Safaricom has announced the selection of 10 high potential startups for the second cohort of the Spark Accelerator Program. These finalists were chosen from a pool of more than 200 applicants.
The selected startups operate in strategic high-growth sectors, including Embedded Finance, Creative Economy, Future Fintech, and SME Productivity Tools.
They are: Mediakits.Io, WePlay Arcade, GoPay, FlexPay, QuePay, Leta.AI, Oye, DigiTax, Incourage Insurance Agency Limited and StockApp.
The finalists will immediately enter an intensive three month program designed to accelerate their growth and ensure long term sustainability. The Spark Accelerator offers comprehensive support across two key tracks:
- iHUB-led Track: Provides a structured curriculum featuring expert-led workshops, advisory sessions, and tailored mentorship.
- Corporate Engagement Track: Grants direct access to the commercial and technical teams, as well as the vast distribution networks of Safaricom and M-PESA Africa to fast-track market integration and scale.
“As part of our commitment to our purpose of transforming lives, we aim to Nurture, Grow and Scale commercially viable tech start-ups that drive positive societal impact,” said Dr. Peter Ndegwa, CEO, Safaricom. “We have broadened our scope of support to early-stage startups to include technology and product development support, access to market and access to capital.”
The Spark Accelerator is a partnership powered by Safaricom, M-PESA Africa, and Sumitomo Corporation, with implementation managed by iHUB, and additional support from Vodacom, PwC, and AWS.
Ojoma Ochai, Managing Director iHUB and Co-creation HUB, highlighted the program’s unique model: “Corporate accelerators play a vital role by bringing the resources, infrastructure, and market access of established companies into direct partnership with startups. This approach strengthens the capacity of ventures to scale and creates new pathways for sustainable growth and resilience across the continent.”
Startups will benefit from Safaricom’s core technology assets, including Daraja and M-PESA Africa Open APIs, as well as cloud resources through AWS Activate Credits.
The first cohort demonstrated the program’s effectiveness, with several ventures achieving significant milestones:
- Twiva partnered with Safaricom Hook to onboard over 11,000 influencers.
- Chpter expanded its AI-powered platform into South Africa and Nigeria.
- HealthX Africa grew its subscriber base by 40% and launched on the M-PESA consumer miniApps.
- Chumz reached over 300,000 users and expanded into Rwanda.
The second cohort’s journey will culminate in an investor Demo Day in February 2026, where they will pitch to venture capital funds. This will be followed by nine to twelve months of post-acceleration support.