Software company Microsoft has partnered with three African incubators in a bid to accelerate innovation on the continent.

The incubators are Co-creation Hub (CcHUB) in Nigeria, the Dar Teknohama Business Incubator (DTBi) in Tanzania and AfriLabs.

The CcHUB is Nigeria’s first innovation lab and pre-incubation space designed to catalyse creative social technology ventures.

The DTBi is a registered and autonomous entity established by the Tanzanian commission for science and technology to promote ICT innovation and entrepreneurship.

Meanwhile, AfriLabs is a network organisation that connects incubator hubs across the continent, in order to promote growth and development of the African technology sector.

According to a statement, the partnership, which is planned to run under Microsoft’s 4Afrika Initiative, is expected enable startups, innovators and Africa’s developer community to grow their skills and build businesses with Microsoft technologies.

Mteto Nyati, vice chair of the 4Afrika Advisory Council and managing director of Microsoft South Africa said, “Microsoft sees boundless potential in African youth, developers and entrepreneurs, and we view the collaborative efforts with these innovation hubs across the continent as strategic and crucial opportunities for us to extend our support to their ecosystems.”

“Through the 4Afrika Initiative, we are deeply committed to helping accelerate African innovation, and we hope these efforts will help us reach more people who are looking to turn their great ideas into a reality that can empower their community, their country and Africa at large,” said Nyati.

Microsoft’s 4Afrika Initiative was launched earlier this year and is designed to help Africa improve its global competitiveness.

The Initiative plans to place millions of smart devices in the hands of African youth, bring African small and medium-size enterprises online and upskill members of Africa’s existing workforce by 2016.