𝗬𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗼 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘀𝗶𝘅 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀

Fellows from Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Zambia, Senegal, Ethiopia and Mozambique pitch tech projects addressing transport, health, finance, employment, waste and water access across Africa

𝗔𝗯𝗶𝗱𝗷𝗮𝗻, 𝗖ô𝘁𝗲 𝗱’𝗜𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗿𝗲 – 𝟮𝟮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲: Yango Group has concluded the Pan-African Yango Fellowship 2026 programme with a two-day Graduation programme and Pitch Day in Abidjan, bringing together 24 Fellows from six African countries to present the tech projects they developed over the course of the programme.

The cohort included fellows from Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Zambia, Senegal, Ethiopia and Mozambique, selected from more than 600 applicants. Over the 12-week programme, fellows worked in six mixed-country teams, moving from problem framing and research through solution design, business modelling, prototyping and final pitching. The resulting projects span cashless payments for informal transport, digital financial identity for informal merchants, medicine supply visibility for community health workers, cross-border job matching, smart waste collection and recycling, and low-cost water-quality testing for rural communities.

The closing programme in Abidjan combined project development with exposure to technology and business leaders. Fellows joined a session on AI for impact with Celina Lee, co-founder of Zindi, took part in hands-on public speaking and pitch coaching, and met Yango Group leaders from several African markets to discuss career growth, entrepreneurship and building technology businesses in different local contexts.

At the final Pitch Day, fellows presented six team projects and selected individual projects to a jury of technology, investment and industry experts. The event concluded with an awards ceremony, with a total prize fund of USD 12,000 recognising the strongest team and individual projects.

𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗨𝗦𝗗 𝟰,𝟱𝟬𝟬 for its AI-assisted platform connecting African job seekers with cross-border employment, remote work and career-development opportunities across the continent. 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱, 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗨𝗦𝗗 𝟮,𝟱𝟬𝟬 for a smart waste collection and recycling platform connecting households, waste collectors and recyclers, while 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗱 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗨𝗦𝗗 𝟭,𝟱𝟬𝟬 for its African Transit Payment Revolution, a cashless fare-collection system designed for informal public transport across East and West Africa.

In the individual category, 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗠𝘄𝗲𝗽𝘂 𝗼𝗳 𝗭𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗶𝗮 𝘄𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗦𝗗 𝟭,𝟱𝟬𝟬 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗭𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗶𝗮, a locally developed robotics platform designed to make practical STEM education more accessible and affordable.𝗚𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗮’𝘀 𝗠𝗲𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗞𝘄𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗡𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗦𝗗 𝟭,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿-𝘂𝗽 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗵𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗚𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗮, an app that tracks university shuttles and gives students real-time information on their arrival. Oulimata 𝗥𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗦𝗗 𝟭,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹/𝗔𝗜 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗕𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, a solar-powered system that monitors bin fill levels in real time and uses 2G connectivity to support more efficient waste collection.

“600 applications for 24 places doesn’t tell you Africa lacks talent, it tells you how much talent is waiting for structured access to mentorship and opportunity. Africa has no shortage of brilliant young people. What’s harder to find is a mentor, a network, and the opportunity to test an idea against a real problem. That’s the specific gap this Fellowship exists to close” said 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗶 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗵, 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗬𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗼 𝗥𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗠𝗘𝗔 & 𝗔𝘀𝗶𝗮.

“Growing up, hands-on STEM tools were something I only saw in videos — RoboCore Zambia exists to close that gap, so the next student who wants to build something doesn’t have to wait for the chance I almost didn’t get, I am excited that my project got to see the light of day and it was a wonderful experience to travel, meet other fellows from all other countries and learn directly from experts and leaders in Tech and AI. This is an experience I will never forget” said 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗠𝘄𝗲𝗽𝘂, 𝗭𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗠 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗭𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗶𝗮, his locally developed robotics platform designed to make practical STEM education more accessible and affordable.

The programme responds to a wider reality across the continent: digital growth depends on people, not only infrastructure. Building and scaling technology locally requires engineers, entrepreneurs and technology professionals with practical experience — and people who understand the realities of their own markets. For Yango Group, investing in that talent is closely linked to how the company builds across Africa: different markets have different infrastructure, behaviours and needs, so strong local businesses require strong local expertise. The Fellowship is one way Yango helps strengthen that talent pipeline while building connections across Africa’s wider technology ecosystem.