Google takes African startups under its wings

African tech startup founders drawn from six countries at the Lagos hub during a recent Google developers meeting. PHOTO | COURTESY

Silicon Valley giant Google is expanding its regional mentorship programme for top early-stage technology startups in Africa, with the aim of helping them become commercially viable.

The Launchpad Accelerator Africa programme started off with six countries at its launch eight months ago — Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa.