Startup Accelerators — Tier 1 to Tier 4
Top 40 ranked by accessibility to a Moroccan founder · Data as of July 2026
No relocation Regional trip Europe or UK stay Long stay, hard visa US relocation
Tier 1 — Open doorCold applications get read, geography survivable
| # | Programme | Category | Terms | Relocation | Why it sits here |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 500 Global | Generalist | $150k for 6% | None | Runs an accelerator programme in Casablanca and MENA cohorts out of Riyadh — the only name here that operates inside Morocco. Open application, sector-agnostic, and used to reading founders from markets other investors skip. Check the fee: some MENA growth programmes charge for phase one. |
| 2 | Techstars | Generalist | $220k for 5%+ | Regional trip | A Riyadh programme puts a top-tier accelerator inside the region, so Gulf entry replaces a US visa. Open application, no introduction needed, and a dozen other cities to choose from. The remote 'Anywhere' track is restricted to North American time zones. |
| 3 | Google for Startups | Equity-free | Up to $100k + $350k credits | None | No equity, no relocation, and dedicated Africa and MENA cohorts. Cloud credits are the real payload. Thinnest capital on the list and by far the lowest cost of being wrong. |
| 4 | Plug and Play | Equity-free | Optional $100k–$150k SAFE | Regional trip | Hubs across the Gulf and North Africa, entry without giving up equity, and corporate introductions as the actual product. Light on cash, wide on doors. |
| 5 | Startup Wise Guys | Generalist | €65k + up to €300k follow-on | Europe / UK | Built for founders from outside the funding centres and routinely takes non-EU teams. Estonian e-Residency turns incorporating there into paperwork rather than a move. |
| 6 | Antler Europe | Day-zero | €100k for 10% + stipend | Europe / UK | States openly that it accepts applicants from any country, and takes individuals as well as formed teams. A Schengen visa and a ten-week residency is the price. Its Nairobi programme is an easier entry on comparable terms. |
| 7 | Z Fellows | Fellowship | $10k, one week at $1B cap | None | One week, remote, and an application you can finish in an evening. The cheapest foothold in a Silicon Valley network that exists. |
| 8 | Soma Capital | Fellowship | $100k | None | Remote, global, and one of the few that actively seeks founders from outside the usual geographies. Cold applications genuinely get read. |
| 9 | Y Combinator | Generalist | $500k ($125k/7% + $375k) | US relocation | Accepts founders from every country and funds companies incorporated anywhere, so the application really is open. Then it asks for three months in San Francisco — YC itself has said visa refusals keep international founders out. Roughly one applicant in a hundred gets in. Free to try. |
| 10 | Seedcamp | Generalist | $350k–$1M, flexible | Europe / UK | Backs founders across Europe and its edges on genuinely flexible terms. Expects a European or UK holding company, so budget for a restructure before money moves. |
Tier 2 — ReachableOpen, but travel, entity or thesis costs you something
| # | Programme | Category | Terms | Relocation | Why it sits here |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | EWOR | Fellowship | Up to €500k | Regional trip | Remote-first and assesses the founder ahead of the company, so no network is needed to get in front of them. Selection is severe, but the door is unlocked. |
| 12 | Berkeley SkyDeck | University | $200k | Long stay | Unusually welcoming to international teams and has run hybrid and global tracks, though the core programme still points at Berkeley. |
| 13 | Alchemist | B2B SaaS | ~$30k SAFE for ~5% | Regional trip | One of the most remote-tolerant American programmes. Enterprise revenue is a hard condition of the thesis, which is what narrows it rather than geography. |
| 14 | LAUNCH | Generalist | $125k for 6% | Long stay | Open application and a broad thesis, but San Francisco is the centre of gravity and the cheque is small for the equity taken. |
| 15 | Entrepreneurs First | Fellowship | Up to $250k for ~9% | Long stay | Selects individuals and then forms teams — an advantage with no co-founder, a conflict if you already have one. Requires moving to London, Paris or Bangalore. |
| 16 | Antler US | Day-zero | $200k–$250k for 8–9% | US relocation | The same programme with the worst possible visa path. Apply to a European or African Antler location and take identical terms. |
| 17 | Thiel Fellowship | Fellowship | $250k over 2 years, no equity | Long stay | Open to anyone in the world, takes no equity, and is one of the rare programmes where your passport is irrelevant to selection. Hard cap at 22 and under, and it expects you to leave university. |
| 18 | Bethnal Green Ventures | Impact | £60k for 7% | Europe / UK | A small cheque, but an impact thesis travels unusually well from an emerging market. Needs a UK entity. |
| 19 | gener8tor | Generalist | $100k for 7.5% | Long stay | Tied to specific American cities and their local ecosystems, which is simultaneously most of the value and most of the barrier. |
| 20 | Forum Ventures | B2B SaaS | $100k for 7.5% | Long stay | Narrow thesis with a North American customer base assumed throughout the programme. |
| 21 | ERA | Generalist | $150k for 6% + $320k credits | Long stay | Strong corporate network, but the whole model is built around being physically in New York for the cohort. |
| 22 | Boost VC | Crypto | $500k for 15% | Long stay | Takes unusual bets on unusual founders, which cuts in your favour. Fifteen percent is the heaviest dilution on this list at this stage. |
| 23 | SOSV / HAX | Deeptech | $250k for ~7% | US relocation | A genuinely international intake and one of the few programmes indifferent to where you're from — but hardware only, and a long relocation to Newark or Asia. |
| 24 | a16z Speedrun | AI | $500k for 10% + $500k | Long stay | Open application with no introduction required, which is rare at this altitude. The technical bar is set at elite AI and games teams, so depth is the issue, not width. |
| 25 | HSG START | University | CHF 200k for 4–10% | Long stay | Anchored to the St. Gallen ecosystem and difficult to enter without an existing Swiss connection. |
Tier 3 — UphillPossible on paper, improbable in practice
| # | Programme | Category | Terms | Relocation | Why it sits here |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | Founders, Inc. | Generalist | $100k–$250k for 4–7% | US relocation | The value is the building and the people inside it. Participating remotely defeats the entire point of applying. |
| 27 | Heartfelt VC | Generalist | Up to €500k | Long stay | Small and relationship-driven. Expect to need a referral before the form means anything. |
| 28 | Founders Fellowship | Fellowship | $150k for 5–10% | US relocation | Open in name, network-selected in practice, and oriented to founders already inside the American ecosystem. |
| 29 | SOSV NY & SF (ex-IndieBio) | Biotech | Up to $525k | US relocation | Requires wet-lab work in New York or San Francisco. Sector-bound before anything else is considered. |
| 30 | Betaworks AI Camp | AI | Up to $500k for 5% | US relocation | Very small themed cohorts run out of New York, drawn from a tight orbit of AI builders. |
| 31 | AI2 Incubator | AI | Up to $600k for ~7% | US relocation | Designed for machine-learning researchers leaving labs, and based in Seattle. A specific profile, not a general one. |
| 32 | PearX | Deeptech | $250k–$2M SAFE | US relocation | Expects you present in the Bay Area for the duration, with partner time as the core offering. |
| 33 | The Mint | Fintech | $500k for 10% | US relocation | Narrow thesis, small network, and no obvious cold route in from outside the US. |
Tier 4 — GatedSelection runs through a network you'd build first
| # | Programme | Category | Terms | Relocation | Why it sits here |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | Sequoia Arc | Generalist | $1M for ~10% | US relocation | Nominally an open application, effectively sourced through Sequoia's own network and existing portfolio. |
| 35 | South Park Commons | Day-zero | $400k for 7% + $600k | US relocation | You join the community first and the fund second, and membership assumes you're already in San Francisco or New York. |
| 36 | HF0 Residency | Fellowship | $1M uncapped for 5% | US relocation | A live-in residency in San Francisco, weighted heavily towards founders with an exit already behind them. |
| 37 | NEO Residency | Fellowship | $750k uncapped SAFE | US relocation | Recruited out of American computer-science programmes and student communities. |
| 38 | Conviction Embed | AI | $150k uncapped MFN SAFE | US relocation | For researchers and engineers already building at the frontier, sourced through the fund's own network. |
| 39 | Greylock Edge | AI | Custom SAFE + $500k credits | US relocation | A Greylock relationship is the entry ticket. Everything else follows from that. |
| 40 | Afore Capital | Pre-seed fund | $500k–$2M SAFE | US relocation | A fund rather than a programme, and it invests behind companies selling into the US market. |