Following in the footsteps of other key startup centers in Africa, Ghana is now emerging as one of Africa's strongest and most sophisticated startup ecosystems. When discussing Ghana's startup ecosystem, we cannot discount the significance of innovation centers and entrepreneurship hubs in fueling their growth. Incubator and accelerator programs are critical for companies at every point of their journey, including conception, execution, and growth. These initiatives, which are expanding across the country, have played an important role in providing capacity-building and support structures for Ghanaian companies to prosper.
In this article, we have compiled a comprehensive list of all incubator and accelerator programs in Ghana, along with a short overview to help you find a suitable program. The incubators and accelerators in this list have been subdivided into applicability for startups in their 'ideation', 'launch', or 'growth' stages.
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FULL LIST OF STARTUP INCUBATORS AND ACCELERATORS IN GHANA
Ideation Stage Startup Incubators in Ghana
Full list of ideation-stage startup incubators in Ghana:
Who is it for: Aspiring entrepreneurs with an idea and seeking cofounder / Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Agriculture
Kosmos Innovation Center is dedicated to enhancing the potential of the agricultural sector in Ghana. They organize a number of initiatives to reach and assist agricultural ideas and businesses at each stage of their development; including from youth to medium-sized business owners. This includes an incubation program that is designed to prepare companies for growth and investor readiness through specialized mentorship, networking, accesss to physical infrastructure, access to technical knowledge, and a continual learning environment.
Who is it for: Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Multiple Sectors
Innohub is a business accelerator that offers consultancy and programs to small and growing businesses to become more scalable and investment ready. Their Enterprise Support programs are designed to assist startups in testing their ideas and product viability as well as attract investments.
Who is it for: Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Multiple Sectors
Kumasi Hive is an incubator, accelerator, and maker space that promotes entrepreneurs and fosters innovation, with a focus on social impact firms. Through their space, the Hive intends to overcome the existing digital and tech skills gap in the African digital entrepreneurship ecosystem. The incubator program helps hardware tech startups in both technical and business development as they go from concept to market. Their business accelerator program is targeted at early-stage, non-hardware startups, that will provide them with complete startup services and access to the local entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem, which includes government, key industry players, CSOs, and other stakeholders.
Who is it for: Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Multiple Sectors
AfriLabs is a hub network that acts as resource center for African entrepreneurs, inventors, developers, and founders. Though not an incubator per se, they play an active part in raising successful entrepreneurs who will produce new solutions to African challenges by offering physical co-working and specialized office spaces, as well as inclusive training and business, legal, and financial assistance.
Launch Stage Startup Incubators and Accelerators in Ghana
Full list of launch stage startup incubators and accelerators in Ghana:
Who is it for: Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Sector Agnostic
Ghana Innovation Hub provides incubation and acceleration programs that provide technical assistance, business model assistance, and capacity-building training to assist entrepreneurs and teams in growing. For those wishing to brainstorm ideas, you may attend one of their seminars, networking events, or short courses. If you already have a concept and want to verify your assumptions about your business model and find product-market fit, you can participate in their incubation program. If you've created an MVP and are generating revenue, you may apply to one of their accelerator programs to prepare your company for growth and funding.
Who is it for: Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Impact
African Impact Initiative is an organization dedicated to shaping Africa's future by encouraging early innovators to discover long-term solutions to the continent's most pressing concerns. They organize a number of programs focused on impact-driven entrepreneurship, community participation, and career development. In particular, their African Impact Challenge provides the capital, resources, and guidance for early founders to build viable solutions for the market.
Who is it for: Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Multiple Sectors
VC4A, short for Venture Capital for Africa, is a community of entrepreneurs, investors, partners, and other stakeholders that are building Africa's startup ecosystem. Though not an accelerator on its own, VC4A is an excellent platform whereby startups can access and apply to active startup support programs, mentorship opportunities, and fundraising opportunities.
Who is it for: Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: SaaS
Startup Wise Guys is a renowned SaaS accelerator with operations all across the globe, including Africa. The SaaS Accelerator Program: Africa will help startups to craft an optimized strategy in navigating the bumps on the path to company growth. With the assistance of world-class mentors and experts, you'll receive targeted coaching and assistance to refine your go-to-market strategy. The program is designed primarily for East and West African early-stage digital B2B SaaS firms in FinTech, AgriTech, and ClimaTech.
Who is it for: Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Technology
Ghana Tech Lab is the platform for digital innovation in Africa. They offer a range of programs designed to turn your idea into a product/solution that tackles a societal issue and grow your impact-focused startup. Through their incubation and entrepreneurship program, they are providing founders and teams with the skills they need to boost their productivity, as well as increase knowledge and generate new startups.
Who is it for: Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: UN SDG, Technology
Organized by UNICEF Ghana, the UNICEF StartUp Lab is a business accelerator program targeted at social enterprises striving to promote Sustainable Development Goals for children and youth. The 6-month program consists of intense boot camps, mentorship, and virtual learning sessions delivered in Accra, as well as incubation hosted at partner hubs. The program aims to improve participating entrepreneurs' commercial, technological, and communication abilities, as well as to provide advice on the product-problem fit of their social impact, tech-driven solutions.
Who is it for: Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Sector Agnostic
Orange Corners Ghana assists young African entrepreneurs in building their enterprises through their incubation and acceleration programs. Through mentoring and coaching, young entrepreneurs will develop their abilities in building their businesses and provide the, with the essential opportunities, skills, and market and capital access to formalize their businesses.
Growth Stage Startup Accelerators in Ghana
Full list of growth-stage startup accelerators in Ghana:
Who is it for: Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Technology
MEST is a hub network that provides incubation, acceleration, and entrepreneur training program for African tech startups at founders. They offer 2 primary programs: MEST Express, an acceleration program focusing on delivering investment-readiness assistance to early and growth-stage entrepreneurs in Ghana, and MEST Scale, which assists scale-ready firms in strengthening their operations, addressing technological gaps, and increasing their capacity to grow.
Who is it for: Early startup with a team
Need to have an idea: Yes
Focus: Sector Agnostic
GrowthAfrica is the premier growth partner for African enterprises looking to expand in and across Africa. They offer accelerator programs with a curriculum that is designed to help you enhance your leadership skills, increase your business's profitability, and make your business investment ready. Throughout the program, you'll be able to gain awareness of all aspects of your company to identify growth hurdles and create a comprehensive, implementation-ready development plan.
Closing Thoughts on Startup Incubators and Accelerators in Ghana
With 57% of Ghana's population under the age of 25, this young enthusiasm, along with the region's quickest internet connection and the largest mobile phone penetration, is converting the country into a bustling startup powerhouse. Across Ghana, opportunities for startup ideas are abundant, with more than enough room for new startups to flourish. Joining startup incubators or accelerators in Ghana will enable young entrepreneurs to grasp these opportunities and maximize their potential in the market.