Meta has selected 12 startups from Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal, and South Africa as winners of its Llama Impact Accelerator 2025, awarding 200,000 dollars in grants. The cohort showcases founders using Meta’s open source Llama language models to solve local problems in health, education, agriculture, and public services. The announcement marks the close of a focused six week sprint that pushed teams to turn AI prototypes into deployment ready products.
Llama Impact Accelerator Overview
The program drew more than 1,400 applications across the four countries, from which 40 startups were chosen for the intensive accelerator. Over six weeks, founders worked with Meta engineers, AI practitioners, and investors to refine business models, sharpen impact stories, and integrate Llama into their technology stacks. Demo Days in each market produced three national winners, with first, second, and third places receiving 25,000, 15,000, and 10,000 dollars respectively.
Nigerian Winners
In Nigeria, top ranked MARMAR is building an AI native electronic medical record and mobile platform that targets medication errors in hospitals and homes. Second place Purple Labs is developing MediSync, a diagnostic assistant that uses AI to support clinicians and improve decisions at the point of care. DAWN AI Study, which placed third, offers an inclusive learning platform that uses AI for early assessment and emotional and cognitive support in classrooms.
Kenyan Winners
In Kenya, first place winner DPE focuses on localized AI public health messaging that adapts campaigns to community languages, behaviors, and trusted channels. Esheria Ventures, which took second place, is creating a multilingual digital paralegal that broadens access to affordable legal information and basic guidance. Third placed Neural Labs Africa applies AI to radiology and teleradiology, helping facilities without specialists close critical diagnostic gaps.
Senegalese Winners
In Senegal, Kajou secured the top prize with kSANTE, an offline AI e learning platform for community health workers in low connectivity settings. SamaCoach, which finished second, uses AI to design personalized fitness and wellness programs that promote preventive health among a wider population. Third place LOOKA Research runs an AI powered market intelligence platform that organizes fragmented African data into usable insights for companies and institutions.
South African Winners
In South Africa, eFama won first place for an AI enabled marketplace that connects small scale farmers directly with buyers and improves pricing transparency. CatalyzU, the second prize startup, uses AI to align workforce skills and corporate training with company performance targets, giving employers clearer visibility on talent gaps. Four Minute Medicine, which came third, combines microlearning content and AI simulations to train healthcare professionals and reduce preventable medical errors.
Support, Partnerships, and Global Stage
Meta’s director for public policy in Sub Saharan Africa, Balkissa Ide Siddo, has positioned the accelerator as a template for collaboration between technology firms, national ministries, and innovation agencies. Partners such as Nigeria’s National Information Technology Development Agency helped recruit startups and align the curriculum with national digital priorities and service delivery gaps. All 40 cohort companies will receive six months of post program support, while first place winners MARMAR, DPE, Kajou, and eFama also secure a chance to pitch for up to 100,000 additional dollars at AI Summit 2025 in Dubai.
By pairing open models, targeted mentorship, and early stage capital, the Llama Impact Accelerator is building a pipeline of African AI products designed for real world conditions. The 12 winning startups show how generative AI can be redirected toward specific operational issues, from medication safety and legal access to farmer incomes and public health communication. As these ventures move from pilots to scale with Meta’s backing, they will test whether open platforms can meaningfully transform service delivery in some of the continent’s most under resourced systems.