Accelerate36, a collaborative initiative aimed at strengthening Namibia’s startup ecosystem and create a pathway for high-growth startups to access public capital markets, has been launched in Windhoek.
A multi-partner initiative, Accelerate36 aims to help Namibia unlock economic growth by developing a pipeline of scalable startups and enabling their listing on the Development Capital Board (DevX) of the Namibia Securities Exchange (NSX).
The initiative proposes a structured pathway that supports startups from validation and growth through to listing and eventual graduation to the NSX main board. By building this pathway, the pool of investable companies in Namibia will greatly expand, creating new opportunities for entrepreneurs, investors and institutional capital.
As part of the event, three Namibian startups – Yyeni, PatientCare, and Mindsinaction – pitched their ventures. The startups span key sectors including AI-driven education technology, digital healthcare access, and STE[A]M skills development.
The initiative is being advanced through collaboration between ecosystem partners led by South African accelerator Grindstone, co-owned by Knife Capital and Thinkroom.
“This initiative could be the forerunner of robust liquidity in otherwise scarce funding landscapes” said Catherine Young, managing partner of Grindstone. “Namibia could own a pioneering status in Africa for development exchanges. The time to act is now.”
