At the Africa Forward Summit, which will take place in Nairobi on May 11 and 12, the Nova Garages initiative is establishing itself as a continental platform dedicated to African entrepreneurship and innovation, with a clear ambition: to bring about a generation of projects capable of establishing themselves in regional and international markets.

By hosting the first edition of Nova Garage in May 2026, Nairobi confirms its role as a nerve center of African innovation at the heart of Silicon Savannah, an ecosystem that has become one of the most dynamic on the continent thanks to its hundreds of startups and its high concentration of fintech, cleantech and agritech players.

Placed under the high patronage of the President of the Republic of Kenya and jointly supported by the French-African Foundation, the Autonomous Advancement Initiative, and the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Nova Garage is part of this dynamic. This initiative positions itself as a continental convergence space, designed to support the most promising initiatives led by African entrepreneurs and members of the diaspora.

The application campaign will select fifteen entrepreneurs who will present their projects on May 11, 2026, on the sidelines of the Africa Forward Summit, before an audience of investors, business leaders, public institutions and players in the international entrepreneurial ecosystem.

“We have spent decades talking about the future of Africa. Perhaps it is time to make way for those who are actually building it.”

— Dr. Abraham Korir Sing'Oei, Kenyan Minister of Foreign Affairs

An acceleration mechanism supported by institutional and strategic actors

Nova Garage relies on close cooperation between leading institutional and economic players. This synergy enables the structuring of an enhanced support system, designed to foster and accelerate high-impact projects. Specifically, entrepreneurs benefit from easier access to technical, financial, and strategic resources, as well as high-level sector expertise.

The ambition is clear: to transform promising ideas into solid, scalable businesses. Through in-depth operational support and direct networking with international decision-makers and investors gathered at the Africa Forward summit, Nova Garage aims to create the conditions for genuine scaling up for a new generation of African entrepreneurs.

A continental dynamic driven by a generation of entrepreneurs on the move

Beyond its Kenyan roots, Nova Garage is part of a broader dynamic: that of an African innovation that is now structured, ambitious and resolutely focused on impact.

A new generation of entrepreneurs is emerging, less in a logic of adaptation than of creation, developing original solutions, rooted in local realities and designed from the outset for scaling up.

This evolution is accompanied by a gradual transformation of innovation ecosystems across the continent, where exchanges between technology hubs are multiplying, fostering the emergence of synergies between cities and countries and contributing to the consolidation of an increasingly integrated economic space for innovation.

Applications are now open: an opportunity not to be missed.

Applications are open until April 23rd and are aimed at African entrepreneurs under 35 years of age with a structured project, an existing product and an ambition for growth.

Joining Nova Garage will allow selected entrepreneurs to access a strategic space for visibility, connections and acceleration, in direct contact with the players who shape the continent's economy.

Apply:   https://www.novagarage.africa/