Grindstone Accelerator
A free, no-equity accelerator for 20 companies a year
South Africa listedWorks in AfricaAfrica-builtFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SMB, SaaS
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review Grindstone AcceleratorBest startup grants and accelerators for startups in South Africa
Explore programs that support founders with capital, credits, mentorship, and networks. Check eligibility and application details on the official program site.
- Listed options
- 64
- Country-specific
- 27
- Africa-built
- 22
- Free tier
- 62
Compare your options
Country-specific listings appear first, followed by Pan-African listings.
Jasiri Talent Investor
Fully funded backing for the founder before the idea exists
South Africa listedWorks in AfricaAfrica-builtFree tier
Best for: Solo founder, Early-stage
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review Jasiri Talent InvestorThe Baobab Network
$100,000 into early-stage African startups
South Africa listedWorks in AfricaAfrica-builtFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SaaS
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review The Baobab NetworkCatalytic Africa
Matches angel investment into African startups 1:1
South Africa listedWorks in AfricaAfrica-builtFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SaaS
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review Catalytic AfricaDDISA Fund
ZAR 45,000 to ZAR 85,000 for digital democracy work in Africa
South Africa listedWorks in AfricaAfrica-builtFree tier
Best for: Solo founder, Early-stage
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review DDISA FundInjini Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship
R1 million-plus equity-free support for South African EdTech
South Africa listedWorks in AfricaAfrica-builtFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SaaS, SMB
1+ week setupVerified Aug 2026
Review Injini Mastercard Foundation EdTech FellowshipSAB Foundation Social Innovation & Disability Empowerment Awards
R300,000–R1.3 million for South African social innovations
South Africa listedWorks in AfricaAfrica-builtFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SMB
1+ week setupVerified Aug 2026
Review SAB Foundation Social Innovation & Disability Empowerment AwardsSEDFA (Small Enterprise Development Finance Agency)
Grants and loans up to R15 million for South African small business
South Africa listedWorks in AfricaAfrica-builtFree tier
Best for: SMB, Solo founder
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review SEDFA (Small Enterprise Development Finance Agency)Technology Innovation Agency (TIA)
Government risk capital for South African technology development
South Africa listedWorks in AfricaAfrica-builtFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SMB
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review Technology Innovation Agency (TIA)Tholoana Enterprise Programme
Long-form business support and seed funding for South African SMEs
South Africa listedWorks in AfricaAfrica-builtFree tier
Best for: SMB, Solo founder
1+ week setupVerified Aug 2026
Review Tholoana Enterprise ProgrammeNYDA Grant Programme
Up to R200,000 for young South African entrepreneurs
South Africa listedWorks in AfricaAfrica-builtFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, Solo founder, SMB
1+ week setupVerified Aug 2026
Review NYDA Grant ProgrammeFuture Africa
Pan-African VC investing in Africa's future
South Africa listedWorks in AfricaAfrica-builtPaid
Best for: Early-stage
1+ week setupVerified Apr 2026
Review Future AfricaTechstars Africa
Global accelerator with dedicated Africa programs
South Africa listedWorks in AfricaAfrica-builtFree tier
Best for: Early-stage
1+ week setupVerified Apr 2026
Review Techstars Africatimbuktoo Pan-African AgriTech Incubation Programme
Rolling quarterly intakes for African agritech startups
South Africa listedWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SMB
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review timbuktoo Pan-African AgriTech Incubation ProgrammeVisa Africa Accelerator
A free three-month fintech accelerator with ~$200,000 in perks
South Africa listedWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SaaS, SMB
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review Visa Africa AcceleratorGoogle for Startups Cloud Program
$2,000 in Google Cloud credits at the entry tier
South Africa listedWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SaaS
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review Google for Startups Cloud ProgramSeedstars
Acceleration and investment readiness across emerging markets
South Africa listedWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SaaS
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review SeedstarsUNICEF Venture Fund
Up to $100,000 equity-free for open-source frontier tech
South Africa listedWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SaaS
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review UNICEF Venture FundRenew Venture Lab
Accelerator and investment pipeline across 13 African countries
South Africa listedWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SaaS
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review Renew Venture Labtimbuktoo MineTech Accelerator
UNDP-backed acceleration for African mining technology
South Africa listedWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SMB
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review timbuktoo MineTech AcceleratorNorrsken Evolve
€250K to €500K for impact startups - but Europe-first
South Africa listedWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SaaS
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review Norrsken EvolveVisa Everywhere Initiative
Up to $50,000 in prizes for payments and commerce startups
South Africa listedWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SaaS, Ecommerce
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review Visa Everywhere InitiativeFushly
$5.2M+ in startup software credits in one place
South Africa listedPartial supportPaid
Best for: Early-stage, SaaS, Solo founder
< 1 hour setupVerified Apr 2026
Review FushlyKatapult Africa Accelerator
$150,000 to $500,000 for agritech, food and climate ventures
South Africa listedWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SMB
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review Katapult Africa AcceleratordeveloPPP Ventures
Matched growth funding for startups in seven African markets
South Africa listedWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SMB, SaaS
1+ week setupVerified Aug 2026
Review develoPPP VenturesAnthropic Claude for Startups
Claude API credits and priority rate limits for startups
South Africa listedWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SaaS
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review Anthropic Claude for StartupsNorrsken22
$200M impact-focused fund for African tech companies
South Africa listedWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SaaS
1+ week setupVerified Apr 2026
Review Norrsken22Tony Elumelu Foundation
$5,000 grant for African entrepreneurs
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaAfrica-builtFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, Solo founder
1+ week setupVerified Apr 2026
Review Tony Elumelu FoundationVillgro Africa
Seed funding and incubation for African healthtech
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaAfrica-builtFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SMB
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review Villgro AfricaAnzisha Prize
Over $140,000 a year for Africa's youngest entrepreneurs
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaAfrica-builtFree tier
Best for: Solo founder, Early-stage
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review Anzisha PrizeCo-Creation Hub (CcHUB)
Equity-free accelerators from Africa's best-known innovation hub
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaAfrica-builtFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SaaS
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review Co-Creation Hub (CcHUB)Ecobank Fintech Challenge
$50,000 plus access to Ecobank's 35 African markets
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaAfrica-builtFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SaaS, SMB
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review Ecobank Fintech ChallengeGoGettaz Agripreneur Prize
US$50,000 awards for young African agrifood founders
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaAfrica-builtFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, Solo founder, SMB
1+ week setupVerified Aug 2026
Review GoGettaz Agripreneur PrizeAECF (Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund)
Competition-based finance for rural agribusiness and energy ventures
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaAfrica-builtFree tier
Best for: SMB, Early-stage
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review AECF (Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund)Africa Digital Rights Fund (ADRF)
$1,000 to $20,000 for digital rights work in Africa
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaAfrica-builtFree tier
Best for: Solo founder, Early-stage
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review Africa Digital Rights Fund (ADRF)Africa's Business Heroes
US$1.5 million in annual grants for African entrepreneurs
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaAfrica-builtFree tier
Best for: SMB, Early-stage
1+ week setupVerified Aug 2026
Review Africa's Business HeroesEchoing Green Fellowship
$100,000 over 18 months for early-stage social entrepreneurs
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Solo founder, Early-stage
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review Echoing Green FellowshipEmergent Ventures
Fast, unrestricted grants for individuals with zero-to-one ideas
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Solo founder, Early-stage
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review Emergent Venturestimbuktoo CreativeTech Launchpad
Open rolling incubation for African CreativeTech startups
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SaaS, Agency
1+ week setupVerified Aug 2026
Review timbuktoo CreativeTech Launchpad
AWS Activate
AWS credits and technical support for eligible startups
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SaaS, Solo founder
2–5 days setupVerified Aug 2026
Review AWS ActivateNVIDIA Inception
A free NVIDIA program for AI and accelerated-computing startups
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SaaS
2–5 days setupVerified Aug 2026
Review NVIDIA InceptionAshoka Fellowship
A living stipend so you can go full-time on systems change
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Solo founder, Early-stage
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review Ashoka FellowshipCartier Women's Initiative Regional Awards
US$30,000–US$100,000 grants for women impact founders
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: SMB, SaaS
1+ week setupVerified Aug 2026
Review Cartier Women's Initiative Regional AwardsCloudflare Project Galileo
Free enterprise-grade protection for at-risk public interest sites
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Solo founder, SaaS
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review Cloudflare Project GalileoDraper Richards Kaplan Foundation
Up to $300,000 unrestricted over three years
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: SMB, Early-stage
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review Draper Richards Kaplan FoundationFast Forward Accelerator
$25,000+ unrestricted for AI-powered tech non-profits
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, Solo founder
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review Fast Forward AcceleratorFLOSS/fund
Up to $100,000 a year for free and open-source projects
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Solo founder, SaaS
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review FLOSS/fundGitHub Secure Open Source Fund
$10,000 plus security tooling for open-source maintainers
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Solo founder, SaaS
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review GitHub Secure Open Source FundGlobal Innovation Fund
Staged grant, debt and equity for scalable development innovations
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: SMB, SaaS, Early-stage
1+ week setupVerified Aug 2026
Review Global Innovation FundGoogle for Startups Africa
Equity-free support from Google
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SaaS
1+ week setupVerified Apr 2026
Review Google for Startups AfricaGSMA Innovation Fund
£100,000 to £200,000 grants for mobile and digital ventures
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SMB, SaaS
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review GSMA Innovation FundMilken-Motsepe Innovation Prize
Multi-million dollar prize competitions with an Africa spotlight
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: SMB, Early-stage
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review Milken-Motsepe Innovation PrizeMIT Solve Global Challenges
Equity-free prize funding for tech solutions to global problems
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SMB
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review MIT Solve Global ChallengesMulago Rainer Arnhold Fellowship
$200,000 unrestricted - but referral only, no application form
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Solo founder, SMB
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review Mulago Rainer Arnhold FellowshipObama Foundation Leaders Africa
A fully funded leadership programme, no entity required
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Solo founder
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review Obama Foundation Leaders AfricaOpen Technology Fund Internet Freedom Fund
$10,000 to $900,000 for open-source internet freedom tools
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Solo founder, SaaS, Early-stage
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review Open Technology Fund Internet Freedom FundOrange Social Venture Prize Africa & Middle East
Up to €25,000 for tech-enabled social ventures
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SaaS, Solo founder
1+ week setupVerified Aug 2026
Review Orange Social Venture Prize Africa & Middle EastThe Pollination Project
Up to $500 seed grants, no registration required
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Solo founder
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review The Pollination ProjectWesterwelle Young Founders Programme
A six-month fellowship with a funded week in Berlin
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SMB
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review Westerwelle Young Founders ProgrammeYouthADAPT Challenge
$100,000 grants for youth-led climate adaptation businesses
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SMB
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review YouthADAPT ChallengeZayed Sustainability Prize
A share of US$7.2 million across six sustainability categories
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: SMB, Early-stage
1+ week setupVerified Sep 2026
Review Zayed Sustainability PrizeMicrosoft for Startups
Azure credits and developer benefits for eligible startups
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SaaS, Solo founder
2–5 days setupVerified Aug 2026
Review Microsoft for StartupsAfrica Prize for Engineering Innovation
Open: £85,000 prize pool for sub-Saharan African innovators
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SaaS, SMB
1+ week setupVerified Aug 2026
Review Africa Prize for Engineering InnovationY Combinator
The world's most valuable startup accelerator
Pan-African listingWorks in AfricaFree tier
Best for: Early-stage, SaaS
1+ week setupVerified Apr 2026
Review Y CombinatorFrequently asked questions
Which startup grants and accelerators work in South Africa?
FounderStack Africa currently lists 64 startup grants and accelerators with explicit South Africa or Pan-African listings. Open a profile to review its coverage, use case, limitations, and verification details.
How should I choose a grant or accelerator in South Africa?
Start with application status, eligibility, program terms. Then confirm current eligibility, pricing, and country support directly with the provider.
Does a listing guarantee availability in South Africa?
No. Availability and requirements can change. FounderStack Africa records country coverage and verification notes, but you should confirm current terms with the provider before committing.
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