Africa Next AI Fellowship Program
Empowering Africa’s Innovators, Engineers and Researchers to Build Homegrown AI Solutions
About
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is redefining the global economy, governance systems, and societies. Yet, Africa remains largely a consumer rather than a creator of AI technologies. The continent faces challenges of limited computing power, underrepresentation in global language models, and dependency on external infrastructures. Without deliberate action, Africa risks being left behind in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Africa also has the world’s youngest population, with over 60% under the age of 25. Yet, their voices are often underrepresented in global policy, innovation design and development discussions.
The AfricaNext AI Fellowship anchored in the Africa Next Forum @ UNGA, both initiatives of Rise Networks, responds to this gap by identifying, empowering, and connecting young African innovators and policymakers to build homegrown AI solutions. By embedding Africa’s languages, cultures, and priorities into AI systems, the Fellowship will strengthen digital sovereignty, drive inclusive development, and position Africa as a global leader in AI innovation and governance.
The Africa Next AI Fellowship, which will ensure that Africa’s talent is recognized, resourced, and represented at the world’s highest levels is the year-round heartbeat of Africa Next Forum @ UNGA, ensuring the event creates real impact beyond one week in New York.
Mission
To build a prestigious pipeline of African AI leaders and innovators who will develop scalable, culturally relevant, and sustainable solutions for Africa’s growth, governance, and global influence.
Objectives
Identify and empower young African innovators to create AI solutions addressing local challenges across health, education, agriculture, fintech, climate, and governance.
Build Africa’s capacity to compute, strengthening infrastructure and reducing reliance on external systems.
Develop local language integration into LLMs (Large Language Models) to embed Africa’s linguistic and cultural richness into global AI ecosystems.
Equip Fellows with leadership, policy, and innovation skills to translate research into scalable solutions and global policies.
Connect Fellows with mentors, investors, and policymakers to drive sustainable growth and partnerships.
Core Components
- Leadership Labs, Training & Capacity Building: Technical AI development, product design, governance, ethics, and scaling solutions. Quarterly virtual training sessions on policy, entrepreneurship, innovation, diplomacy, and storytelling.
- Local Language AI Labs: Workshops dedicated to building and training LLMs on African languages and data.
- Policy & Governance Module: Equipping Fellows to influence policy on AI regulation, innovation ecosystems, and ethical deployment.
- Mentorship & Networking: Pairing fellows with African and global AI experts, policymakers, leaders and investors in business, governance, and creative industries for guidance and experience sharing.
- Innovation Showcase & UNGA Immersion: Fellows present prototypes, solutions, and policy recommendations at AfricaNextForum@UNGA and other global platforms. Fellows attend Africa Next Forum @ UNGA virtually to participate in high-level sessions and present their ideas on a global stage.
- Impact Projects: Fellows design, execute projects and present the outcomes of their projects in a dedicated session
Target Participants and Selection Criteria
- 18 – 40years old from early to mid-career innovators from across Africa working on AI, ML, NLP, data science, and governance.
- Entrepreneurs and researchers developing AI solutions in local sectors.
- Policymakers and civic-tech innovators bridging AI and governance. Innovators committed to scaling AI solutions with African relevance and global potential.
- Demonstrated commitment to Africa’s transformation and track record of leadership or innovation in governance, entrepreneurship, social impact, or creativity.
- Representation across all African regions + diaspora and gender-balanced, with at least 50% women.
Cohort Size (Year 1 and 2): 20 fellows → scaling to 50 by Year 3.
Expected Outcomes
- Africa’s first structured pipeline of AI Fellows trained to design and scale homegrown solutions.
- Development of African-led LLMs embedding local languages and contexts.
- Strengthened computing capacity and digital sovereignty for African countries.
- Tangible AI-driven innovations addressing SDGs in health, education, climate, and governance.
- Policy briefs and frameworks guiding African governments and multilateral partners on AI adoption.
- Global recognition of Africa as a driver of AI innovation, not just a consumer.
Strategic Importance
The AfricaNext AI Fellowship is not just a program; it is a continental movement to ensure Africa actively shapes the AI revolution. By combining innovation, governance, and global partnerships, it will anchor Africa’s role in policy influence, thought leadership, and sustainable development.
Sustainability & Continuity
The Fellowship will feed into the AfricaNextForum@UNGA, where Fellows’ solutions and policy recommendations will be showcased to Heads of State, UN agencies, investors, and global partners. This pipeline-to-platform model ensures continuity, visibility, and sustained impact. Alumni will form a growing AfricaNext AI Network to scale projects, influence policy, and mentor future cohorts.
Conclusion
The AfricaNext AI Fellowship will be Africa’s most prestigious and results-driven AI leadership program, empowering a new generation to build homegrown AI solutions, deepen local language integration into global LLMs, strengthen computing power, and position Africa as a leader in global AI innovation and governance.
