Top Tech Incubators and Accelerators in South Africa (2025 Guide)

South Africa’s tech and startup ecosystem is steadily gaining momentum, with major hubs such Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban emerging as key digital innovation regions. Fuelled by a mix of entrepreneurial drive, increasing investment interest, and growing access to digital infrastructure, South Africa is witnessing a rising wave of startups solving problems that are unique to African markets. One of the key drivers of this startup growth is the increasing presence of tech incubators and accelerators across the country.  

Incubators and accelerators play a crucial role in helping startups overcome early-stage challenges, gain access to networks and funding, and build sustainable businesses. But what exactly are tech incubators and accelerators, and how do they differ?

What is a Tech Incubator?

A tech incubator is a programme or facility designed to nurture and support early-stage, technology-focused startups – providing them with resources, mentoring and networking opportunities needed to scale and thrive.

What is a Tech Accelerator?

A tech accelerator is a programme that helps early-stage tech companies/startups, quickly grow and scale their businesses. Accelerators provide resources such as funding, mentorship and networking opportunities to accelerate development and bring products to market faster.

Incubators and accelerators are especially important in a country such as South Africa because they provide startups with the necessary resources to grow in a complex economic environment. Besides the mentoring, funding and networking opportunities, these programmes help startups navigate challenges and provide long-term support with a focus on sustainability and resilience.

In this article we will take a dive into the role of incubators and accelerators in emerging markets like South Africa.

Accelerator vs Incubator: Which One is Right for Your Startup?

If you are part of a startup you might want to consider joining an accelerator or incubator to help you grow, but you need to choose the right model for your business needs. Here are some factors to consider when determining which model is best for you. 

Time commitment 

Accelerators and incubators typically run on different time frames. If you are in the initial idea phase, you might want to consider an incubator for more in-depth mentoring or idea processing. Startups that are more established would benefit more from accelerators because of their networking and short-term assistance in launching business ideas.

Location and relocation requirements 

Many incubators require startups to work on-site, which means relocating to a specific city or innovation hub. This physical proximity fosters deeper collaboration but may be a constraint for some entrepreneurs. Accelerators increasingly offer remote or hybrid formats, offering greater flexibility.

Resource needs 

Determining what resources you need will help you pick the most effective programme for your business. Determine if you need immediate funding or long-term funding, an industry expert for mentoring or access to tools for growth.

Defining and measuring your success

Have a pre-determined goal you want to reach to measure the success of the programme. Are you aiming to raise capital? Acquire customers? Enter new markets? Having clear KPIs—such as revenue growth, user acquisition, team expansion or strategic partnerships—will help you evaluate whether the programme has met your expectations.

Network strength 

Perhaps one of the most valuable benefits of these programmes is access to networks. A strong network of alumni, mentors, and investors can significantly accelerate your business journey. Research the programme’s community to assess whether it aligns with your industry, values, and growth goals.

Top Tech Incubators and Accelerators in South Africa

With a clearer understanding of the differences between incubators and accelerators, here’s a look at some of the most impactful and well-regarded programmes operating in South Africa’s tech landscape.

Injini EdTech

Cape Town-based Injini EdTech is a EdTech (Education technology) incubator programme dedicated to helping EdTech entrepreneurs in Africa get mentoring, support, scale up and early-stage funding. Investments go as far as $50K and the programme lasts 5 months.

Savant Venture Fund and Technology Incubator

The Savant Venture Fund and Technology Incubator is a hands-on incubator designed to help early-stage entrepreneurs build their businesses, prove concepts, raise funds and develop their technology products/services. According to the company website, Savant has assisted 29 companies in raising in excess of R200mn in funding. 

Grindstone Accelerator

Grindstone is an entrepreneurship development programme that helps high-growth innovation-driven companies with the necessary building blocks in place to scale quickly and become sustainable and fundable. The programme provides post-seed, pre-Series A fund and Series A funding in association with Knife Capital.

Google for Startups

The Google for Startups Accelerators aims to help top growth-stage startups with tailored technical, product and leadership training provided by Google experts. Each accelerator features 10-15 startups, lasts up to 10 weeks and eligible participants receive up to $350,000 in Google Cloud credits.

TuksNovation

TuksNovation is a non-profit technology incubator and accelerator located at the University of Pretoria. The programme provides startups with specialised product and business development support, mentorship, networking and access to funding opportunities. Currently, the programme has supported over 30 founders and raised R8 million in startup revenue.

LaunchLab at Stellenbosch University

LaunchLab is a venture studio that offers incubation programmes to help founders launch their businesses and get them investment ready. The organisation also offers a range of other services such as business registration and tax registration.

Riversands Incubation Hub

Riversands I-Hub is a business incubator that helps businesses with a range of services and resources. For tech startups, Riversands has a range of programmes designed to help startups with funding, business growth and development.

Innovation Edge

Innovation Edge is an impact-first investor firm focused on helping entrepreneurs and social innovators by de-risking early-stage product and service development. The organisation’s investment portfolio currently has 45 investments and has a value of R46 million.

The Cortex Hub

The Cortex Hub has two programmes which are designed to support impactful, sustainable technology solutions. The organisation has a12-month incubation programme for tech startups where it provides business planning and product development and hands-on guidance to founders.

Founder Institute

Founder Institute is a global network of startup incubators, accelerators and investors. The organisation’s accelerator programmes are designed to help founders navigate the business journey, from idea to exit. Since 2009, Founder Institute has helped over 7000 entrepreneurs raise over $1 billion in funding.

Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST)

MEST is an Africa-wide technology entrepreneur training programme, internal seed fund and network of hubs offering incubation for startups in Africa. Backed by the Mastercard Foundation, the programme provides skills, network and experiences to help founders build globally successful tech companies.

Black Umbrellas

Black Umbrellas is an enterprise and supplier development (ESD) incubation organisation that provides resources, training and support to emerging black-owned businesses. The company has three programmes designed to help startups move from early-stage to high-growth phase.

These are just some of the accelerators and incubators operating in South Africa. These programmes continue to support startups in South Africa and across Africa.

How to Apply to a Tech Incubator or Accelerator in South Africa

Now that you know which incubators and accelerators are available to you, here are some tips to help you prepare a successful application for your chosen programme.

Tip 1: Know your milestones

Before applying to any accelerator or incubator, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and how the programme can help you. Research on the different types of programmes, their offerings, focus areas, requirements, benefits and previous participants (alumni). This will help you align your goals with the programme’s mission and show how you can contribute to their community.

Tip 2: Validate your solution

Demonstrate that you’ve done your homework. Use data, customer interviews, or market research to show that a real problem exists and that your solution addresses it effectively. Highlight any pilots, prototypes or test runs that offer evidence of your idea’s viability.

Tip 3: Demonstrate traction and potential

Incubator and accelerator selection committees will want to see traction and potential in your solution. Traction would mean there is customer demand, user engagement, revenue or growth, and potential shows you have a large and scalable market opportunity. Showcasing your traction and potential is not only important for getting into the programme but also for potential investors.

Tip 4: Be pitch perfect

Once your application is ready, you need to prepare your pitch and pitching materials for the interview. Depending on the programme, you might have to present your startup idea to a selection committee which can include mentors, investors or peers. You need to create a concise, clear and compelling pitch that covers the main points of your identified problem, solution, traction, potential and ask. Additionally, you need to prepare a pitch deck, demo, one-pager or video.

Tip 5: Be authentic

Finally, you need to always be yourself during the application process. The selection committee will want to see your personality, passion, and personal motivation for your startup idea. The committee will also want to see your curiosity, openness and willingness to learn and grow as a person. Being authentic will show them you are a good fit for the programme’s culture and that you are eager to join their network and community.

South Africa’s startup ecosystem is rich with opportunity but not without its challenges. By leveraging the expertise, networks, and capital available through incubators and accelerators, startups can navigate the early stages of growth more effectively and sustainably. 

Whether you are still testing your concept or ready to scale, there is likely a programme in South Africa that aligns with your startup stage and sector. With the right support in place, your startup can go from idea to implementation - and perhaps become Africa’s next unicorn.