An African company was a pioneer in mobile money, helping millions of people conduct banking transactions in the absence of robust financial infrastructure.
That was almost two decades ago. The continent still needs to surmount challenges, from getting electricity to 600 million people, reducing the impact of devastating climate change and boosting crop yields.
And its startups, which now have access to superior technologies such as generative artificial intelligence, can help mitigate these difficulties and make life easier for the world’s youngest population.
This year, we are kicking off the inaugural Africa Startups to Watch list to find the smartest ideas and founders from all over the continent.
We believe that diversity — of founders, workers, locations, backgrounds, ideas — produces the coolest companies, and we hope the final product will reflect that.
If your startup was founded to solve Africa’s challenges, has a unique idea that’s won over investors and customers, and is privately held, send us your application.
We’ll ask you to show us how your product is working, and to tell us about external funding.
We’ll unveil the companies in the first quarter of 2025. Startups on the list will be profiled on Bloomberg TV and our other platforms.
Please get your application in by Nov. 8. We’re looking for enough qualitative information and detail to get a good sense of your business model, customer demand and why your product is unique. Specific claims will always beat out generic assertions.
