The Deep Tech Revolution in Africa

Welcome to your course on The Deep Tech Revolution in Africa!

This course is designed for policymakers and ecosystem builders who want to grow a thriving deep tech startup ecosystem across Africa. Most deep tech ambitions stall not because the continent lacks talent or ideas, but because the support around the founders is missing: funding is short and impatient, advanced skills are scarce, R&D facilities are out of reach, and the rules and markets keep small ventures locked out. A clear-eyed approach to the ecosystem flips that around. It maps who the stakeholders are and how they depend on one another, targets the specific gaps that hold ventures back, and matches support to local strengths and real needs rather than to global hype, grounded in the Intel, AfriLabs and Briter Bridges study of African deep tech.

The curriculum opens with the deep tech ecosystem and its stakeholders, what deep tech means in Africa and why entrepreneurs, support organisations and investors depend on one another, then sets out the benefits and seven documented challenges of deep tech across agriculture, health, energy, finance, education and jobs. You will then work through the six focus areas of support that local ventures need, from skills and R&D to funding, collaboration, government support and market access, before examining the criteria investors apply before they commit capital and how to help founders prepare for them.

By mastering these concepts, you will be equipped to read your local deep tech ecosystem with a critical eye, target the support that would unlock the most for founders, and design a credible plan to strengthen one focus area in your own region.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Explain what deep tech means in Africa, its three core stakeholder groups, and why they depend on one another.
• Assess the benefits of deep tech across six sectors and the seven documented challenges that hold African ventures back.
• Connect the six focus areas of support to the challenges they address, from skills and R&D to funding and market access.
• Apply the criteria investors use to advise local founders and design targeted support for one focus area in your own ecosystem.

Who is this course for?

This course is designed for policymakers, ecosystem builders, and innovation managers across Africa. It is highly beneficial for individuals who are:

• Responsible for innovation, science and technology, or startup and entrepreneurship policy.
• Running an incubator, hub, or support organisation for local deep tech ventures.
• Designing funding, skills, or market-access programmes to strengthen a local deep tech ecosystem.