serve as a supportive partner, providing these developers and founders with the technical infrastructure, mentorship, and global network they need to scale their solutions and amplify their real-world impact.”

Running from April 13th to June 19th, 2026, the hybrid program will provide the 15 startups with dedicated guidance from experienced mentors and industry experts, alongside hands-on technical workshops focused on AI and machine learning.

Since launching in 2018, the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa program has supported 106 startups from 17 African countries, empowering them to collectively raise over $263 million and create more than 2,800 jobs.