In an effort to enable African startups to expand internationally, MTN Nigeria has formally announced the first group of 20 creative startups chosen for its Cloud Accelerator Programme 2025, a ₦100 million investment.
Top startups in fintech, healthtech, agritech, edtech, and cleantech will be brought together for the 12-week hybrid accelerator, which will take place virtually and in Lagos from September 6 to December 6, 2025. To boost growth and reach throughout Africa, these startups will take advantage of MTN’s cutting-edge cloud infrastructure, open APIs, and international alliances.
Why the MTN Cloud Accelerator Matters
According to Lynda Saint-Nwafor, Chief Enterprise Business Officer at MTN Nigeria, the programme marks a turning point in Africa’s digital transformation journey:
“This is not just another launch—it is the beginning of a bold new chapter. For too long, Africa has been described as ‘emerging.’ But what entrepreneurs lack is not ideas, but the right partners and environment to scale globally. That is exactly what the MTN Cloud Accelerator provides.”
The accelerator builds on MTN’s investments in world-class data centres, MTN Cloud solutions, and digital innovation platforms aimed at creating a thriving startup ecosystem across Africa.
Meet the Startups Driving Innovation
Here are some of the standout startups in the 2025 MTN Cloud Accelerator Programme:
Healthtech:
DoktorConnect (Joseph Olowe) – transforming healthcare with FDA-certified IoT devices for preventive care.
MYITURA (Shina Arogundade) – building integrated digital health ecosystems across Africa.
Fintech:
Regxta (Bello Rukayat) – targeting 600 million underserved Africans with AI-powered digital banking.
Creditchek (Kingsley Ibe) – developing machine learning tools for credit scoring and fraud prevention.
Cleantech & Sustainability:
Trashcoin Limited (Olamide Phebe Ilesanmi) – Africa’s first eco-fintech platform for digitised recycling.
Scrapays Inc. (Boluwatife Arewa) – building decentralised recycling infrastructure, already serving 36,700+ households.
Agritech:
Agrovesto (Bayo Adewoye) – boosting farmer incomes by 30–60% for over 20,000 farmers.
XChangeBOX (Abiola Jimoh) – revolutionising agro-commodity trading and exports.
The Bigger Picture
Over 1.4 billion people live in Africa, where digital adoption is growing quickly. Despite this, startups frequently face difficulties scaling because they lack access to funding, mentorship, and infrastructure. By offering grants, market access, worldwide visibility, and technical assistance, MTN’s Cloud Accelerator Program fills that gap.
With this launch, MTN establishes itself as more than just a telecom behemoth; it is also a major incubator for Africa’s startup scene, fostering companies that can compete on a global scale in the fintech, agritech, edtech, healthtech, and cleantech sectors.
