Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire—Twenty-four young Africans just spent 12 weeks turning local problems into working tech—and walked away from Abidjan with $12,000 in prize money and proof that the continent’s next wave of builders is already here.
Yango Group closed its 2026 Fellowship with a two-day Graduation and Pitch Day, bringing together Fellows from six countries—Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Zambia, Senegal, Ethiopia, and Mozambique—selected from over 600 applicants.
From idea to prototype in 12 weeks.
Working in mixed-country teams, Fellows moved through the full startup journey: problem framing, research, solution design, business modelling, prototyping and pitching. The result? Six standout projects tackling issues that hit close to home for millions of Africans — cashless payments for informal transport, digital financial identity for informal-sector merchants, medicine supply tracking for community health workers, cross-border job matching, smart waste recycling, and affordable water-quality testing.
Along the way, Fellows got real access — a session on AI for impact with Zindi co-founder Celina Lee, hands-on pitch coaching, and face time with Yango Group leaders from across African markets.
Who took home the $12,000 prize pool
At the final Pitch Day, a jury of tech, investment and industry experts crowned:
🥇 Africoded ($4,500) — an AI-assisted platform connecting African job seekers to cross-border and remote opportunities
🥈 Harambee ($2,500) — a smart waste collection and recycling platform linking households, collectors and recyclers
🥉 Bloom ($1,500) — a cashless fare system for informal public transport across East and West Africa
In the individual category:
Fredrick Mwepu (Zambia) — Best Individual Project, RoboCore Zambia, an affordable robotics platform for STEM education
Meshack Kwame Nartey (Ghana) — runner-up, Shuttle Smart Ghana, a real-time university shuttle tracker
Oulimata Rose Dia — Best Technical/AI Contribution, a solar-powered smart bin system using 2G connectivity
“It’s not a talent gap — it’s an access gap”
Shashi Singh, Director of Operations at Yango Ride MEA & Asia, put it plainly: 600 applications for 24 places isn’t evidence Africa lacks talent — it’s evidence of how much talent is waiting for structured access to mentorship and opportunity.
Zambian STEM student Fredrick Mwepu made it personal, reflecting on growing up without access to hands-on STEM tools and building RoboCore Zambia so the next student doesn’t have to wait for the chance he almost missed.
Why this matters beyond the prize money
Yango’s bigger bet here is on people, not just infrastructure. Different African markets need different solutions — which means the continent needs more engineers, entrepreneurs and tech professionals who understand their own local realities. The Fellowship is one piece of that pipeline, and a reminder that Africa’s tech ecosystem is being built by the people who live in it.
What’s next: Applications for the next Yango Fellowship cohort are expected to open soon—follow for updates, or reach out to pr@yango.com to get involved.
