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As artificial intelligence continues to revolutionize the global landscape, African nations are facing both challenges and opportunities. With a rapidly growing and dynamic young workforce, the continent stands at a crossroads—AI offers the potential to address longstanding barriers while presenting new hurdles for businesses to navigate.
For Africa’s startups, the rise of AI opens a unique window to leapfrog over traditional industry constraints, harnessing cutting-edge technologies to push the boundaries of innovation and unlock their true potential.
Bloomberg is now seeking the brightest entrepreneurs, visionary thinkers, and game-changers for the second edition of its Africa Startups to Watch list. This prestigious project aims to spotlight the most groundbreaking ideas and founders across the continent. The inaugural series highlighted 25 companies that are already making waves, offering inventive solutions to some of Africa’s most pressing problems. From off-grid refrigerators that don’t require electricity to soil-testing devices and energy-efficient robots, the showcased startups are redefining what’s possible.
With over 2,000 applications received across diverse sectors—from healthcare to translation, transportation to banking—Bloomberg’s list will once again spotlight the startup landscape in Africa. The application shortlist, available for review here, reflects a rich tapestry of creativity and entrepreneurship.
At Bloomberg, we believe in the power of diversity. Whether it’s diversity in the backgrounds of founders, the locations of the startups, or the ideas they bring to the table, we know that varied perspectives lead to the most exciting and impactful innovations. We hope this year’s final list will reflect that.
The selected startups must be privately owned, focused on solving Africa’s unique challenges, and have proven their value through customer demand and investor backing. We’ll ask applicants to demonstrate how their products are already making an impact and provide details on any external funding they’ve secured. The final companies will be revealed in the first quarter of 2026 and featured across Bloomberg TV and other platforms.
We encourage you to submit your application by January 23, 2026. Please ensure that your submission includes enough qualitative detail to give us a clear understanding of your business model, market demand, and the uniqueness of your product. Specific examples will always stand out more than broad, generic statements.
