Open Startup says it has launched the fifth edition of its flagship accelerator programme, BRAIN 5.0, aimed at supporting African DeepTech startups to become investment and market-ready.
According to a statement, the launch marks five years of continuous learning and refinement, during which the BRAIN programme has evolved to offer more practical, tailored support to help founders overcome both technical and business challenges.
Each edition, it added, builds on the previous one, strengthening efforts to bridge science and entrepreneurship across Africa.
The statement read in part, “Over the last five years, in collaboration with a strong consortium of global partners, BRAIN has supported more than 40 DeepTech startups across 10 African countries and 12 industries, and to date, 25 startups have been accelerated, 60 per cent have raised investment, and together they have secured over $5m dollars in funding in multiple sectors.”
The fifth cohort, the organisation said, would focus more on health and climate, providing deeper and more specialised support to advance impactful DeepTech innovation on the continent.
BRAIN is a 12-month hybrid accelerator designed for science-based African startups in health and climate, deploying advanced AI technologies or complex hardware. It was developed in collaboration with AfricaGrow, AfricInvest Group, and the Dutch Good Growth Fund, in partnership with Steve Madden, Digital Africa, MIT-Africa, the MIT Executive MBA Program, Bpifrance, Sanofi, and InstaDeep.
The programme, it was learnt, offers several benefits, including an in-person regional intensive bootcamp in South Africa co-delivered with MIT Executive MBA students and global DeepTech experts, global exposure through international immersions across Africa, the United States, and Europe, and investor access via exclusive pitch clinics and meetings with top DeepTech investors.
