NEC Launches "Africa Corporate Innovation Program" Accelerating Business Through Co-Creation with African Startups

NEC announced that it has launched an initiative to strengthen collaboration with African startups and address social challenges such as agriculture and food security. The newly established "Africa Corporate Innovation Program" is in addition to NEC’s existing global startup accelerator, the "NEC Innovation Challenge", and is designed to further strengthen partnerships with startups. The program will be jointly designed and implemented by the UK-based Shell Foundation charity and the Double Feather Partners venture capital firm.

NEC has been working to achieve sustainable agriculture and stronger food security in Africa by combining its advanced technological capabilities with practical insights gained from global business operations, including the provision of data-driven farming solutions.

NEC has hosted the NEC Innovation Challenge since 2022 to promote co-creation with global startups. In 2024 and 2025, NEC also participated in Project NINJA for building startup ecosystems for innovation creation in developing countries, led by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, further advancing open innovation globally.

Building on these initiatives, NEC began implementing the Africa Corporate Innovation Program this April in collaboration with Shell Foundation, the UK registered charity empowering underserved customers to raise their incomes while lowering emissions with funding by the UK Government via the Research on Infrastructure in Developing Economies program and DFP, which has strong capabilities in local co-creation design and business scaling support in Africa.

Through this program, startups capable of addressing key challenges in Africa will be selected and will collaborate with NEC and partners to conduct proof-of-concept demonstration projects that leverage the strengths of each party. Based on the outcomes of these projects, the initiative will also explore mid- to long-term business development and strategic partnerships, aiming to establish sustainable co-creation models.

Source: NEC media announcement