ESTDEV connects Africa’s leading digital and green tech innovators with European investors at Latitude59

The European Union has placed digital and green innovation high on its agenda in Africa, with the goal of closing the digital divide, strengthening local economies and supporting homegrown solutions to climate and energy challenges. Through the Team Europe's  Digital and Green Innovation Action, ESTDEV is sharing Estonia’s experience in building a supportive environment for micro and small businesses, along with the expertise of Estonian companies in developing digital green technology solutions.

"Through the Digital and Green Innovation Action, ESTDEV is proud to see African entrepreneurs working at the intersection of digital technology and green transition leading on solutions their communities need. Connecting this talent with investors and the broader digital and green innovation ecosystem is exactly the kind of bridge ESTDEV is seeking to build," said Taavet Tomberg, ESTDEV’s project manager for Digital and Green Innovation Action. 

Accelerators translate innovation into scalable business outcomes 

In cooperation with Civitta, ESTDEV organised two business accelerators, one in Eastern and another in Southern Africa, for up to 50 startups working in the digital and green innovation sector. The Eastern Africa cohort comprised Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia. Southern Africa consisted of startups from South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. 

There was big interest from both cohorts as Southern Africa received 52 complete applications, while Eastern Africa received 263 eligible applications. The largest number of startups participating in the accelerator were from South Africa and Kenya (19 from each country). There were also four companies from Namibia, two from Botswana, three from Uganda and three from Ethiopia. In both regions, over 65% of the startups were led by youth and over 40% by women. 

“Across both cohorts, what impressed us most was the depth of climate and green impact embedded in the startups’ solutions. These founders are not only building businesses; they are deeply mission-driven and grounded in solving real challenges experienced in their local markets,” said Maciej Nowak, project manager at Civitta. 

The winning startups contribute to environmental sustainability, resource efficiency, carbon emission reduction, and inclusive digital and green transformation across Africa. 

The winners of the Eastern African business accelerator were: 

In the Southern African cohort, the winners were: 

In May, the top three startups from each cohort will travel to Latitude59, the most influential startup and technology conference in the Baltics and Nordics, where they will have the opportunity to pitch their ideas to European investors. 

“What makes this particularly exciting is that many of these solutions have clear transferability potential beyond Africa, including strong relevance for European markets. Through Civitta’s Challenger acceleration methodology, we focus on translating high-impact innovation into scalable and investment-ready business outcomes, and this programme has clearly demonstrated the strength of that approach,” Nowak added. 

The larger goal of the project is to create a platform where African startups and Estonian companies can develop new cooperation models, exchange experiences, develop skills and build connections between investors and reliable partners. The aim is for this to eventually lead to commercial forms of cooperation that will have economic benefits for both African countries and Estonia. 

The Twin Transition Initiative is co-funded by the European Commission and Team Europe partners (Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Estonia).