Qualcomm® Make in Africa Startup Mentorship Program 2026 for early-stage startups (Call For (Equity-Free Support plus $5,000 Stipend)

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Application Deadline: February 15th 2026

Applications are now open for the 2026 Qualcomm® Make in Africa Startup Mentorship Program. As the first initiative of its kind in Africa, this equity-free mentorship program will identify promising early-stage startups keen on applying advanced connectivity and processing technologies to innovative end-to-end systems solutions, including hardware, and provide these companies with business coaching, access to engineering consultation for product development, and guidance on protecting intellectual property.

Requirements

To participate, your startup must:

• Be a registered company operating in Africa.
• Be in the early stage (pre-seed to seed, ideally with a minimum viable product).
• Build solutions that leverage advanced technologies or hardware-enabled systems, such as connectivity, AI, IoT, embedded compute, or similar fields.

There is no purchase or payment required to enter. Participation is equity-free Qualcomm does not take ownership in return for support.

Program Benefits

1. **Startup cohort:**Up to 10 startups will be selected for the 2026 incubation program. QMIA 2026 Rules
2. **Mentorship:**1:1 mentorship with Qualcomm subject matter experts
3. **Platforms:**Arduino Uno Q based usecase proposals welcome
4. **Masterclasses:**Expert-led technology training in areas such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) including AI-Hub, Internet of Things (IoT), Extended Reality (XR), Compute (AI-PC), 5G, Intellectual Property Law, and more. Additional access to technology, business, and IP training is available at Qualcomm Academy
5. **Stipends:**One startup will be awarded a Social Impact Fund grant from Qualcomm® Wireless Reach^TM^. All other participating startups will be eligible for a USD $5,000 stipend upon successful completion of program requirements
6. Patent filing incentives:
   • Reimbursement of up to USD $5,000 for one full utility patent application filed in the startup’s country, at the USPTO, or via the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
   • Eligibility for a patent filing consultation hours from Adams & Adams, Africa’s leading IP law firm. Learn more
   • Free access to online IP education, including filing procedures for several African countries, at L2Pro Africa
7. **Visibility and Industry connections:**Participation in a virtual finale event in December 2026, including the announcement of the Social Impact Fund award winner. This event will showcase the startups and help accelerate their business success

Program Timeline

• Application Phase: : December 17th 2025 to February 15th 2026
• Shortlisting of the Startups: March 2026
• Mentorship Program: April 2026 to November 2026
• Program Finale & Demo Day: December 2026

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Qualcomm® Make in Africa Startup Mentorship Program