Qualcomm’s Continued Commitment to Empowering Africa’s Deep-Technology Ecosystem through Mentorship, Training and IP Generation Initiatives
By : Islsm Tawfik
Qualcomm Incorporated today announced the shortlisted startups for Qualcomm Make in Africa 2025. The Qualcomm Africa Innovation Platform, now in its third year, supports the development of Africa's deep technology ecosystem by providing mentorship, and technical, business and IP training programs with a focus on 5G, Edge-AI/ML, Compute, and IoT.
This year, Qualcomm received an overwhelming response, with approximately 435 applications from 19 countries.
Highlights:
2025 cohort with 10 startups announced for the third year of the Qualcomm Make in Africa startup incubation program.
Eligibility for stipends and award of 2025 Wireless Reach Social Impact Fund, supporting startups in scaling their societal and market impact.
L2Pro Africa website, provides free online training on intellectual property protection.
As the first initiative of its kind in Africa, Qualcomm Make in Africa is an equity-free mentorship program that identifies promising early-stage and deep-technology startups eager to use advanced connectivity and processing technologies such as 5G, on-device Edge-AI/ML, Compute, and IoT in innovative end-to-end systems solutions. These startups have demonstrated exceptional potential in applying advanced connectivity and processing technologies to innovative end-to-end systems solutions.
The selected startups will receive free hardware platforms, mentorship, business coaching, access to engineering consultations for product development, and guidance on protecting intellectual property.
The 2025 cohort includes the following startups (listed in alphabetical order):
Aframend, Nigeria: AI-driven drug discovery with African phytochemicals
AmalXR, Tunisia: AI-powered VR rehabilitation with clinical validation and progress simulations
Archeos, Benin: Solar/IoT pisciculture automation for optimal water quality and feeding
ClimatrixAI, Nigeria: AI-driven hyperlocal flood risk prediction and monitoring
Ecobees, Tunisia: AI-based beekeeping for hive health, water levels, and climate conditions
Edulytics, Senegal: AI-based mobile liver fibrosis detection using ultrasound images
Farmer Lifeline, Kenya: Solar-powered AI robots for crop pests and disease detection
Pixii Motors, Tunisia: Electric scooter with AI/IoT battery optimization and swap stations
Pollen Patrollers, Kenya: AI/IoT based precise and healthy pollination to combat hive collapse
Solar Freeze, Kenya: Solar-powered IoT cold storage to reduce post-harvest food loss
Qualcomm is proud to announce that at the end of the mentorship cycle, startups will be eligible for the Social Impact Fund, provided through the Qualcomm® Wireless Reach™ Initiative. This fund supports startups in scaling their societal and market impact.
One startup will be awarded the fund for its innovative use of wireless technology to address community needs, while the other nine will receive stipends to support their growth and continued development
In addition, Qualcomm is excited to highlight the progress of the L2Pro Africa IP e-learning Platform, a free online training program designed to empower startups, SMEs, and researchers in Africa to protect, secure, and maximize their innovations. This program has been created in collaboration with Adams and Adams, Africa’s leading intellectual property (IP) law firm. The educational content has been updated with individual filing procedures for patents, industrial designs, and trademarks in Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Ghana, Rwanda, and within the two African patent organizations, ARIPO and OAPI, covering 43 of Africa’s countries.
These step-by-step descriptions of per-country filing requirements empower inventors to interact effectively with IP professionals such as an IP attorney and their respective IP offices. To date, over 135 African students have enrolled in the course, and several QMIA startup alumni have already begun the process of patenting their inventions.
"This year's cohort of deep technology startups is a testament to Africa's burgeoning innovation landscape.”, said Wassim Chourbaji, SVP and president, Qualcomm MEA & SVP, Government Affairs EMEA. “By leveraging Qualcomm's cellular, IoT, and edge-AI technologies, these startups are poised to revolutionize agriculture, sustainability, climate change, transportation, and healthcare. We are honored to support their journey toward creating transformative solutions for a better future."
“The African Telecommunications Union (ATU) is proud to partner with Qualcomm on the 2025 Make in Africa program.” said John Omo, Secretary General of the African Telecommunications Union (ATU).
“Innovation is the engine of Africa’s future, and it is clear the ten startups in this year’s cohort exemplify its power. While ATU works to align spectrum policy, regional standards, and open-data practices so that new technologies move quickly from lab to market, we also recognize that real progress demands a broad coalition.
We therefore call on governments, academia, investors, and industry to back these ventures—and every initiative that puts African ingenuity first.”
