Challenger Digital & Green is an equity-free acceleration program empowering startups driving sustainable, circular, and digital innovation in Southern and Eastern Africa — shaping a more inclusive, climate-resilient future.
APPLY HERE
Challenger Digital & Green is an equity-free acceleration program empowering startups driving sustainable, circular, and digital innovation in Southern and Eastern Africa — shaping a more inclusive, climate-resilient future.
APPLY HERE
What we offer
Tailored Acceleration & Mentorship
Mentorship from international and regional experts — entrepreneurs, investors, and sector specialists.
Capacity Building & Training
Workshops and bootcamps on investment readiness, climate-smart business models, circular economy practices, and digital transformation.
Market Access & Networking
Access to ecosystem players in the EU, Southern and Eastern Africa.
Funding & Growth Opportunities
Access to investors and opportunities for follow-up financing and partnerships through Demo Days and ecosystem events.
What  We Offer
Tailored Acceleration & Mentorship
Mentorship from international and regional experts — entrepreneurs, investors, and sector specialists.
Capacity Building & Training
Workshops and bootcamps on investment readiness, climate-smart business models, circular economy practices, and digital transformation.
Market Access & Networking
Access to ecosystem players in the EU, Southern and Eastern Africa.
Funding & Growth Opportunities
Access to investors and opportunities for follow-up financing and partnerships through Demo Days and ecosystem events.
Who we're looking for
Startups based in Southern Africa (South Africa, Namibia, Botswana) and Eastern Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia).
Startups at the intersection of digital transformation and environmental sustainability.
Early-stage startups and SMEs with an MVP  or validated product.
We actively encourage participation from female founders and youth-driven ventures.
Solutions that demonstrate measurable environmental and social impact,  as food security, energy access, and resilience.
Entrepreneurs committed to engaging actively in mentoring, workshops, and peer-learning activities, and ready to collaborate across borders for shared learning and growth.
Who we're looking for
Ukrainian startups based in Ukraine or worldwide
Solutions in EdTech, HealthTech, AI
Startups seeking investments
Driven & motivated teams of 2+ members
Startups with existing MVP
Solutions poised for scaling and market impact
challenger prizes
The program Timeline
Our Alumni Say

Sessions with our technical mentor, Serhiy Shelpyuk, demonstrated the importance and advantages of our product. Training the model on real legal cases ensures high-quality processing of legal terminology and context. And, of course, the power of networking. It is very important to exchange ideas, experiences, and challenges with other founders.

Enrique Prado, Inspira

With our mentor, we set a goal to secure at least one pilot client. However, thanks to the program’s experts and the work we’ve done, we now have a packed schedule of calls with potential clients for the next two weeks.

Denys Samofan, Rythmex

When we began expanding into other countries, we realized that we couldn’t follow the same approach everywhere. One of our goals in joining the accelerator was to gain experience in scaling a business. We’re also integrating AI tools into the platform to make learning more interactive and personalized for children. Challenger’s expertise has been instrumental in this process.

Natalia Limonova, GIOS

Working with our mentors was an incredible opportunity. We especially want to thank our business mentor Lev, who shared invaluable insights on building our company in the European Union. In particular, his guidance on setting up in Estonia gave us a clear direction — and we see this as our next step toward entering the EU market.

Vladyslav Kaliuzhka, Extra-Vision

So first of all we have managed to optimize our technical architecture of our product, and second of all I would like to mention that we have gained valuable insights about investments thanks to our mentors, colleagues and partners.

Ilona Didukh, Josti

Actually we are extremely happy to be the part of the program because we came to Challenger, we needed some technical advice and we definitely received it and even more. We received the mentor from business side who already did the exit and he just gave us a speed and some advice which economized months and maybe years for us to do the right actions.

Olena Kleiner, Salesdep.ai

In my opinion, Challenger is definitely one of the best programs I have ever seen according to quality of content and quality of mentorship. We applied to Challenger because we scale up and we wanted to get more professional advice on how to scale, because it is tricky to grow. We wanted mentorship, we got it fully. We are very excited with our business mentor, with our technical mentors. We are excited with the quality and level of the educational program.

Sergii Kravtsov, ConnectiveOne

“From the get-go of the program we had not a single line of code of the Intemper version two. We had hired our new CTO, our new developer and we were starting from a blank slate. Our first communication with the mentors was super helpful because we redeveloped our business model, our financial model and our go-to-market strategy at all. So, on a nutshell, it was super helpful, super insightful and super supportive.”

Alina Holovatiuk, InTempo

“I'm very excited about the mentors involved in this program and very happy with the one-to-one sessions. We have dramatically improved our pitching, business model, and valuation for our clients. So it's a biggest value part of your acceleration program.  Thank you for that!”

Andrii Gulyi, Object Control, Challenger 3.0 winner

investors

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Mentors

Maciej Nowak
Innovation Manager, Poland
Dag Ainsoo
General Partner at Wise Guys Ventures, Estonia
Reesi Lepa
International Research and Innovation Ecosystem Expert, Estonia
Andrej Sňahničan
Senion Innovation Consultant at Civitta, Slovakia
Sanjay Soni
Entrepreneur and Strategic Advisor, South Africa
Komeshni Patrick
Technology Lawyer, South Africa
Gertrud Karu
Senior Innovation Consultant, Estonia
Rudi Kruger
Business Strategist and Branding Expert, South Africa
Chris Elfick
Founder of the Fido Investment Fund, South Africa
Brennan Williams
Strategic Mentor and Champion of Experiential Learning, South Africa
Sina Legong
Head of Regional Innovation and Partnerships at mLab, South Africa
Gail Styger
Social Entrepreneur and Ecosystem Builder, South Africa
Marisa Naidoo
Head of Innovation and New Technologies at Zimile Consulting, South Africa
Peter Benjamin
Director of the non-profit HealthEnabled, South Africa
Rulani Nevhufumba
ICT Project Management and Innovation Ecosystem Leader, South Africa
Grant Greyling
Entrepreneur, South Africa
Adin Arendse
Lead Coordinator for Enterprise Development within the Eastern Cape TVET
Brian Muvea
Enterprise Development and Digital Transformation professional, Kenya
Modechai Nyerere
Partnership support at Sustainable business Consulting, Kenya
Mohammed Sultan
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Specialist, Ethiopia
Linda Mathenge
Growth Catalyst, Kenya

Speakers

Karina Lapina
Investment and Acceleration Director, Greencubator
Zane Bojāre
Co-Founder, Enablers School

investors

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Mentors

Maciej Nowak
Innovation Manager, Poland
Dag Ainsoo
General Partner at Wise Guys Ventures, Estonia
Reesi Lepa
International Research and Innovation Ecosystem Expert, Estonia
Andrej Sňahničan
Senion Innovation Consultant at Civitta, Slovakia
Sanjay Soni
Entrepreneur and Strategic Advisor, South Africa
Komeshni Patrick
Technology Lawyer, South Africa
Gertrud Karu
Senior Innovation Consultant, Estonia
Rudi Kruger
Business Strategist and Branding Expert, South Africa
Chris Elfick
Founder of the Fido Investment Fund, South Africa
Brennan Williams
Strategic Mentor and Champion of Experiential Learning, South Africa
Sina Legong
Head of Regional Innovation and Partnerships at mLab, South Africa
Gail Styger
Social Entrepreneur and Ecosystem Builder, South Africa
Marisa Naidoo
Head of Innovation and New Technologies at Zimile Consulting, South Africa
Peter Benjamin
Director of the non-profit HealthEnabled, South Africa
Rulani Nevhufumba
ICT Project Management and Innovation Ecosystem Leader, South Africa
Grant Greyling
Entrepreneur, South Africa
Adin Arendse
Lead Coordinator for Enterprise Development within the Eastern Cape TVET
Brian Muvea
Enterprise Development and Digital Transformation professional, Kenya
Modechai Nyerere
Partnership support at Sustainable business Consulting, Kenya
Mohammed Sultan
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Specialist, Ethiopia
Linda Mathenge
Growth Catalyst, Kenya

Speakers

Karina Lapina
Investment and Acceleration Director, Greencubator
Zane Bojāre
Co-Founder, Enablers School

frequently asked questions

Contact
How will this program benefit me?

You’ll gain tailored mentorship, training, investor exposure, and connections across African and European innovation ecosystems — helping you level up your product and scale your impact.

Is there a fee for participating in the program?

"No, participation in Challenger Digital & Green is fully funded — there are no fees for selected startups. The programme is part of ESTDEV's activities within the Digital and Green Innovation Action, which falls under the framework of Team Europe's Twin Transition Initiative in Africa. The Twin Transition Initiative is co-funded by Team Europe partners (Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Estonia) and the European Commission."

What is the required time commitment and format of the program?

The program is hybrid, combining in-person networking opportunities (bootcamps) with online learning and mentoring. Founders should plan to dedicate 4–6 hours per week for training, mentoring, and assignments during the acceleration phase.

What is the language of the program?

The program operates in English across both regions.

Who organizes the program?

Challenger Digital & Green is implemented by Civitta, mLab, and GrowthAfrica, with support from Startup Wise Guys and Latitude59. The programme is part of ESTDEV's activities within the Digital and Green Innovation Action, which falls under the framework of Team Europe's Twin Transition Initiative in Africa. The Twin Transition Initiative is co-funded by Team Europe partners (Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Estonia) and the European Commission.

Partners

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Organizer
Civitta
Civitta is an international collaboratory, erasing artificial boundaries between digital, management consultancy, public advisory, innovation and funding services.
Partners
mlab
GrowthAfrica
Latitude 59
Startup Wise Guys
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Funded by
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