Google has announced that 60 eligible black-founded start-ups across Africa were selected for the second group of Google for Start-ups Black Founders' Fund for Africa. The company is giving out grants of $100,000 to Black founders of early-stage start-ups.
“Selected start-ups will receive $100,000 in non-dilutive cash awards, paired with up to $200,000 in Google Cloud credits per start-up,” Google said in a statement on Tuesday.
This year the number of beneficiaries was raised to 60 - up from 50 in 2021; Google is funding an equal number of male and female-founded start-ups.
"We are now pleased to announce that 60 additional start-ups have been selected as beneficiaries of the Google for Start-ups Black Founders' Fund in Africa 2022! This cohort represents 10 African countries, with Botswana joining the program for the first time," Google stated.
Of the 60 start-ups selected by Google, 23 are Nigerian, the second year in a row that start-ups from that country have dominated the list.
Kenya comes second with 12 recipients and Rwanda is third with six.