Deep Tech Reports and Findings: Government Officials

Welcome to your course on Deep Tech Reports and Findings!

This course is designed for government officials and policymakers who must read the deep tech evidence and turn it into strategic support for local startups. Most deep tech strategies fail not because the underlying science was weak, but because the reports guiding them were read uncritically: a glossy deck was mistaken for proof, a single pilot was scaled too fast, and confident conclusions were taken at face value. A disciplined approach to deep tech reporting flips that around. It treats every report as evidence to be weighed, matches the intervention to local strengths and real needs, and translates technical findings into the clear options decision-makers can actually act on, grounded in African examples such as the Senegal and Tunisia Startup Acts.

The curriculum opens with tech-driven entrepreneurship, what deep tech is and why building a venture on it is a distinct undertaking, then maps the African startup ecosystem and six strategic interventions you can lead to close the gaps that hold startups back. You will then unpack the Startup Act, its goal and six policy areas, compared across the Senegal and Tunisia cases, before working through four guidelines for implementing an Act as a localised, working instrument in your own context.

By mastering these concepts, you will be equipped to weigh deep tech evidence with a critical eye, choose interventions that fit your local landscape, and design a credible plan to support deep tech startups and a stronger Startup Act, in your own region.

Learning Outcomes

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

• Explain what deep tech is, the technologies that power it, and why tech-driven entrepreneurship is a distinct kind of venture in Africa.
• Identify the gaps that hold African deep tech startups back and the six strategic interventions a government can lead to address them.
• Analyse the goal and six policy areas of a Startup Act, comparing how the Senegal and Tunisia cases approach each one.
• Apply four practical guidelines to turn a Startup Act into a localised, working instrument for your own ecosystem.

Who is this course for?

This course is designed for government officials, policymakers, and public sector managers across Africa. It is highly beneficial for individuals who are:

• Responsible for innovation, science and technology, or startup and entrepreneurship policy.
• Commissioning, reading, or acting on deep tech reports and research findings to guide public investment.
• Drafting, refining, or implementing a Startup Act or related support for local deep tech ventures.