Antler Bets On Untested Startups, Selects 24 Founders In Inaugural Nigeria Accelerator

Antler, the global venture capital firm that invests in early-stage companies, has launched its first accelerator program in Nigeria, selecting 24 founders from a record 7,850 applications.

The inaugural cohort features an eight-week in-person program in Lagos that is designed to build startups from the ground up, backing founders with the lived experience of the problems they aim to solve.

The inaugural cohort features operators from fintech, artificial intelligence, food security, and edtech sectors, where local context is seen as a competitive edge with global potential.

While it looks like the average accelerator, Antler’s model stands apart from traditional accelerators, which often look for fully formed startups, polished products, or detailed pitch decks.

For the Nigeria program, Antler is focusing on “founder–problem fit” and cognitive diversity over formal credentials. Founders do not need an existing company or co-founder to apply; instead, the program values a mix of technical and commercial expertise, as well as the ability to execute under pressure.

From week one, participants work on validating ideas, pressure-testing assumptions, and defining real pain points. By the halfway mark, founders without partners are matched with co-founders based on complementary skills and personal chemistry.

According to Partner Lola Masha, this model helps identify what she calls “battle-tested operators” who bring domain expertise from sectors like fintech, artificial intelligence, food security, and edtech. “These aren’t outsiders theorising African problems,” she said. “They’ve lived them. And that gives them a sharp edge in execution.”

At the end of the sprint, the top-performing teams, the ones showing the clearest signs of execution and product–market fit, will receive USD 100 K in pre-seed funding in exchange for 10% equity, with the potential for follow-on investment available through to Series C.

In addition to equity investments, Antler plans to offer debt financing to portfolio companies entering capital-intensive growth phases, enabling them to secure working capital without early ownership dilution. Atmaramani said this flexible approach is part of helping founders think strategically about their capital stack in markets where traditional bank lending is limited and early-stage equity is scarce.

The launch marks a significant step in Antler’s expansion into Africa under the leadership of Anil Atmaramani, who became a partner for Africa in 2024. Atmaramani has emphasised Nigeria’s depth of entrepreneurial talent, noting that the firm is looking for disciplined, resilient founders capable of rapid execution in high-pressure environments.

Lagos, he said, offers both opportunity and risk: it is Nigeria’s startup hub, home to 73% of the country’s 605 startups, which have raised over USD 261 M in funding as of 2025, but it is also a market where “one misstep and it’s over.”

The Lagos launch adds Nigeria to Antler’s global footprint, which spans over 30 countries, including previous programs in Nairobi, Singapore, London, and New York. This global network is set to give African founders direct access to international capital pools, experienced mentors, and cross-border partnership opportunities. It will also offer exposure to markets and investors that many early-stage African startups struggle to reach.

For Antler, the decision to invest at what it calls “day zero”, before an MVP, before a brand name, and long before traction metrics, is both bold and risky. The firm says that this is where its global experience is most valuable: spotting talent before the rest of the market does. If the model works in Nigeria as it has in other countries, the first Lagos cohort could produce startups capable of scaling not only across Africa, but into global markets.

Whether that bet pays off will be seen in the ventures that emerge from the next eight weeks.

Applications are now open for the second Nigerian cohort as well as the upcoming Kenyan program.