<div dir="ltr"><div><p style="margin:10px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(32,32,32);font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:24px">African AI startups captured barely <a href="https://us.list-manage.com/bE7hl57c94s?e=630e1981c3&c2id=bf178f7fbe15822216bb01df546e0f30" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(34,139,34)">1 to 1.5% of global AI spending</a> in 2025, even as AI pulled in <a href="https://us.list-manage.com/93AYVa9kjkS?e=630e1981c3&c2id=bf178f7fbe15822216bb01df546e0f30" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(34,139,34)">close to half of all venture dollars worldwide</a>. At the earliest stages the gap is wider still: in the second quarter of 2025, startups across the continent raised <a href="https://us.list-manage.com/SmMibXRvePQ?e=630e1981c3&c2id=bf178f7fbe15822216bb01df546e0f30" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(34,139,34)">just $14 million in AI deals, about 0.02% of the $47.3 billion</a> invested in AI globally.</p><p style="margin:10px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(32,32,32);font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:24px">The constraint is not talent. It is capital, and the pathways to turn technical skill into a fundable company.</p><h2 style="margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(32,32,32);font-family:Helvetica;font-size:22px;line-height:27.5px">$100,00 Pre-Seed Investments</h2><p style="margin:10px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(32,32,32);font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:24px">The <a href="https://us.list-manage.com/179zD2Hxfe5?e=630e1981c3&c2id=bf178f7fbe15822216bb01df546e0f30" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(34,139,34)">AI Startup Program</a> from the Accra-based <a href="https://us.list-manage.com/b5AqeNQRJ4O?e=630e1981c3&c2id=bf178f7fbe15822216bb01df546e0f30" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(34,139,34)">Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology</a> that has trained African software entrepreneurs since 2008, is open for the 2027 cohort, offering select teams up to $100,000 in pre-seed investment.</p><p style="margin:10px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(32,32,32);font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:24px">Apply if you are:</p><ul style="color:rgb(32,32,32);font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px"><li style="margin-left:15px">West or East African citizens, ages 21 to 35</li><li style="margin-left:15px">Demonstrated software development experience and a basic understanding of AI</li><li style="margin-left:15px">A bachelor’s degree, diploma, or equivalent hands-on experience</li></ul><p style="margin:10px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(32,32,32);font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:24px">The cohort will get seven months of full-time, residential training in Accra, Ghana, followed by a four-month incubation phase for the strongest ventures. Participants form teams, validate an AI business idea, build a working product (an MVP, or minimum viable product), and learn from practitioners at OpenAI, Perplexity, Google, and Meltwater.</p><p style="margin:10px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(32,32,32);font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:24px;text-align:center"><strong><a href="https://us.list-manage.com/1j2bBwAS8RD?e=630e1981c3&c2id=bf178f7fbe15822216bb01df546e0f30" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(34,139,34);font-weight:normal">Apply Now!</a> Deadline is July 20, 2026</strong></p><h2 style="margin:0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(32,32,32);font-family:Helvetica;font-size:22px;line-height:27.5px">More Funding Opportunities</h2><p style="margin:10px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(32,32,32);font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:24px"><a href="https://us.list-manage.com/tDqgjmysvDq?e=630e1981c3&c2id=bf178f7fbe15822216bb01df546e0f30" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(34,139,34)">Please sign up now </a>to get our email updates. <a href="https://us.list-manage.com/p74rZ8RK6YZ?e=630e1981c3&c2id=bf178f7fbe15822216bb01df546e0f30" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(34,139,34)">Learn how to get startup funding</a> for your technology business, and find <a href="https://us.list-manage.com/17iuIwUthca?e=630e1981c3&c2id=bf178f7fbe15822216bb01df546e0f30" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(34,139,34)">new funding opportunities</a> with donors.</p><p style="margin:10px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(32,32,32);font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:24px">We are constantly publishing <a href="https://us.list-manage.com/aad2OqDDGIr?e=630e1981c3&c2id=bf178f7fbe15822216bb01df546e0f30" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(34,139,34)">fundraising guidance</a> and competitive insights like this:</p><ul style="color:rgb(32,32,32);font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px"><li style="margin-left:15px"><a title="Permanent Link to Do African Startup Bills Help Technology Firms?" href="https://us.list-manage.com/14tBUgpCOeH?e=630e1981c3&c2id=bf178f7fbe15822216bb01df546e0f30" rel="bookmark" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(34,139,34)">Do African Startup Bills Help Technology Firms?</a></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><a title="Permanent Link to 4 Technology Startup Company Funding Sources for African Entrepreneurs" href="https://us.list-manage.com/RoooCwv7so6?e=630e1981c3&c2id=bf178f7fbe15822216bb01df546e0f30" rel="bookmark" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(34,139,34)">4 Technology Startup Company Funding Sources for African Entrepreneurs</a></li><li style="margin-left:15px"><a title="Permanent Link to 9 Ways Artificial Intelligence is Improving Nigeria’s Agriculture Outcomes with Smallholder Farmers" href="https://us.list-manage.com/8JAXy72QTLy?e=630e1981c3&c2id=bf178f7fbe15822216bb01df546e0f30" rel="bookmark" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(34,139,34)">9 Ways Artificial Intelligence is Improving Nigeria’s Agriculture Outcomes with Smallholder Farmers</a></li></ul><p style="margin:10px 0px;padding:0px;color:rgb(32,32,32);font-family:Helvetica;font-size:16px;line-height:24px">The post <a href="https://us.list-manage.com/17e0JxlVPra?e=630e1981c3&c2id=bf178f7fbe15822216bb01df546e0f30" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(34,139,34)">Apply Now: $100,000 for African AI Startup Founders</a> appeared first on <a href="https://us.list-manage.com/ZvMifdUFbpB?e=630e1981c3&c2id=bf178f7fbe15822216bb01df546e0f30" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(34,139,34)">ICTworks</a>.</p></div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div>Glenn McKnight, MA </div><div>Virtual School of Internet Governance </div>Chief Information Officer<div><a href="http://www.virtualsig.org" target="_blank">www.virtualsig.org</a> </div><div><b>YOUR SOURCE FOR INTERNET GOVERNANCE EDUCATION </b></div><div><b><span class="Q6ibn ng" style="border-style:none;background:none">Mobile </span> 437-237-4655</b></div><div><br></div></div></div></div></div>