24 startup founders in line to build Africa’s next $1 billion tech companies as Yango targets 6 countries for its next unicorns

Dubai-based Yango has selected 24 founders from six African countries to take part in a 12-week Pan-African fellowship designed to surface startups that could become the continent’s next billion-dollar technology companies. The 2026 cohort was chosen from more than 600 applicants and includes founders from Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Zambia, Senegal, Ethiopia and Mozambique. Projects in the programme focused on practical problems such as cashless transport payments, digital financial identity, medicine supply visibility, job matching, smart waste collection and low-cost water-quality testing.

“600 applications for 24 places doesn't tell you Africa lacks talent, it tells you how much talent is waiting for structured access to mentorship and opportunity,” said Shashi Singh, Director of Operations, Yango Ride MEA & Asia. “I want the next unicorn to come out of these frontier markets.”

Programme and prizes

The fellowship guided founders through problem research, solution design, business modelling, prototyping and pitching. The cohort culminated in a Pitch Day in Abidjan where three teams won top group prizes: Africoded received USD 4,500 for its AI-assisted jobs platform connecting African job seekers with cross-border employment and remote work opportunities; Harambee took second place and USD 2,500 for a smart waste collection and recycling platform linking households, waste collectors and recyclers; and Bloom won USD 1,500 for an African Transit Payment Revolution, a cashless fare-collection system aimed at informal public transport across East and West Africa.

• Best Individual Project: Fredrick Mwepu (RoboCore Zambia) — USD 1,500
• Individual runner-up: Meshack Kwame Nartey (Shuttle Smart Ghana) — USD 1,000
• Best Technical/AI Contribution: Oulimata Rose Dia (Smart Bin Collection) — USD 1,000

Mwepu, who developed RoboCore Zambia to make practical STEM education more accessible, said: “Growing up, hands-on STEM tools were something I only saw in videos — RoboCore Zambia exists to close that gap, so the next student who wants to build something doesn't have to wait for the chance I almost didn't get.” He added that the fellowship was an “experience I will never forget.”

Context and strategic intent

Yango Group, an international tech company offering mobility, delivery, foodtech and entertainment services across more than 30 countries, has expanded the fellowship rapidly — from one country in year one to six countries in 2026. Singh described the initiative as both talent development and market scouting: some projects could be integrated into Yango’s ecosystem while others may evolve as independent competitors. He highlighted a perceived advantage for locally based founders, noting that developers working from outside Africa often lack the “context window” necessary to understand infrastructure, consumer behaviour and market constraints.

The fellowship is explicitly positioned as a pipeline for founders able to scale across borders. Yango expects that “a couple of unicorns” could emerge from the programme within three to five years, focusing on countries that receive less attention than established startup hubs.

Outlook

As the cohort graduates, attention will turn to which teams can move from prototypes and pilot projects to scalable businesses. With prize funding modest but mentorship and market access central to the fellowship, founders will need follow-on investment and partnerships to reach the scale Yango envisages. Yango’s explicit aim to both integrate promising projects into its services and incubate independent businesses signals a dual pathway: direct corporate adoption for some solutions and external fundraising and market expansion for others. The next three to five years will test whether the fellowship converts early-stage promise from frontier markets into pan-African technology champions.