African startups looking to expand beyond their home markets now have a new pathway to access customers, investors, industry partners and market expertise, following the launch of GRID 01 in Lagos.
The initiative, a collaboration between AXON Accelerator Limited and the Talal and Madiha Zein AUB Innovation Park (AUB iPark) of the American University of Beirut, was officially launched in Lagos on September 1, 2026.
GRID 01 is designed to address one of the major challenges facing African startups: moving from having a promising solution to successfully entering and operating in a new market.
Rather than offering founders support from a distance, the initiative combines AUB iPark’s venture-building programmes and international ecosystem with AXON’s local knowledge, business networks and on-the-ground support in Nigeria.
Nigeria is the first market in AXON’s wider Africa mandate, with plans to extend the model to additional African markets.
For many startups, international expansion can be difficult not because the product lacks potential, but because founders may not understand the new market, know the right people or have access to customers, partners and investors.
GRID 01 is designed to help close that gap.
Participating ventures can receive market-entry and commercialisation support, local mentorship, introductions to potential customers and corporate partners, access to investor networks and guidance on the practical realities of establishing operations in Nigeria.
Rabie Jarmakani, CEO and Founder of AXON Accelerator Limited, said the initiative would focus on helping startups move beyond theory and gain access to real businesses and markets.
According to Jarmakani, AXON brings decades of operating experience in Nigeria and intends to use its business relationships to help founders test and scale their solutions in the market.
“We can offer real-life experience, not theoretical experience,” he said, explaining that AXON would connect startups with businesses and B2B opportunities in Nigeria.
Jarmakani added that AXON is also exploring the creation of a dedicated investment fund to support Nigerian and other African startups alongside its accelerator activities.
The decision to begin GRID 01 in Nigeria reflects the country’s importance within Africa’s startup ecosystem.
Maha Zouwayhed, Director of Zein AUB Innovation Park and Digital Accessibility at AUB, said Nigeria was selected because of the scale and activity of its startup ecosystem, with Lagos representing a particularly significant centre of entrepreneurial activity.
She explained that the ambition is to create a bridge through which founders can move between ecosystems, gaining access to markets, capital and strategic industry relationships.
“We will grow startups from all over Africa through this hub to connect with key markets, key capital and key industry partners,” Zouwayhed said.
The initiative is therefore intended to work in both directions: helping startups from other markets enter Nigeria while creating opportunities for African ventures to access international networks beyond their home countries.
GRID 01 is launching with entrepreneurs supported through the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program Entrepreneurship Fund at AUB, including ventures from Africa and Lebanon.
The programme is built around direct engagement with the market.
Founders participating in the Lagos activation are expected to interact with Nigerian investors, entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, mentors and ecosystem partners through market-entry sessions, advisory engagements, introductions and meetings.
The model is deliberately practical: founders test assumptions, learn from the market, build relationships and identify opportunities that can support their next stage of growth.
Raya Kalash, Associate Director of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at AUB, said the initiative reflects the growing need to move beyond traditional employment pathways and invest in entrepreneurship, skills, finance, networks and market access.
She linked the programme to the Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy, which seeks to enable 30 million young Africans, particularly young women, to access dignified and fulfilling work by 2030.
The launch of GRID 01 comes at a time when African startups are increasingly looking beyond their domestic markets for customers, capital and strategic partnerships.
Yet the continent’s startup ecosystems remain fragmented, making cross-border expansion challenging for founders who lack local networks and market knowledge.
GRID 01 seeks to make those connections more accessible by bringing international venture-building expertise together with people and organisations operating within local markets.
The collaboration also positions Lagos as more than a destination for investment. It presents the city as a potential launchpad through which founders can test products, build commercial relationships and access wider African markets.
For AXON and AUB iPark, the immediate priority is execution: working directly with founders, understanding what they need to enter new markets successfully and using those lessons to strengthen the model as GRID expands.
As the initiative develops beyond Nigeria, its broader ambition is to create stronger connections between African entrepreneurs and innovation ecosystems across Africa, the Middle East and other global markets.
GRID 01 is ultimately built around a simple idea: great African startups should not be limited by the borders of the market in which they began.
By connecting founders to the people, knowledge, customers, capital and partnerships they need to expand, the initiative aims to make cross-border growth a more practical possibility for the next generation of African businesses.
