Accelerating Emerging African Businesses in Sports and Creative Fields: NBA Africa's 2025 Triple-Double Program for Early-stage Startups
The NBA Africa Triple-Double Accelerator 2025 is an exciting initiative aimed at empowering early-stage African startups in the sports and creative sectors. This programme, a collaboration between NBA Africa, ALX Ventures, and ServiceNow, offers a unique opportunity for startups to grow and thrive.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for the NBA Africa Triple-Double Accelerator 2025, startups must be headquartered in Africa, less than two years old, and operating within the sports or creative industries. They must also offer a tech-enabled solution with a clear market value, have a proof-of-concept prototype, and at least two full-time co-founders. Preferably, these startups should be registered as a company. Non-tech enabled startups and those that are late-stage with significant capital raised will not be considered. Additionally, startups that have participated in more than two similar programs in the past 12 months will not be eligible.
Benefits
The NBA Africa Triple-Double Accelerator 2025 provides a host of benefits to the selected startups. Participants will take part in a 10-week mentorship program, receiving guidance from NBA Africa, ALX Ventures, ServiceNow leadership, and other experts. The top 5 winners will receive up to $50,000 in cash and value-in-kind benefits.
The programme also offers business coaching and advisory focusing on product development, sales, fundraising, and growth strategies. Startups will gain brand visibility within the NBA and ALX ecosystems, attend masterclasses on AI, product development, sales, fundraising, and related topics, and participate in pitch refinement sessions, networking with alumni, investors, and clients. Each startup will receive a personalized roadmap for product, revenue, or investor objectives.
The programme culminates in an in-person event in a major African city, where startups pitch at the Demo Day. This is an opportunity for PR and spotlight, as the top five winners are selected.
Application Process
Interested startups can apply through the official portal, with the deadline for applications being August 29, 2025. Applicants are required to submit their startup's story, traction, business model, impact, pitch deck, and demo (if applicable). From all applications, 10 startups are shortlisted for the accelerator program.
The NBA Africa Triple-Double Accelerator 2025 aims to foster innovation and growth among African entrepreneurs, offering a significant opportunity for African startups in sports and creative sectors to advance with crucial mentorship, funding, and exposure provided by a global sports brand in partnership with technology and venture leaders.
[1]: For more information and to apply, visit the official portal. [2]: NBA Africa Press Release [3]: ALX Ventures Press Release [4]: ServiceNow Press Release
- The NBA Africa Triple-Double Accelerator 2025 isn't only for sports startups; it also welcomes innovations from the creative sectors, such as technology-enabled education-and-self-development platforms or innovative business solutions that cater to this industry.
- In the spirit of holistic growth, startups selected for the NBA Africa Triple-Double Accelerator 2025 could potentially benefit from networking with professionals in diverse sectors, like finance, to gain insights on effective fundraising strategies and financial management, ensuring their businesses continue to thrive beyond the program.
