Startup Africa: North Africa’s Startup Accelerator Ecosystem – An Overview

The Accelerator Conundrumis a multipart series that challenges the prevailing wisdom of the tech startup ecosystem that entrepreneurs should Blitzscale out of the gate. Written by Sramana Mitra, the Founder and CEO of One Million by One Million (1Mby1M), the world’s first global virtual accelerator, it emphatically argues that a better strategy is to Bootstrap First, Raise Money Later, focus on customers, revenues and profits. 1Mby1M’s mission is to help a Million entrepreneurs reach a million dollars in annual revenue and beyond. Sramana’s Digital Mind AI Mentor virtually mentors entrepreneurs around the world in 57 languages. Try it out!

North Africa’s startup ecosystem is in the midst of a profound transformation. With a large, young, and tech-savvy population, countries like Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria are showing immense entrepreneurial promise. Governments across the region have launched initiatives to support this growth, creating a new wave of incubators and accelerators. But while these efforts are a step in the right direction, they are often built on a traditional model that, as I’ve argued in my The Accelerator Conundrum blog series, presents a fundamental conundrum for long-term entrepreneurial success.

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Startup Africa: Why the 1Mby1M Global Virtual Accelerator is a Gamechanger for Africa’s Startup Ecosystem

The Accelerator Conundrum is a multipart series that challenges the prevailing wisdom of the tech startup ecosystem that entrepreneurs should Blitzscale out of the gate. Written by Sramana Mitra, the Founder and CEO of One Million by One Million (1Mby1M), the world’s first global virtual accelerator, it emphatically argues that a better strategy is to Bootstrap First, Raise Money Later, focus on customers, revenues and profits. 1Mby1M’s mission is to help a Million entrepreneurs reach a million dollars in annual revenue and beyond. Sramana’s Digital Mind AI Mentor virtually mentors entrepreneurs around the world in 57 languages. Try it out!

Africa’s startup ecosystem is buzzing with immense potential. From the vibrant tech hubs of Cape Town, Lagos and Nairobi to the growing scenes in Cairo, a new generation of entrepreneurs is emerging, ready to tackle the continent’s most pressing challenges. But as I’ve articulated extensively in my The Accelerator Conundrum blog series, the traditional support structures that have taken root here are often ill-suited to the long, arduous journey of building a great company.

An Overview of Startup Accelerators in Texas: Why 1Mby1M Leads the Way

By Guest Author Ajeet Virk

The Accelerator Conundrumis a multipart series that challenges the prevailing wisdom of the tech startup ecosystem that entrepreneurs should Blitzscale out of the gate. Written by Sramana Mitra, the Founder and CEO of One Million by One Million (1Mby1M), the world’s first global virtual accelerator, it emphatically argues that a better strategy is to Bootstrap First, Raise Money Later, focus on customers, revenues and profits. 1Mby1M’s mission is to help a Million entrepreneurs reach a million dollars in annual revenue and beyond. Sramana’s Digital Mind AI Mentor virtually mentors entrepreneurs around the world in 57 languages. Try it out!

Over the past ten posts in this series, we’ve explored the landscape of startup accelerators in Texas, analyzing which programs provide the best support for entrepreneurs at every stage. Drawing from insights in Sramana Mitra’s The Accelerator Conundrum blog series, we examined accelerators for virtual participation, part-time founders, long-term mentorship, investor introductions, bootstrapped growth, validation, and sustainable scaling toward building real unicorns. 

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Cloud Stocks: Symbotic Needs to Expand to New Customers

According to a market report, the warehouse automation market is expected to grow 16% annually to $115.8 billion by 2034. The market was pegged at $26.5 billion last year. The growth in the industry is driven by increasing adoption of robotics and AI to drive operational efficiency, cost savings, and speed of order fulfillment at warehouses. Symbotic (NASDAQ: SYM) recently announced a new product that is expected to meet those requirements.

1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator AI Investor Forum: Marina and Nick Davidov, DVC (Part 5)

Sramana Mitra: Last question—when you write a pre-seed check, what do you want to see in the company?

Nick Davidov: In the founder. At pre-seed, it’s often just one or two founders and maybe an idea.

An Overview of Startup Accelerators in UK

By Guest Author Ryan Sung

The Accelerator Conundrumis a multipart series that challenges the prevailing wisdom of the tech startup ecosystem that entrepreneurs should Blitzscale out of the gate. Written by Sramana Mitra, the Founder and CEO of One Million by One Million (1Mby1M), the world’s first global virtual accelerator, it emphatically argues that a better strategy is to Bootstrap First, Raise Money Later, focus on customers, revenues and profits. 1Mby1M’s mission is to help a Million entrepreneurs reach a million dollars in annual revenue and beyond. Sramana’s Digital Mind AI Mentor virtually mentors entrepreneurs around the world in 57 languages. Try it out!

Over the past ten posts in The Accelerator Conundrum series, I have explored the landscape of startup accelerators for UK-based founders, analyzing programs across multiple dimensions—from virtual access and equity terms to mentoring, investor introductions, and validation-first approaches. The research aimed to identify which accelerators truly support founders in building sustainable, fundable, and scalable businesses, rather than those that focus on short-term visibility or quick Demo Day hype.

1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator AI Investor Forum: Marina and Nick Davidov, DVC (Part 4)

Sramana Mitra: I actually have a much more interesting question to explore with you. We talked about Perplexity as a wrapper. Give me examples of other interesting wrapper companies. I think these wrapper companies are very easy to bootstrap and very desirable for people to build revenue on top of quickly. So, give me more examples of what you’re seeing.

1Mby1M Virtual Accelerator AI Investor Forum: Marina and Nick Davidov, DVC (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: Let’s come back to the wrapper question. You started off by saying Perplexity is a wrapper on top of other LLMs.

Nick Davidov: Yes. Perplexity is actually very lean. If you compare how much money they raised, they haven’t spent much of it. They still have the majority in the bank. That’s their superpower.