Safaricom Unveils 2nd Spark Accelerator Program

Safaricom has announced the selection of 10 startups as finalists for the second cohort of the Spark Accelerator Program, chosen from a pool of more than 200 applicants.

The selected startups are Mediakits.Io, WePlay Arcade, GoPay, FlexPay, QuePay, Leta.AI, Oye, DigiTax, Incourage Insurance Agency Limited and StockApp

The program combines training, mentorship, funding, and go-to-market support across two tracks; Ihub-led track and corporate engagement track. The former is a structured curriculum including expert-led workshops, advisory sessions, and mentorship while the latter is about access to Safaricom and M-PESA Africa’s commercial and technical teams.

The selected startups operate in different sectors including embedded finance, creative economy, future fintech, and SME productivity tools.

“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. We have broadened our scope of support to early-stage startups that fit the criteria, to include technology and product development support, access to market and access to capital,” said Dr Peter Ndegwa, CEO, Safaricom.

The startups will go through a 3-month acceleration program that will culminate in a high-impact investor Demo Day in February 2026, where the startups will pitch to leading venture capital funds and potential investors. They will then go on to receive nine to twelve months, post-acceleration support.

The Spark Accelerator is a corporate accelerator powered by a strategic partnership between Safaricom, M-PESA Africa, and Sumitomo Corporation, implemented by iHUB, with support from Vodacom, PwC, and AWS.

On the other hand, Ojoma Ochai, Managing Director iHUB and Co-creation HUB, said that Africa’s innovation and creative ecosystems need financing models that go beyond the current traditional financing sources.

“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. The commitment of Safaricom, M-PESA Africa, Sumitomo, AWS, and PwC makes this vision possible, and we are proud to work together to shape Africa’s innovation and creative future,” Ojoma Ochai said.