African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has selected eight startups for the first cohort of its Afreximbank Accelerator Programme, a three-month initiative aimed at scaling companies that support intra-African trade and industrialisation under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
The programme, which begins in March 2026, drew more than 1,600 applications from across Africa, the diaspora and the Caribbean, underscoring rising interest in trade-focused innovation tied to AfCFTA implementation. Afreximbank said the finalists were chosen after business assessments, interviews and pitch sessions overseen by the bank’s trade specialists alongside external experts from the venture capital and innovation ecosystem.
The selected startups operate across sectors including agriculture, e-commerce, market access, financial technology, supply chains and manufacturing. Afreximbank said the firms are positioned to address structural trade constraints affecting continental and diaspora markets while supporting export growth and value addition.
The accelerator will provide equity financing of up to $250,000 through Afreximbank’s impact investment arm, the Fund for Export Development in Africa, subject to selection criteria. Finalists will also receive mentorship from investors and trade specialists, as well as access to Afreximbank’s trade facilitation platforms, regulatory pathways and network of government, private-sector and multilateral partners.
Participants will take part in virtual learning modules, workshops and in-person sessions hosted in Abuja, Nairobi and at Afreximbank’s headquarters in Cairo. The programme will culminate in a demo day where startups present to investors, policymakers and industry executives.
“The Afreximbank Accelerator Programme reflects our belief in the power of innovation to transform intra-African trade and also underscores the important role that Global Africa’s innovation plays in realising the promise of the AfCFTA. This inaugural cohort represents the future of African enterprise, and we are proud to invest in them from vision to scale to nurture solutions needed to unlock trade across Africa, the diaspora, and the Caribbean,” said Haytham Elmaayergi, Executive Vice President, Global Trade Bank at Afreximbank.
The bank said the geographic spread of applications aligns with its strategy to support economic integration beyond the continent, including ties with CARICOM economies, as AfCFTA implementation gathers pace. Afreximbank has increasingly positioned innovation and early-stage capital as tools to close financing and infrastructure gaps that limit cross-border trade.
Details of the selected finalists and the programme are available on Afreximbank’s accelerator platform.
