MTN Nigeria is giving Africa’s early-stage startups a powerful boost, combining infrastructure, funding, and investor access through its 2025 Cloud Accelerator.
The Lagos-based Demo Day showcased 20 high-growth ventures, providing founders with enterprise cloud resources, technical mentorship, and a platform to connect with investors and potential commercial partners, all without requiring equity from the participating startups.
MTN’s Demo Day capped a rigorous 12-week programme designed to fast-track the growth of early-stage African startups through non-equity funding, deep technical support, and access to the telecom giant’s enterprise cloud and digital infrastructure. The accelerator, which opened applications in July and closed on August 15, focused on innovations across fintech, health, agriculture, artificial intelligence, and e-commerce.
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According to MTN, the initiative is part of its long-term strategy to strengthen Africa’s innovation pipeline by equipping entrepreneurs with the tools and infrastructure required to scale sustainably.
Throughout the programme, founders received cloud credits, access to MTN Cloud, MoMo, and Chenosis APIs, technical mentorship, business development support, and investor preparation training. MTN executives noted that beyond capacity building, the accelerator is a springboard for potential commercial partnerships with the participating startups.
In his keynote address, Ayham Moussa, MTN Nigeria’s chief operating officer, reiterated the company’s commitment to enabling digital transformation across the continent.
“The goal is not just to train founders. Africa’s innovators need infrastructure that truly fits the continent’s realities. MTN is committed to supporting solutions that are both globally competitive and locally relevant,” he said.
Twenty startups took the stage to pitch to a panel of investors and technology executives. Among the standout ventures was Regxta, led by CEO Bello Rukayat, which provides micro-loans and savings products to underserved individuals and SMEs in rural communities. The company says its data-driven risk modelling keeps loan defaults below one percent.
Another highlight was Pipeops, represented by Samuel Ogbonyomi. The startup simplifies cloud infrastructure deployment for businesses using an AI-powered assistant, an especially valuable tool in markets where DevOps expertise is scarce.
Hadi Finance, led by CEO Bidemi Adebayo, pitched its credit and financing tools designed for small retailers, while ProDev, represented by Faith Dike, showcased its recruitment platform connecting African tech talent to global employers.
Other startups in the cohort included Prembly, CreditCheck, Sproutly, MyItura, Uri, Bunce, Trashcoin, and several others tackling challenges across finance, agriculture, logistics, and digital identity.
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MTN executives stressed that this accelerator is part of a broader effort to dismantle the structural obstacles that hinder African startups, particularly access to infrastructure, payment systems, and enterprise-level technology.
Industry observers say MTN’s non-equity backing, coupled with access to cloud infrastructure and APIs, gives these startups a crucial runway to transition from prototype to market-ready solutions at a much faster pace.
MTN confirmed that its support will continue beyond Demo Day through pilot opportunities, commercial partnerships, follow-up programmes, and potential future investment engagements.
For many founders, the Demo Day offered a critical platform to showcase their products, attract investor interest, and position their companies for scale in Nigeria’s increasingly competitive innovation landscape and across the broader African market.
