Yango Group concluded its Pan‑African Yango Fellowship 2026 with a two‑day graduation and pitch day in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, where 24 fellows from Ghana, Zambia, Senegal, Ethiopia, Mozambique and Côte d’Ivoire presented the tech solutions they had built over a 12‑week course.
Selected from more than 600 applicants, the cohort worked in mixed‑country teams through stages of problem framing, research, solution design, business modelling, prototyping and final pitching. The resulting projects covered cashless payments for informal transport, digital financial identity for informal merchants, medicine supply visibility for community health workers, cross‑border job matching, smart waste collection and recycling, and low‑cost water‑quality testing for rural communities.
During the closing programme, fellows attended a session on AI for impact with Celina Lee, co‑founder of Zindi, and received hands‑on public‑speaking and pitch coaching. They also met Yango Group leaders from several African markets to discuss career growth, entrepreneurship and building technology businesses in local contexts.
On pitch day, six team projects and selected individual projects were presented to a jury of technology, investment and industry experts. The event ended with an awards ceremony, with a total prize fund of USD 12,000 recognising the strongest team and individual projects. Africoded took the top group prize of USD 4,500 for its AI‑assisted platform connecting African job seekers with cross‑border employment, remote work and career‑development opportunities across the continent. Harambee placed second, receiving USD 2,500 for a smart waste collection and recycling platform, while Bloom took third place and USD 1,500 for its African Transit Payment Revolution, a cashless fare‑collection system designed for informal public transport across East and West Africa.
In the individual category, Fredrick Mwepu of Zambia won the USD 1,500 Best Individual Project award for RoboCore Zambia, a locally developed robotics platform designed to make practical STEM education more accessible and affordable. Ghana’s Meshack Kwame Nartey received the USD 1,000 runner‑up prize for Shuttle Smart Ghana, an app that tracks university shuttles and gives students real‑time information on their arrival. Oulimata Rose Dia received the USD 1,000 Best Technical/AI Contribution award for Smart Bin Collection, a solar‑powered system that monitors bin fill levels in real time and uses 2G connectivity to support more efficient waste collection.
Shashi Singh, Director of Operations, Yango Ride MEA & Asia, said the programme “doesn’t tell you Africa lacks talent, it tells you how much talent is waiting for structured access to mentorship and opportunity.” Mwepu reflected that RoboCore Zambia “exists to close the gap” in hands‑on STEM tools, adding it was an experience he will never forget.
The Fellowship reflects Yango Group’s belief that digital growth depends on people, not just infrastructure. By investing in local talent, Yango aims to build technology that fits diverse African markets and strengthen the continent’s wider tech ecosystem.
Yango Group operates across 30+ countries worldwide, transforming globally sourced technologies into everyday services tailored to local communities. For more information, contact [email protected].
