~60%
of Africa’s population is under 25, and the median age is around 19 — the youngest continent in the world.
Sources: Christian Daily · UNFPA
Don’t just learn business.Build one.
THE FOUNDERS™ is a practical business-building platform. We help people move from ideas to action, from ideas to real businesses, and from existing businesses to sustainable growth — by doing the work, not just studying it. Wherever you are starting from, you will find guidance prepared for your stage, so you can move directly to the support that fits you.
Applications are open for the March 2027 cohort. Learn by Building launches first; Startup Development and Growth follow in that sequence.
The interlocked U-N-D at the centre of our wordmark — three letters, locked together, like the three words below.
CREATE.OWN.GROW.
The challenge, in numbers
The Problem
Africa’s young people are entering working life in enormous numbers, but the formal economy is not creating work at anything like the same pace. Most work is informal, and the small businesses that carry the continent’s economy cannot get the finance they need to grow. The figures below are the challenge THE FOUNDERS™ was created to answer — each one linked to its published source.
10–12M
young Africans enter the labour market every year — while only about 3 million formal jobs are created annually (AfDB / ILO). That gap is the core problem THE FOUNDERS™ exists to answer.
Sources: ILO / AfDB · AfDB
85%+
of all employment in Africa is informal (ILO trade-policy brief). The ILO’s modelled regional total for 2024 is 83.1%. Two different measures of the same reality — most African work happens outside formal employment.
Sources: ILO brief, via High Street Journal · ILO regional profile (PDF)
>90%
of all businesses in Africa are small and medium-sized enterprises — the continent’s economy runs on small businesses.
Sources: Afreximbank via GTR · Nigeria Communications Week
US$300B
is the estimated SME financing gap per year (Afreximbank, 2025) — the distance between the businesses Africa has and the finance available to grow them.
How to read these numbers: each card names what the figure measures and who published it, with a clickable link to the source. Where definitions differ — informal employment, SME employment share, smartphone people vs connections — the figures are presented side by side with their definitions, exactly as researched. Figures are snapshots from their sources and dates, not live data.
Africa in Numbers — the figures behind the mission
There is an answer to these numbers
THE FOUNDERS™ was built as a practical response — developing founders who create work, not only look for it.
The answer
The Solution
THE FOUNDERS™ is the answer we are building: a practical program that teaches entrepreneurship by doing it. Participants work on real ideas and real businesses from the first day — testing them, talking to customers, and making real decisions — instead of studying business only in theory. The program is open to people starting without money, experience, connections, or a degree, and it develops the entrepreneur first, then the business.
First — the person
Learn by Building
Practical entrepreneurial skills, built by acting on your own idea — testing, talking to customers, and learning how building actually works.
Then — the venture
Startup Development
One idea developed properly: the market researched, demand validated, the model and costs worked out, and a practical plan prepared for launch.
Later — the business
Business Growth & Development
A business that is already operating, made stronger: strategy, marketing and sales, customers, operations, and growth it can sustain.
One journey, three stages — each phase has its own page, and the full program runs them in sequence over three months.
Learn by Building · Startup Development · Business Growth & Development
Start with Phase 1 — or find your stage
Applications are open for the March 2027 cohort. If you are not sure where you fit, Start Here asks one question and points you to the right phase.
Our purpose
Our Mission
Become a creator of opportunities — not only a seeker of them
Our mission is to empower people to create businesses, support entrepreneurs in building and growing sustainable ventures, and help reduce youth unemployment through practical learning, business resources, and community.
01 / START
Start where you are
No capital, experience, connections, or degree required to take the first practical step.
02 / ACT
Learn by acting
Skills are built by testing real ideas, talking to real customers, and solving real problems.
03 / BUILD
Build to last
Informed decisions and sustainable progress — businesses designed to keep operating and growing.
HONESTLY
We make no promises of guaranteed success, instant wealth, or effortless entrepreneurship. Building a business takes real work. What we offer is practical action, honest feedback, and structured support — the rest is built by you.
This is bigger than money. THE FOUNDERS™ exists to tackle unemployment and strengthen our economy by empowering people to stop waiting for opportunities and start creating them.
That principle runs through everything: how the program is structured, who can enter each phase, and how it is priced. See how the program works →
Where this leads
Our Vision
We see a generation of African founders who create businesses, jobs, and opportunity rather than only seeking them — building sustainable ventures that grow local economies and reduce youth unemployment.
That future is what this program is organised around. Every phase, every resource, and every part of the community exists to move more people from seeking opportunity to creating it — practically, honestly, and without promises that no one can keep.
Be part of that generation
Applications for the March 2027 cohort are open. Start where you are — the first step is practical, and it is yours to take.
Where are you in your journey?
Choose the one closest to you
Different stages need different support. Select the description closest to your situation today, and we will direct you to the service built for that stage and to the guidance prepared for it. Prefer one simple question instead? Start Here →
Your starting point
Still not sure any of these fit? Start Here — one question, five paths.
Who it is for
Six starting points — each with its own page
Wherever you are starting from, guidance has been prepared for your stage: who it speaks to, the next step to take, the service that fits, and the figures behind it. Select your starting point below.
Audience 01
Aspiring entrepreneurs
You want to start a business but don’t know where to begin.
Open your page → Audience 02People with business ideas
You have an idea and need to know whether it can work.
Open your page → Audience 03Students & graduates
You want entrepreneurial skills and opportunities you create yourself.
Open your page → Audience 04First-time founders
You are actively launching your first venture and need structure.
Open your page → Audience 05Existing business owners
You already operate a business and want it stronger and growing.
Open your page → Audience 06Opportunity creators
You are done waiting to be chosen — you want to create opportunities.
Open your page →Three core services
Three services. Three different jobs.
Each service exists for a different stage and a different job — developing the entrepreneur, developing the business, or growing the business that already exists. Each service is presented in full on its own page. THE FOUNDERS™ launches in sequence: Learn by Building first, then Startup Development, then Business Growth & Development. That sequence begins with the March 2027 cohort: applications are now open for Phase 1, for Phase 3 (businesses already operating), and for the full three-month program.
01
Idea to Action
Launching firstLearn by Building
Develops — the entrepreneur
A practical entrepreneurship learning program. From day one you work on your own business idea — testing assumptions, interviewing customers, solving problems, and getting feedback — so you learn entrepreneurship by actually experiencing the process of building.
Practical workshopsGuided exercisesCustomer interviewsTesting & feedback
Intended outcome
Practical entrepreneurial skills, and real experience of taking action on your own idea.
Explore Learn by Building → Apply for March 2027 → Register your interest for the first launch →02
Idea to Business
Following phase — after Learn by BuildingStartup Development
Develops — the business
Structured development of one specific idea into a viable, launch-ready venture: evaluate the opportunity, research the market, validate demand, define the business model, work out the costs, and prepare a practical plan for launch.
Market researchValidationBusiness modelBusiness planLaunch strategy
Intended outcome
A clearly defined opportunity, evidence on its viability, a structured business model, and a roadmap to launch.
Explore Startup Development → How to reach Phase 2 — start with Phase 1 →03
Business to Growth
Following phase — after Startup DevelopmentBusiness Growth & Development
Improves — the existing business
Support for businesses that are already operating: identify weaknesses, strengthen strategy, marketing and sales, win and keep customers, run more efficiently, and plan growth that the business can sustain.
Growth strategyMarketing & salesCustomer acquisitionOperationsSustainability
Intended outcome
A stronger business — clearer priorities, improved practices, and a practical plan for sustainable growth.
Explore Growth & Development → Apply for March 2027 — Phase 3 →One program. Three months. Three phases.
The three services run as one practical program — hybrid, in person in Kigali and online via Zoom — with a weekly Thursday-to-Sunday schedule, clear prices, and rules that keep every participant on the full journey. The first cohort runs in March 2027. See the months, the timetable, what the fee covers, and our honest word on startup costs.
Resources
Practical tools that support the work
Twelve resource categories — checklists, validation guides, planning templates, playbooks and more — each with its own page explaining what it covers. Resources support the three services; they never replace them.
Community
Build alongside other founders
The founder community is the ecosystem around the services — discussions, workshops, networking, founder stories and more, each with its own page. It supports the work; it is not a fourth service.
Ready to take the next step?
Learn by Building is the first service to launch. Tell us where you are in your journey and what you are working on — register your interest in the phase that fits you.
← Home/ Learn by Building
IDEA TO ACTIONLaunching first
Learn by Building
This service develops — the entrepreneur
A practical entrepreneurship learning program. Instead of relying only on theory, you work on your own business idea from day one — taking action, testing assumptions, solving problems, and receiving feedback. You learn entrepreneurship by experiencing the process of building.
Who it is for
People who want to learn how to build a business through experience — aspiring entrepreneurs who don’t know where to begin, students and graduates building entrepreneurial skills, and opportunity seekers who want to become opportunity creators.
You do not need money, experience, connections, or a degree to start. You need an idea you are willing to act on — or the willingness to explore until you find one.
The problem it answers
Most people stall between wanting to start and knowing how. Theory alone doesn’t close that gap: you can read about customers for months and still never have spoken to one.
Learn by Building closes the gap with practice — small, real actions on a real idea, with feedback on what you did and what to try next.
What it covers
- Practical entrepreneurship workshops built around doing, not just listening
- Guided business exercises applied directly to your own idea
- Business idea exploration — finding and shaping an idea worth testing
- Problem identification and developing a solution people need
- Customer interview practice — learning to ask, and to listen
- Testing assumptions and pricing before you spend real money
- Practical business challenges that move your idea forward each step
- Feedback and reflection — and a clear sense of your next step
Clear distinction
Learn by Building develops your ability as an entrepreneur. It is a learning program, not a guaranteed business-launch service: some participants will go on to launch, others will discover their idea needs to change — both are valuable outcomes of learning by building. When you are ready to develop one idea seriously into a venture, that is Startup Development.
INTENDED OUTCOME
Skills you have practised, not just studied
- Practical entrepreneurial skills built through experience
- Real action taken on your own business idea
- Assumptions tested against real customer responses
- The confidence and clarity to choose your next step
Phase 1 in the program — Month 1
- The focus: the entrepreneurship mindset — exploring challenges, developing solutions, and creating ideas. This is where every journey starts.
- Your sessions: Thursday morning and Friday morning, 4 hours each (2 hours content + 2 hours practical), plus the Sunday midday session all phases share — 12 hours a week in total.
- Month 1 deliverable: your idea, and a written problem/solution statement behind it.
- The gate: passing Phase 1 — attendance met, your written problem/solution statement, an idea brief, and a short idea pitch — is what unlocks Phase 2. There are no exceptions, and no payment can substitute for it.
- The price route: $500 for the full three-month program, or $200 for this phase on its own.
- The March 2027 cohort: Phase 1 runs as Month 1 of the first cohort, with up to 50 Phase 1 places in a 150-place cohort. Join in person in Kigali or online via Zoom — live sessions run on Kigali time. If Phase 1 needs repeating, the repeat is charged at the $200 phase fee.
Africa in numbers
Why learning by building matters in Africa
The youngest continent on earth is entering the world of work faster than formal jobs can be created. Learning to build is not an enrichment activity — it is a direct answer to these numbers.
~60%
of Africa’s population is under 25, and the median age is around 19.
Sources: Christian Daily · UNFPA
10–12M
young Africans enter the labour market every year — while only about 3 million formal jobs are created annually. The gap has to be closed by people who create work, not only seek it.
Sources: ILO / AfDB · AfDB
26%
of the world’s women-owned enterprises are in Africa — building is already happening everywhere; Learn by Building gives it structure and support.
Sources: Mastercard · Mastercard Index 2019
March 2027 — applications open: Learn by Building is Phase 1 and Month 1 of the first cohort, running in March 2027. Places are capped at 50 for this phase, within 150 across the cohort, and you can join in person in Kigali or online via Zoom, with live sessions on Kigali time. Fees are $500 for the full program or $200 for this phase, payable in USD or RWF. Apply for the March 2027 cohort — or register your interest below. The weekly schedule, prices and rules are set out in full on the Program page.
Start with your own idea
Register your interest in Learn by Building and tell us what you want to build.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
Applications for the March 2027 cohort are open, and Learn by Building is where the journey begins.
← Home/ Startup Development
IDEA TO BUSINESSFollowing phase — after Learn by Building
Startup Development
This service develops — the business
Structured support to turn one specific business idea into a viable, launch-ready venture. This is not general entrepreneurship education — it is the disciplined work of developing your actual business: the opportunity, the market, the model, the numbers, and the launch.
Who it is for
People who have a business idea and want structured guidance to turn it into a real venture — first-time founders preparing to launch, and anyone who needs to answer the hard questions before committing money and time: Does this solve a real problem? Who will pay for it? How will it operate?
The problem it answers
Most new businesses don’t fail from lack of effort — they fail because the idea was never properly tested, costed, or structured. Enthusiasm skips the evidence.
Startup Development replaces guessing with a process: gather evidence on viability, build the model on what you learn, and plan the launch before you spend on it.
What it covers
- Identifying and evaluating business opportunities
- Market and competitor research
- Understanding customer needs in depth
- Validating demand and testing business assumptions
- Defining the value proposition — why customers choose you
- Developing the business model — how the venture works and earns
- Estimating startup costs and financial requirements
- Preparing a business plan
- Developing a launch strategy
- Planning early business operations
Clear distinction
Startup Development is about the venture itself — one idea, developed properly — not general entrepreneurship education (that is Learn by Building). And it ends at launch readiness: once the business is operating and needs to perform better, that becomes Business Growth & Development.
INTENDED OUTCOME
A venture that is ready to launch — on evidence
- A clearly defined business opportunity
- Evidence gathered to assess its viability
- A structured business model and business plan
- A practical roadmap toward launch
Phase 2 in the program — Month 2
- The focus: putting Month 1 into practice — everything built there is now applied to one idea, developing it into a launch-ready venture you can begin work on immediately.
- Your sessions: Thursday afternoon and Saturday morning, 4 hours each (2 hours content + 2 hours practical), plus the Sunday midday session all phases share — 12 hours a week in total.
- Month 2 deliverable: applied launch work — the venture’s model, costs and launch plan worked out in practice, not on paper alone.
- The gate: Phase 2 admits no outside entrants. Only participants who have passed Phase 1 move into it, whatever their financial means — because the program accompanies each person through the whole journey, from the very first step.
- The price route: $500 for the full three-month program, or $200 for this phase on its own.
- Applying: there is no direct application route into Phase 2 — the March 2027 application form offers Phase 1, Phase 3 for operating businesses, and the full program only. Phase 2 is reached by starting at Phase 1 and passing it.
See the full program — schedule, prices & rules
No direct entry to Phase 2. Phase 2 is not open to direct applications — in the March 2027 cohort or any other. The way in is the whole journey: apply for Phase 1 or the full program, pass Phase 1, and progress. See the March 2027 application.
Startup costs — an honest word before Phase 2
Some programs promise that anyone can start a business with no money at all. We will not make that promise, because for most businesses it simply is not true: starting usually costs something, and planning for that honestly is part of building well. There are real exceptions. A service business — where what you sell is your own skill and time — can often begin at $0. For physical products, the closest route to a $0 start is drop-shipping: you sell first and buy stock only after a customer has paid, so no money is tied up in inventory upfront. Our advice is to enter Phase 2 with $500 or more set aside as startup funds for your own business. Treat that as guidance, not a guarantee — what a business needs, and what it returns, always depends on the business itself.
Keep the two figures separate: the $500+ above is money for your own business. It is not the program fee — the fee is $500 for the full three-month program, or $200 per phase.
Africa in numbers
The landscape a new African business enters
Africa’s economy is an economy of small businesses — under-financed and largely informal. A venture developed on evidence starts with a real advantage in this landscape.
>90%
of all businesses in Africa are small and medium-sized enterprises. Starting a business is not the exception in Africa — it is the economy.
Sources: Afreximbank via GTR · Nigeria Communications Week
US$300B
is the estimated SME financing gap per year (Afreximbank, 2025). Costing a venture properly — and knowing exactly what finance it needs — is not paperwork; it is survival.
1.4B
people live inside the African Continental Free Trade Area, with a combined GDP of about US$3–3.4 trillion — a continental market a well-planned venture can aim at from day one.
Sources: Radio Nigeria · DevDiscourse
No direct entry to Phase 2: Startup Development is reached only by passing Phase 1 — it cannot be joined directly, and the March 2027 application form offers no Phase 2 option. To reach Phase 2, apply for the March 2027 cohort at Phase 1, or for the full program, which also starts at Phase 1. You can also register your interest in this phase below: enquire with your idea and its current stage. The weekly schedule, prices and rules are set out in full on the Program page.
Bring us the idea
Register your interest in Startup Development — the following phase after Learn by Building. Tell us what you want to build and how far you have taken it so far.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
Startup Development is reached through Learn by Building. Start with Phase 1, or register your interest and we will keep you informed.
← Home/ Business Growth & Development
BUSINESS TO GROWTHFollowing phase — after Startup Development
Business Growth & Development
This service improves — the business you already run
Support for entrepreneurs and business owners whose businesses already exist and are operating. The work: find the weaknesses, fix what holds the business back, strengthen its position in the market, and grow in a way the business can sustain.
Who it is for
Existing entrepreneurs and business owners — people already trading who want better performance: more customers, stronger sales, smoother operations, and a business that is built to last rather than survive month to month.
The problem it answers
A running business can be busy and still be stuck: marketing that doesn’t convert, customers who don’t return, operations that eat the profit, no clear priorities for what to fix first.
Growth & Development starts with an honest look at how the business actually performs, then targets the improvements that matter most.
What it covers
- Business strategy and growth planning
- Marketing strategy that fits the business and its market
- Sales improvement — converting interest into revenue
- Customer acquisition — winning new customers systematically
- Customer retention — keeping the customers you win
- Operational efficiency and business process improvement
- Improving the customer experience
- Identifying growth opportunities worth pursuing
- Strengthening business sustainability for the long term
Clear distinction
This service is only for businesses that already exist. If your venture has not launched yet, you need Startup Development; if you are still building your own entrepreneurial skills, start with Learn by Building. Growth & Development works on performance, profitability, efficiency, and sustainability of a trading business.
INTENDED OUTCOME
A stronger business, growing on purpose
- Clearer priorities for what to improve first
- Improved business practices across sales, marketing and operations
- A stronger position in your market
- A practical plan for sustainable growth
Phase 3 in the program — Month 3
- The focus: growing the business you run — strategy, customers, operations, and sustainability.
- Your sessions: Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon, 4 hours each (2 hours content + 2 hours practical), plus the Sunday midday session all phases share — 12 hours a week in total.
- Month 3 deliverable: a growth plan for your business, with tracked metrics behind it.
- Who can enter: Phase 3 is the one phase outsiders can join — if you already operate a business. “Operating” means actually selling to customers; informal businesses count, an idea alone does not. A short orientation to the program guidelines comes first.
- The price route: $500 for the full three-month program, or $200 for this phase on its own.
- The March 2027 cohort: operating businesses can apply directly for Phase 3 in the March 2027 cohort — up to 50 Phase 3 places within 150 across the cohort. Join in person in Kigali or online via Zoom, with live sessions on Kigali time; fees are payable in USD or RWF.
Africa in numbers
The reality African businesses grow inside
Most African businesses operate informally, most trade still leaves the continent, and finance is scarce. Growth work has to be designed for this reality — not for a textbook market.
85%+
of all employment in Africa is informal (ILO trade-policy brief). The ILO’s modelled regional total for 2024 is 83.1% — a different measure of the same reality: most African work happens outside formal employment.
Sources: ILO brief, via High Street Journal · ILO regional profile (PDF)
14–16%
of Africa’s total trade is trade between African countries. The AfCFTA — 1.4 billion people, about US$3–3.4 trillion combined GDP, 54 of 55 AU member states — exists to change exactly this.
Sources: Radio Nigeria · DevDiscourse
60%+
of employment is provided by SMEs (Afreximbank). Counting informal businesses as well, the World Bank puts the share at over 80% (reported via a Vodacom SME survey). Two measures, shown side by side — never blended.
Sources: Afreximbank via GTR · Nigeria Communications Week
March 2027 — applications open: businesses that are already operating can apply directly for Phase 3 in the March 2027 cohort. Phase 3 places are capped at 50, within 150 across the cohort, and you can join in person in Kigali or online via Zoom, with live sessions on Kigali time. Apply for the March 2027 cohort — or register your interest below with a short picture of your business and its biggest challenge. The weekly schedule, prices and rules are set out in full on the Program page.
Tell us where it hurts
Register your interest in Business Growth & Development — the following phase after Startup Development. Describe your business and the challenge you most want to solve.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
Businesses that are already operating can apply directly for Phase 3 in the March 2027 cohort.
← Home/ The Program
THE PROGRAMThree months. Three phases. Built by doing.
The three services run as one practical program — hybrid: in person in Rwanda, and online from anywhere. It is built on practice rather than theory alone: every week mixes content with hands-on work on your own idea or business, and each month ends with something real to show for it.
The principle the whole program runs on
This is bigger than money. THE FOUNDERS™ exists to tackle unemployment and strengthen our economy by empowering people to stop waiting for opportunities and start creating them.
That principle shapes everything on this page — how the program is structured, who can enter each phase, and how it is priced. The fees exist so the program can run properly; the mission is the reason it exists at all.
How it works
Hybrid, staggered — one journey from the first step
One program, run the same way for everyone: the same sessions, the same practical work, the same standards — whether you are in the room in Rwanda or joining online.
Format
In person in Kigali — online via Zoom
Join in person in Kigali, Rwanda, or online via Zoom from wherever you are. Live sessions run on Kigali time, and the program is hybrid by design: place does not decide who gets in — commitment does.
Cohorts
Staggered cohorts — first in March 2027
The first cohort runs in March 2027, with places for 150 participants — up to 50 in each phase. Further Phase 1 cohorts follow on a rolling basis, so at steady state all three phases run every week — and on Sundays, every cohort learns together.
Practical groups
Small groups, a team of facilitators
A phase holds up to 50 participants, and practical work happens in smaller groups per facilitator, so your work gets real attention. Facilitators work as a team, rotating across the week’s 28 teaching hours — no single person carries every session.
The three months
One journey, month by month
Month 1 builds the entrepreneur. Month 2 builds the business. Month 3 grows it. Each month ends with a deliverable — proof of work, not just attendance.
Month 1 — Phase 1
Learn by Building
Build the entrepreneurship mindset: explore challenges, develop solutions, and create ideas. Month 1 ends with your idea and a written problem/solution statement.
Month 2 — Phase 2
Startup Development
Put the mindset and skills built in Month 1 to work: your idea is developed step by step into a launch-ready venture. Month 2 ends with applied launch work.
Month 3 — Phase 3
Growth & Development
Grow the business: strategy, customers, operations, sustainability. Month 3 ends with a growth plan and tracked metrics.
Each phase is also a service with its own full page: Learn by Building, Startup Development, Business Growth & Development.
The weekly schedule
Thursday to Sunday, every week
Each phase meets twice a week for 4 hours — 2 hours of content and 2 hours of practical work — and every phase comes together on Sunday. That is 12 hours a week for each participant.
Thursday
Morning
Phase 1 — Learn by Building
4 hours: 2 hours content + 2 hours practical.
Afternoon
Phase 2 — Startup Development
4 hours: 2 hours content + 2 hours practical.
Friday
Morning
Phase 1 — Learn by Building
4 hours: 2 hours content + 2 hours practical.
Afternoon
Phase 3 — Growth & Development
4 hours: 2 hours content + 2 hours practical.
Saturday
Morning
Phase 2 — Startup Development
4 hours: 2 hours content + 2 hours practical.
Afternoon
Phase 3 — Growth & Development
4 hours: 2 hours content + 2 hours practical.
Sunday
Midday
All phases together
4 hours: 1 hour content and summary + 3 hours practical — discussion between participants, connecting, and pitch practice.
Sunday’s pitching is pitch practice: participants present to each other and to invited guests. There is no guaranteed investment or funding — and no guaranteed outcomes anywhere in this program.
Apply for March 2027
Applications for the March 2027 cohort are open. Choose your entry — Phase 1, Phase 3, or the full program — on the application form.
Prices
Two ways to pay — one program
Pay for the full three months, or pay phase by phase. The calculation is straightforward: 3 × $200 = $600, so the full program at $500 saves you $100.
The full program
$500
All three months — Phases 1, 2 and 3. Everything covered:
- Tuition for all three phases
- Program materials
- Online platform access
- The Sunday all-phases sessions
- Community access
Phase by phase
$200
Per phase — take one phase at a time:
- Phase 1 — Learn by Building: $200
- Phase 2 — Startup Development: $200
- Phase 3 — Business Growth & Development: $200
- All three phases this way come to $600 — $100 more than the full program
Fees can be paid in USD or RWF.
Sponsored seats
Sponsored seats form part of the March 2027 cohort, for applicants who would otherwise be unable to take up a place. If that is your situation, record your interest on the application form and briefly say why. Indicating interest does not guarantee a sponsored seat — selection details will be confirmed.
What the fee does not cover
Stated plainly: the fee does not cover travel, accommodation, food, or your personal internet and data. And it does not include business startup capital — the program does not fund businesses. Money for starting your own business is separate from the program fee — read the Phase 2 note below.
Startup costs — an honest word before Phase 2
Some programs promise that anyone can start a business with no money at all. We will not make that promise, because for most businesses it simply is not true: starting usually costs something, and planning for that honestly is part of building well. There are real exceptions. A service business — where what you sell is your own skill and time — can often begin at $0. For physical products, the closest route to a $0 start is drop-shipping: you sell first and buy stock only after a customer has paid, so no money is tied up in inventory upfront. Our advice is to enter Phase 2 with $500 or more set aside as startup funds for your own business. Treat that as guidance, not a guarantee — what a business needs, and what it returns, always depends on the business itself.
Keep the two figures separate: the $500+ above is money for your own business. It is not the program fee — the fee is $500 for the full three-month program, or $200 per phase.
The rules
Firm, fair — and the same for everyone
These rules exist because the program accompanies every participant through one continuous journey — and a journey only works when each stage is completed in order. They apply equally to everyone, whatever their means: no rule on this page can be bought around.
Moving between phases
- Phase 2 is earned, not bought. Entry is reserved for participants who have passed Phase 1 — there is no direct entry from outside, and financial means change nothing. Every Phase 2 participant has been accompanied through Phase 1 first, so their foundations are known, not assumed.
- Passing Phase 1 means: your attendance commitment is met, you have a written problem/solution statement, an idea brief, and you have delivered a short pitch of your idea.
- Phase 3 is open to operating businesses. If you already run a business, you can join Phase 3 directly. “Operating” means actually selling to customers — informal businesses count; an idea alone does not. A short orientation to the program guidelines comes first.
- Repeating Phase 1: a participant who does not yet meet the Phase 1 standard repeats the phase at the $200 phase fee — repeats are not free.
The attendance commitment
- 8 hours a week is the floor. The full week is 12 hours; the commitment is at least 8, every week.
- Sunday counts. Sunday’s 4 hours count toward the 8 — so missing Sunday alone does not drop anyone. But miss a phase session as well, and you fall below the floor.
- Permission and excuses. Ask for permission in advance when you can. Documented excuses — illness, emergencies — are accepted.
- One written warning always comes before anyone is dropped.
- You agree to it upfront: this commitment is part of the enrollment agreement you sign when you join.
- Voluntary dropout: if you leave voluntarily after a phase has started, your place converts to a credit toward a later cohort.
Applications are open for March 2027
The first cohort runs in March 2027 — in person in Kigali or online via Zoom, live on Kigali time, with 50 places per phase and 150 across the cohort. Apply for Phase 1, for Phase 3 if you already operate a business, or for the full program.
Enquire about the program
Tell us which phase you are interested in, whether you would join in person in Rwanda or online, and where you are starting from. When you submit, your email app opens with the enquiry ready for you to review and send to THE FOUNDERS™.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
← Home/ Booking
BOOKINGBook a Call or a Meeting
Wherever you are in the world, you can book time with THE FOUNDERS™ team: a call or a meeting about the program, a service, a partnership, or an idea you are working on. Choose an available day on the calendar below and send a booking request — the team replies by email to confirm the time. Booking a call is separate from joining the program: enrollment runs through the application for the March 2027 cohort.
Step 1 — Choose a day
Choose your day
Our week is built around the program. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are open for booking, with morning, midday and afternoon times. Thursday, Friday and Saturday are busy — the program is in session through all hours, so those days cannot be booked. Sunday is partly available: the program session runs at midday, while Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon are open. Choose a day first — the times for that day then appear below, and the booking form opens once you have chosen a time.
- Available
- Busy — program in session
- Partly available — Sunday (midday busy)
Calendar
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
Select an available day to start your booking request — busy days cannot be booked.
Step 2 — Choose a time
Available times
All booking times are shown in EST — Eastern Time, USA.
Choose a day on the calendar above — the available times for that day will appear here.
Step 3 — Your details
Your booking form appears here
Choose a day first, then choose one of the available times for that day — the full booking form will then appear here, ready for your details.
Step 3 — Your details
The booking request form
Your chosen day and time appear at the top of this form and cannot be changed here — to change them, choose again on the calendar and the times above, and this form will update. Submitting opens your own email app with the request addressed to hello@thefounderslabafrica.com, ready for you to review and send — this website itself sends and stores nothing. A booking is a request, not a confirmation: the team replies by email to confirm the time with you.
Joining the program instead? Apply for March 2027 · A different kind of question? See the contact options
Coming up
Upcoming events & workshops
Public events and workshops run by THE FOUNDERS™ — open sessions, talks and gatherings — will be displayed here as soon as they are confirmed.
No public events or workshops are currently scheduled. New dates will be displayed here as they are confirmed. If you would like to talk sooner, book a call or a meeting with the team using the calendar above.
Applying to join the program?
A booking is for a call or a meeting with the team. Joining the program itself runs through the application — applications for the March 2027 cohort are open.
← Home/ Resources
PRACTICAL SUPPORTResources
Resources exist to support the three core services — practical tools for people learning entrepreneurship, developing businesses, and growing existing ventures. They support the work; they never replace it. Every category below is presented in full on its own page.
This is not a store. THE FOUNDERS™ is opening in stages, and no specific resource is on sale or available for download yet. The category pages show what each category covers and the numbers behind it. When individual resources are confirmed and released, they will be listed — with clear labelling of what is free and what is paid.
Resource categories
Twelve categories — twelve pages
Select any category to view it in full: what it covers, the Africa numbers behind it, and how to register your interest.
Start
Business idea checklists
Structured checks to shape a raw idea and spot what is missing before you invest in it.
Open this category → TestIdea validation guides
Step-by-step ways to test demand and assumptions with real people before you build.
Open this category → PlanBusiness planning templates
Frameworks for turning a developed idea into a clear, usable business plan.
Open this category → ResearchOpportunity research guides
How to research a market, an opportunity, and the competitors already serving it.
Open this category → PrepareStartup preparation resources
Getting launch-ready: costs, requirements, and the practical groundwork of starting.
Open this category → Win customersCustomer acquisition tools
Practical approaches to finding, reaching, and winning your first and next customers.
Open this category → SellSales resources
Guides and systems for presenting, pricing, and closing — honestly and consistently.
Open this category → MoneyBusiness finance education
Understanding startup costs, pricing, cash flow, and the numbers a founder must know.
Open this category → RunOperational templates
Everyday templates and processes that keep a small business organised as it grows.
Open this category → DevelopBusiness development playbooks
Repeatable plays for improving and expanding a business that is already trading.
Open this category → PractiseGuides & worksheets
Short, practical guides and worksheets you complete on your own business.
Open this category → SystemsDigital tools & systems
Digital business tools and simple systems that support building and running a venture.
Open this category →How resources will be offered
Four types — each with its own page
When resources are released, each one will be labelled by type, so you always know what you are looking at before you commit to anything. Open a type to see exactly what it means.
Type 1
Free resources
Practical resources made available at no cost, to help anyone take a first step — wherever they are starting from.
What “free” means here →Type 2
Paid digital products
More in-depth digital resources offered for purchase. Each will be listed individually, with its contents described clearly, when it is ready.
What “paid” means here →Type 3
Programs
Structured programs, such as Learn by Building, that require registration. Details and intakes are announced as each program opens.
What “program” means here →Type 4
Professional services
Hands-on business development and growth support, arranged by enquiry or consultation and scoped to the business involved.
What “professional service” means here →Want to know when resources open?
Register your interest and tell us which stage you are building at — it helps us decide what to release first.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
Resources support the work — the services are where the work happens. Find your stage, or apply for the March 2027 cohort.
← Resources/ Business idea checklists
RESOURCE CATEGORY — STARTBusiness Idea Checklists
Structured checks that help you shape a raw idea and spot what is missing — before you invest time or money in it.
What this category covers
- Problem checks — does the idea solve a real problem, for real people?
- Customer checks — who exactly would pay, and why?
- Readiness checks — what do you have, and what is still missing?
- First-step checks — the smallest practical action you can take next
The numbers behind it
~60%
of Africa’s population is under 25 (median age ~19) — a generation forming business ideas right now, most of them without any structured way to check those ideas first.
Sources: Christian Daily · UNFPA
>90%
of African businesses are SMEs — nearly every idea that survives its first checks joins the small-business economy these checklists are written for.
Sources: Afreximbank via GTR · Nigeria Communications Week
Not yet released: this category is being developed as THE FOUNDERS™ opens in stages. Nothing here is on sale or available for download yet. Register your interest and this category moves up the release list.
Interested in idea checklists?
Register your interest and tell us the idea you are working on.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
Resources support the work — the services are where the work happens. Find your stage, or apply for the March 2027 cohort.
← Resources/ Idea validation guides
RESOURCE CATEGORY — TESTIdea Validation Guides
Step-by-step ways to test demand and assumptions with real people — before you build the business on top of them.
What this category covers
- Customer interview guides — what to ask, and how to listen
- Assumption testing — naming what must be true, then testing it
- Demand signals — telling real interest from politeness
- Pricing tests — finding out what people will actually pay
The numbers behind it
10–12M
young Africans enter the labour market every year, against about 3 million new formal jobs (AfDB / ILO). With that much competition for scarce capital and attention, an untested idea is a risk nobody can afford.
Sources: ILO / AfDB · AfDB
US$300B
is Africa’s annual SME financing gap (Afreximbank, 2025). When finance is this scarce, evidence of demand is the strongest asset a new founder can hold.
Not yet released: this category is being developed as THE FOUNDERS™ opens in stages. Nothing here is on sale or available for download yet. Register your interest and this category moves up the release list.
Interested in validation guides?
Register your interest and tell us the idea you want to test.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
Resources support the work — the services are where the work happens. Find your stage, or apply for the March 2027 cohort.
← Resources/ Business planning templates
RESOURCE CATEGORY — PLANBusiness Planning Templates
Frameworks for turning a developed idea into a clear, usable business plan — the document that organises the opportunity, the model, the costs, and the launch.
What this category covers
- Plan structure — the sections a serious business plan needs
- Business model layout — how the venture works and earns, on paper
- Cost and finance sections — startup costs and requirements, stated plainly
- Launch roadmap formats — turning the plan into dated next steps
The numbers behind it
US$300B
is the estimated SME financing gap per year (Afreximbank, 2025). A clear, costed plan is how a small business makes its case in a market where finance is scarce.
40–50%
of Africa’s GDP comes from SMEs — planning well is not a formality; it is how the businesses carrying half the economy get stronger.
Sources: Afreximbank via GTR · Nigeria Communications Week
Not yet released: this category is being developed as THE FOUNDERS™ opens in stages. Nothing here is on sale or available for download yet. Register your interest and this category moves up the release list.
Interested in planning templates?
Register your interest and tell us the venture you are planning.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
Resources support the work — the services are where the work happens. Find your stage, or apply for the March 2027 cohort.
← Resources/ Business opportunity research guides
RESOURCE CATEGORY — RESEARCHOpportunity Research Guides
How to research a market, an opportunity, and the competitors already serving it — so decisions rest on evidence, not enthusiasm.
What this category covers
- Market sizing — how big the opportunity really is
- Competitor research — who serves your customers today, and how
- Customer-need research — finding the problem worth solving
- Reading the numbers — using published data about your market properly
The numbers behind it
1.4B
people, about US$3–3.4 trillion of combined GDP, 54 of 55 AU member states: the AfCFTA is the market map every African opportunity now sits inside.
Sources: Radio Nigeria · DevDiscourse
14–16%
of Africa’s trade is intra-African — most trade still leaves the continent, which is why cross-border opportunity research matters more here than almost anywhere else.
Sources: Radio Nigeria · DevDiscourse
Not yet released: this category is being developed as THE FOUNDERS™ opens in stages. Nothing here is on sale or available for download yet. Register your interest and this category moves up the release list.
Interested in research guides?
Register your interest and tell us the market you want to understand.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
Resources support the work — the services are where the work happens. Find your stage, or apply for the March 2027 cohort.
← Resources/ Startup preparation resources
RESOURCE CATEGORY — PREPAREStartup Preparation Resources
Getting launch-ready: the costs, the requirements, and the practical groundwork of starting — handled before launch day, not discovered on it.
What this category covers
- Startup cost preparation — listing and estimating what launch really costs
- Requirements checklists — what must be in place before you open
- Early operations setup — the basics the business runs on from day one
- Launch sequencing — the order things should happen in
The numbers behind it
>90%
of African businesses are SMEs, and SMEs provide over 60% of employment (Afreximbank) — over 80% when informal businesses are counted (World Bank, via a Vodacom survey). Preparation is what separates the ones that last.
Sources: Afreximbank via GTR · Nigeria Communications Week
US$300B
is the annual SME financing gap (Afreximbank, 2025) — most founders launch with less money than the plan assumes, which makes honest cost preparation essential.
Not yet released: this category is being developed as THE FOUNDERS™ opens in stages. Nothing here is on sale or available for download yet. Register your interest and this category moves up the release list.
Interested in preparation resources?
Register your interest and tell us what you are preparing to launch.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
Resources support the work — the services are where the work happens. Find your stage, or apply for the March 2027 cohort.
← Resources/ Customer acquisition tools
RESOURCE CATEGORY — WIN CUSTOMERSCustomer Acquisition Tools
Practical approaches to finding, reaching, and winning your first customers — and the next ones, systematically rather than by luck.
What this category covers
- Finding first customers — where they are and how to reach them
- Channel choices — matching your market to the channels it actually uses
- Offers and messages — saying the thing that makes people act
- Tracking what works — knowing which effort brings customers in
The numbers behind it
63%
of mobile connections in Africa were smartphones in 2025 — yet only 24% of the population owned a smartphone in 2024 (GSMA Intelligence). Connections and people are different measures, and your acquisition plan has to respect both.
Source: Telecom Lead — GSMA Intelligence
64%
was the mobile-internet usage gap in 2024 — most people under network coverage still don’t use mobile internet. Reaching customers in Africa means planning beyond the smartphone screen.
Source: Telecom Lead — GSMA Intelligence
Not yet released: this category is being developed as THE FOUNDERS™ opens in stages. Nothing here is on sale or available for download yet. Register your interest and this category moves up the release list.
Interested in acquisition tools?
Register your interest and tell us who your customers are.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
Resources support the work — the services are where the work happens. Find your stage, or apply for the March 2027 cohort.
← Resources/ Sales resources
RESOURCE CATEGORY — SELLSales Resources
Guides and systems for presenting what you offer, pricing it honestly, and closing — consistently, not by personality alone.
What this category covers
- Presenting the offer — explaining value in the customer’s language
- Pricing conversations — holding a fair price with confidence
- Handling objections — answering honestly instead of pressuring
- Follow-up systems — the sales that happen after the first conversation
The numbers behind it
85%+
of African employment is informal (ILO trade-policy brief; the ILO’s modelled 2024 total is 83.1%). Most selling in Africa happens person to person, in informal markets — sales skill is not a luxury skill here.
Sources: ILO brief, via High Street Journal · ILO regional profile (PDF)
14–16%
of Africa’s trade is intra-African. As the AfCFTA opens continental markets, the businesses that can sell across borders will take share from those that cannot.
Sources: Radio Nigeria · DevDiscourse
Not yet released: this category is being developed as THE FOUNDERS™ opens in stages. Nothing here is on sale or available for download yet. Register your interest and this category moves up the release list.
Interested in sales resources?
Register your interest and tell us what you sell.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
Resources support the work — the services are where the work happens. Find your stage, or apply for the March 2027 cohort.
← Resources/ Business finance education
RESOURCE CATEGORY — MONEYBusiness Finance Education
Understanding startup costs, pricing, cash flow, and the numbers a founder must know — explained plainly, for people who were never taught business finance.
What this category covers
- Startup costs — what starting really costs, line by line
- Pricing — setting prices that cover costs and leave a margin
- Cash flow — money in, money out, and the timing between them
- Reading your numbers — the few figures every founder must watch
The numbers behind it
US$300B
is Africa’s estimated SME financing gap per year (Afreximbank, 2025) — the single strongest argument for founders understanding their own numbers cold.
40–50%
of Africa’s GDP comes from SMEs, which are also over 90% of all businesses — finance education aimed at small businesses is economic education at national scale.
Sources: Afreximbank via GTR · Nigeria Communications Week
Not yet released: this category is being developed as THE FOUNDERS™ opens in stages. Nothing here is on sale or available for download yet. Register your interest and this category moves up the release list.
Interested in finance education?
Register your interest and tell us the money question you most need answered.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
Resources support the work — the services are where the work happens. Find your stage, or apply for the March 2027 cohort.
← Resources/ Operational templates
RESOURCE CATEGORY — RUNOperational Templates
Everyday templates and simple processes that keep a small business organised as it grows — so the business runs on systems, not on memory.
What this category covers
- Daily and weekly routines — the rhythm a small business runs on
- Record-keeping templates — sales, stock, and money, written down
- Process templates — doing repeatable work the same way every time
- Customer records — remembering the people who keep you in business
The numbers behind it
85%+
of African employment is informal (ILO trade-policy brief; modelled 2024 total: 83.1%, ILO regional profile). Simple systems and records are often the first step from informal survival toward a business that can grow and be financed.
Sources: ILO brief, via High Street Journal · ILO regional profile (PDF)
60%+
of employment comes from SMEs (Afreximbank) — over 80% counting informal businesses (World Bank, via a Vodacom survey). Organisation at small-business scale is employment policy in practice.
Sources: Afreximbank via GTR · Nigeria Communications Week
Not yet released: this category is being developed as THE FOUNDERS™ opens in stages. Nothing here is on sale or available for download yet. Register your interest and this category moves up the release list.
Interested in operational templates?
Register your interest and tell us what your business needs organising.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
Resources support the work — the services are where the work happens. Find your stage, or apply for the March 2027 cohort.
← Resources/ Business development playbooks
RESOURCE CATEGORY — DEVELOPBusiness Development Playbooks
Repeatable plays for improving and expanding a business that is already trading — the same improvement, done the same proven way, again and again.
What this category covers
- Growth plays — structured ways to find the next stage of growth
- Market expansion plays — entering new areas and segments deliberately
- Customer-experience plays — improvements customers actually feel
- Sustainability plays — strengthening the business for the long term
The numbers behind it
1.4B
people and about US$3–3.4 trillion of GDP inside the AfCFTA — expansion plays written for African businesses now have a continental board to play on.
Sources: Radio Nigeria · DevDiscourse
14–16%
of Africa’s trade is intra-African today — the headroom for businesses that develop beyond their home market is enormous, and mostly unclaimed.
Sources: Radio Nigeria · DevDiscourse
Not yet released: this category is being developed as THE FOUNDERS™ opens in stages. Nothing here is on sale or available for download yet. Register your interest and this category moves up the release list.
Interested in playbooks?
Register your interest and tell us where your business wants to grow.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
Resources support the work — the services are where the work happens. Find your stage, or apply for the March 2027 cohort.
← Resources/ Practical guides and worksheets
RESOURCE CATEGORY — PRACTISEPractical Guides & Worksheets
Short, practical guides and worksheets you complete on your own business — reading that turns into doing, in the same sitting.
What this category covers
- Worked examples — concepts shown on a real kind of business, step by step
- Fill-in worksheets — pages you complete about your own venture
- Reflection prompts — the questions that surface what to fix next
- Next-step planning — every guide ends in an action, not a summary
The numbers behind it
~60%
of Africa’s population is under 25 — practical, self-directed material matters where formal business education reaches only a fraction of the people building.
Sources: Christian Daily · UNFPA
26%
of the world’s women-owned enterprises are in Africa — much of that building happens without formal training, which is exactly the gap worksheets and guides are built to close.
Sources: Mastercard · Mastercard Index 2019
Not yet released: this category is being developed as THE FOUNDERS™ opens in stages. Nothing here is on sale or available for download yet. Register your interest and this category moves up the release list.
Interested in guides & worksheets?
Register your interest and tell us what you are working through.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
Resources support the work — the services are where the work happens. Find your stage, or apply for the March 2027 cohort.
← Resources/ Digital business tools and systems
RESOURCE CATEGORY — SYSTEMSDigital Tools & Systems
Digital business tools and simple systems that support building and running a venture — chosen for the devices and connections founders actually have.
What this category covers
- Choosing tools — matching a tool to the job, not to the hype
- Simple systems — small setups that save time every week
- Mobile-first working — running the business from the phone you already own
- Cost awareness — what tools cost, and what they must earn back
The numbers behind it
24%
of Africa’s population owned a smartphone in 2024 (GSMA Intelligence) — a share of people. Tools must work for the other 76% too, or work through someone who has one.
Source: Telecom Lead — GSMA Intelligence
63%
of mobile connections were smartphones in 2025 — a share of connections, not people. The two figures describe different things and are never merged on this site.
Source: Telecom Lead — GSMA Intelligence
64%
was the mobile-internet usage gap in 2024 — coverage without usage, driven largely by affordability. Any digital system for African founders has to be designed for this reality.
Source: Telecom Lead — GSMA Intelligence
Not yet released: this category is being developed as THE FOUNDERS™ opens in stages. Nothing here is on sale or available for download yet. Register your interest and this category moves up the release list.
Interested in digital tools & systems?
Register your interest and tell us what your business runs on today.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
Resources support the work — the services are where the work happens. Find your stage, or apply for the March 2027 cohort.
← Resources/ Free resources
RESOURCE TYPE 1 OF 4Free Resources
Practical resources made available at no cost — because the first step toward building a business should never be blocked by a paywall.
What “free” means here
Free resources are complete and useful on their own — not teasers for something paid. They exist so anyone, starting from anywhere, can take a real first step: check an idea, test an assumption, or organise a business.
When free resources are released, they will be labelled “Free” on the Resources hub, with no price and no purchase step.
Honest status
Nothing is available for download yet. THE FOUNDERS™ is opening in stages, and we list resources only when they are real and ready. Registering your interest tells us which category to release first.
Want first access when free resources open?
Register your interest and name the category you need most.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
Resources support the work — the services are where the work happens. Find your stage, or apply for the March 2027 cohort.
← Resources/ Paid digital products
RESOURCE TYPE 2 OF 4Paid Digital Products
More in-depth digital resources, offered for purchase — each one listed individually, with its contents described clearly, only when it is ready.
What “paid” means here
A paid digital product goes deeper than a free resource: more complete systems, fuller guides, more worked material. It will always be labelled “Paid”, with its contents described before any purchase — never sold on a promise.
THE FOUNDERS™ is a business-building platform, not a store. Products are one way we help people build; they are not the whole model.
Honest status
Nothing is on sale yet, and no prices exist to show. We do not publish prices or buy links for products that are not finished and confirmed. When a product is released, it will appear here with its real price and full contents.
Tell us what would be worth paying for
Register your interest — demand shapes what gets built first.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
Resources support the work — the services are where the work happens. Find your stage, or apply for the March 2027 cohort.
← Resources/ Programs
RESOURCE TYPE 3 OF 4Programs
Structured programs that require registration — led experiences with a beginning, a sequence, and feedback, rather than material you work through alone.
What “program” means here
The clearest example is Learn by Building: a practical entrepreneurship learning program where participants work on their own ideas with guidance and feedback. Programs have intakes — you register, and you start with a cohort or a schedule.
Details and intakes are announced as each program opens. We never advertise a program as running before it is.
Honest status
Registrations of interest are open; program intakes are not yet announced. THE FOUNDERS™ opens in stages, and registering interest is how you hear first — and how we decide what opens first.
Interested in a program?
Register your interest and tell us your stage.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
Resources support the work — the services are where the work happens. Find your stage, or apply for the March 2027 cohort.
← Resources/ Professional services
RESOURCE TYPE 4 OF 4Professional Services
Hands-on business development and growth support, arranged by enquiry or consultation and scoped to the specific business involved.
What “professional service” means here
This is the human, hands-on end of THE FOUNDERS™: Startup Development for ventures being built, and Business Growth & Development for businesses already trading. The work is scoped to your situation after an enquiry or consultation — it is never a fixed package sold off a page.
Honest status
Arranged by enquiry only. There are no published prices for professional services, because the scope depends on the business. Enquire with an honest picture of where you are, and we will respond with what support is available at this stage.
Need hands-on support?
Send an enquiry describing your business or idea, and the support you are looking for.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
Resources support the work — the services are where the work happens. Find your stage, or apply for the March 2027 cohort.
← Home/ Community
THE ECOSYSTEM AROUND THE SERVICESThe Founder Community
Building a business is hard to do alone. The THE FOUNDERS™ community brings the people on this journey together — aspiring entrepreneurs, startup founders, and business owners — to share practical knowledge, experience, resources, and ideas, and to find collaborators along the way. Each community space below has its own page.
Community is a supporting ecosystem — not a fourth service
THE FOUNDERS™ has exactly three core services: Learn by Building, Startup Development, and Business Growth & Development. The community surrounds and supports them. It is where founders connect; the services are where the structured building work happens.
The community spaces
Eight spaces — each with its own page
Every space below is planned, not yet running. Open one to see what it is being built to be — we don’t advertise activities that aren’t happening yet.
Connect
Open this space → Learn
Open this space → Meet
Open this space → Learn from
Open this space → Build with
Open this space → Gather
Open this space → Grow with
Open this space → Share
Open this space →
Online founder discussions
Ongoing conversation between people building — questions, answers, and hard-won lessons.
Planned — not yet runningOpen this space → Learn
Workshops & learning sessions
Practical sessions where founders learn by working on real businesses, together.
Planned — not yet runningOpen this space → Meet
Networking opportunities
Structured ways to meet the people your business needs — partners, suppliers, customers.
Planned — not yet runningOpen this space → Learn from
Founder stories
Real journeys, told honestly — including the parts that didn’t work.
Planned — not yet runningOpen this space → Build with
Collaborations
Founders building complementary things, finding each other and building together.
Planned — not yet runningOpen this space → Gather
Events
Occasions that bring the community into the same room — physical or virtual.
Planned — not yet runningOpen this space → Grow with
Peer learning
Learning from people one stage ahead of you — and teaching the people one stage behind.
Planned — not yet runningOpen this space → Share
Sharing opportunities
Relevant opportunities and resources, passed between founders instead of missed.
Planned — not yet runningOpen this space →
Who it brings together
- Aspiring entrepreneurs taking their first practical steps
- People developing ideas into structured ventures
- First-time founders preparing and launching
- Existing business owners working on growth
The numbers behind the community
26%
of the world’s women-owned enterprises are in Africa, and in the Mastercard Index 2019 the share of business owners who were women reached 38.2% in Uganda, 37.9% in Ghana and 36.0% in Botswana. The community is being built for the people already building — in all their diversity.
Sources: Mastercard · Mastercard Index 2019
Opening in stages: the community is part of the platform being built. Specific community activities will be announced here as they are confirmed. Registering your interest now helps shape what the community becomes.
Build alongside other founders
Register your interest in the community and tell us what stage you are at.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
The community grows around the program. Register your interest in a space on this page, or take the bigger step and apply for March 2027.
← Community/ Online founder discussions
COMMUNITY SPACE — PLANNEDOnline Founder Discussions
A place for ongoing conversation between people building businesses — the questions you can’t ask anywhere else, answered by people who have faced them.
What this space is being built to be
Discussion threads organised around the real work: testing ideas, finding customers, pricing, operations, and the problems that appear at each stage. Founders at different stages in the same conversation — the person one step ahead of you is often the best teacher.
Discussions support the three services; they don’t replace the structured work inside them.
Honest status
Planned — not yet running. No discussion forum is open today, and we won’t pretend otherwise. When this space opens, it will be announced on the Community page and this page will carry the real joining details.
Registering your interest now helps decide which space opens first.
Want a seat in the conversation?
Register your interest in the community.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
The community grows around the program. Register your interest in a space on this page, or take the bigger step and apply for March 2027.
← Community/ Workshops and learning sessions
COMMUNITY SPACE — PLANNEDWorkshops & Learning Sessions
Practical sessions where founders learn by working — on real businesses, with real problems — in the same spirit as Learn by Building.
What this space is being built to be
Focused working sessions on the topics founders actually face: validating an idea, interviewing customers, pricing, selling, organising operations. Sessions are for doing — you leave with work done on your own business, not just notes.
Community workshops sit alongside the programs; the structured program itself is Learn by Building.
Honest status
Planned — not yet running. No workshop schedule exists today. Dates will only ever be published here when sessions are confirmed and real.
Registering your interest — and naming the topic you need — shapes the first sessions.
Want to learn in a room of builders?
Register your interest in the community.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
The community grows around the program. Register your interest in a space on this page, or take the bigger step and apply for March 2027.
← Community/ Networking opportunities
COMMUNITY SPACE — PLANNEDNetworking Opportunities
Structured ways to meet the people a business needs — co-founders, partners, suppliers, mentors, and customers — inside a community of people who are all building.
What this space is being built to be
Introductions and encounters with a purpose: not business-card exchanges, but connections between people whose work fits together. A founder’s network is working capital — this space exists to help you build yours deliberately.
Honest status
Planned — not yet running. No networking activities are scheduled today, and no partnerships are claimed. When this space opens, its activities will be listed here and on the Community page.
Register your interest and tell us who you most need to meet.
Building your network?
Register your interest in the community.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
The community grows around the program. Register your interest in a space on this page, or take the bigger step and apply for March 2027.
← Community/ Founder stories
COMMUNITY SPACE — PLANNEDFounder Stories
Real journeys, told honestly — how businesses in this community actually started, what it cost, what failed, and what the founder did next.
What this space is being built to be
Stories from founders at every stage — including the unfinished and the failed, because those teach the most. No success theatre and no instant-wealth mythology: the same honesty THE FOUNDERS™ applies everywhere else.
The numbers say African women are among the most entrepreneurial people on earth — 26% of the world’s women-owned enterprises are in Africa — and their stories deserve to be told properly. See the numbers.
Honest status
Planned — not yet published. No founder stories are published today, and none will be invented. Stories will appear here only when real founders have told them and agreed to share them.
If you are building and would one day tell your story, register your interest.
Your story could teach the next founder
Register your interest in the community.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
The community grows around the program. Register your interest in a space on this page, or take the bigger step and apply for March 2027.
← Community/ Collaborations
COMMUNITY SPACE — PLANNEDCollaborations
Founders building complementary things, finding each other — and building together what neither could build as fast alone.
What this space is being built to be
A way to surface fit: the baker who needs distribution meets the shop that needs products; the maker meets the marketer. Collaboration is how small businesses punch above their size — especially across the AfCFTA’s 1.4 billion-person market. See the numbers.
Honest status
Planned — not yet running. No collaborations are being brokered today and no partner organisations are claimed. When this space opens, how it works will be explained here in full.
Register your interest and describe what you are building — and what it needs.
Looking for your complement?
Register your interest in the community.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
The community grows around the program. Register your interest in a space on this page, or take the bigger step and apply for March 2027.
← Community/ Events
COMMUNITY SPACE — PLANNEDEvents
Occasions that bring the community together — in the same room, physical or virtual — around the practical work of building businesses.
What this space is being built to be
Gatherings with a working purpose: demo-and-feedback sessions, problem-solving clinics, and meetings between founders at different stages. Events serve the building — they are not social decoration.
Honest status
Planned — none scheduled. There is no event calendar today, and this page will never list an event that is not confirmed. When the first event is real, its date, place, and how to attend will be published here.
Register your interest to hear about the first gatherings.
Want to be in the room?
Register your interest in the community.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
The community grows around the program. Register your interest in a space on this page, or take the bigger step and apply for March 2027.
← Community/ Peer learning
COMMUNITY SPACE — PLANNEDPeer Learning
Learning from people one stage ahead of you — and teaching the people one stage behind. In a building community, everyone is both.
What this space is being built to be
Small, honest exchanges between founders at neighbouring stages: the first-time founder hears from the owner who survived year one; the student hears from the founder who launched last year. Peer learning is the community form of the platform’s core philosophy — don’t just learn business; learn it from people building one.
Honest status
Planned — not yet running. No peer-learning groups exist today. When they form, this page will explain how they work and how to join one.
Register your interest and say which stage you are at — matching depends on it.
Learn from the stage ahead
Register your interest in the community.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
The community grows around the program. Register your interest in a space on this page, or take the bigger step and apply for March 2027.
← Community/ Sharing opportunities and resources
COMMUNITY SPACE — PLANNEDSharing Opportunities
Relevant opportunities and resources, passed between founders instead of being missed — a community that shares what it finds is worth more than the sum of its members.
What this space is being built to be
A channel for the things builders stumble across and pass on: a market opening, a useful resource, a contact, a lesson paid for the hard way. With intra-African trade at only 14–16% of the continent’s total trade, shared knowledge about opportunities is genuinely valuable. See the numbers.
Honest status
Planned — not yet running. No opportunities board exists today, and nothing is being shared through this page yet. When the space opens, how sharing works — and what qualifies — will be set out here.
Register your interest to be part of it from the start.
Find — and share — what others miss
Register your interest in the community.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
The community grows around the program. Register your interest in a space on this page, or take the bigger step and apply for March 2027.
← Home/ Aspiring entrepreneurs
YOUR PAGE — STAGE AAspiring Entrepreneurs
You want to start a business but don’t know where to begin. That is not a weakness — it is the most common starting point there is, and it has a clear next step.
Who you are
You have the desire to build something of your own, but no map. Maybe you don’t have an idea yet; maybe you have three and can’t choose. What you don’t have is capital, experience, connections, or a business degree — and you have been assuming those are required to start.
They are not. They are built along the way, and the building starts with practical steps, not prerequisites.
What you need most
Practical education grounded in reality, honest inspiration, and clear next steps — in that order. Not motivation speeches, and not theory you can’t use. You need to experience the process of building, on a real idea, with feedback.
The numbers behind your page
~60%
of Africa’s population is under 25 (median age ~19). Aspiring is not a small category in Africa — it is most of a generation.
Sources: Christian Daily · UNFPA
10–12M
young Africans enter the labour market every year, against about 3 million new formal jobs (AfDB / ILO). Waiting to be hired is a queue that does not clear; building is the other door.
Sources: ILO / AfDB · AfDB
Tell us your starting point
This short form is for aspiring entrepreneurs: where you are, what is holding you back, and what you want to build. It registers your starting point — it is not an application, and nothing here promises a place or an outcome.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
Your next step is set out on this page — and applications for the March 2027 cohort are open when you are ready.
← Home/ People with business ideas
YOUR PAGE — STAGE BPeople With Business Ideas
You have an idea. Now come the questions that decide whether it becomes a business: Does it solve a real problem? Who would pay for it? How would it operate?
Who you are
You can describe the business you imagine — the product or service, maybe even the customers. What you can’t yet do is prove it: the idea lives in your head and in conversations, untested against the market it would have to survive in.
What you need most
Evidence, gathered in the right order: the problem, the customer, the demand, the model, the costs. An idea developed properly either becomes a venture worth launching — or teaches you, cheaply, that it needs to change. Both outcomes beat launching blind.
The numbers behind your page
>90%
of African businesses are SMEs — your idea, if it works, joins the business form that carries the continent.
Sources: Afreximbank via GTR · Nigeria Communications Week
US$300B
is Africa’s annual SME financing gap (Afreximbank, 2025). Ideas compete for scarce finance — the ones with evidence win it.
Tell us your starting point
This short form is for people with a business idea: the idea in one line, how far you have tested it, and your biggest question about it.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
Your next step is set out on this page — and applications for the March 2027 cohort are open when you are ready.
← Home/ Students and graduates
YOUR PAGE — STAGE CStudents & Graduates
You are studying, or you just finished. Either way, you want more than a queue for jobs that may not exist: entrepreneurial skills, a path to self-employment, and opportunities you create yourself.
Who you are
You are investing in education while watching the labour market you are about to enter. You may build a business alongside your studies, after them, or years later — but the skills of building (spotting problems, testing solutions, selling, managing money) pay off in every version of your future.
What you need most
Experience, not just knowledge. Studying gives you concepts; building gives you proof — to employers, to partners, and most importantly to yourself — that you can take an idea from nothing to something real.
The numbers behind your page
10–12M
young Africans enter the labour market every year — roughly the population of a large city, annually — while only about 3 million formal jobs are created (AfDB / ILO). Your graduating class is in this number.
Sources: ILO / AfDB · AfDB
~60%
of Africa’s population is under 25, median age ~19. The competition you face is generational — and so is the opportunity, if you can build.
Sources: Christian Daily · UNFPA
Tell us your starting point
This short form is for students and graduates: your current status, your idea status, and what you want building skills to make possible.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
Your next step is set out on this page — and applications for the March 2027 cohort are open when you are ready.
← Home/ First-time founders
YOUR PAGE — STAGE DFirst-Time Founders
You are past dreaming and into doing — actively working toward launching your first venture. What you need now is structure: planning, and support with the early decisions that are expensive to get wrong.
Who you are
The idea is chosen and the intention is real. You may be saving toward launch, building a first version, or talking to first customers. Every week brings a decision you have never made before — and nobody around you has made it either.
What you need most
A process that orders the chaos: validate before you spend, cost before you commit, plan the launch before you announce it. Structure is not bureaucracy at this stage — it is what keeps a first venture alive long enough to learn.
The numbers behind your page
US$300B
is the annual SME financing gap (Afreximbank, 2025). First-time founders feel this gap first — which is why your costs and your evidence have to be exact.
24%
of Africa’s population owned a smartphone in 2024, while 63% of mobile connections were smartphones in 2025 (GSMA Intelligence). Know which measure describes your customers before you build your launch around a phone.
Source: Telecom Lead — GSMA Intelligence
Tell us your starting point
This short form is for first-time founders: the venture, how close you are to launch, and the early decision that worries you most.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
Your next step is set out on this page — and applications for the March 2027 cohort are open when you are ready.
← Home/ Existing entrepreneurs and business owners
YOUR PAGE — STAGE EExisting Business Owners
Your business already exists and is operating. The questions now are about performance: strategy, marketing, sales, operations, customer acquisition — and whether the business is built to last.
Who you are
You have customers, revenue, and problems that only exist once a business is real: marketing that doesn’t convert, customers who don’t return, operations that eat the profit, growth that stalls. You don’t need starting advice — you need improvement, prioritised.
What you need most
An honest look at how the business actually performs, then targeted work on what matters most — in an environment where most businesses around you are informal, under-financed, and trading mostly within one country.
The numbers behind your page
85%+
of African employment is informal (ILO trade-policy brief; modelled 2024 total: 83.1%). If your business is formalising and systematising, you are already doing what most of the market has not.
Sources: ILO brief, via High Street Journal · ILO regional profile (PDF)
1.4B
people in the AfCFTA, about US$3–3.4 trillion combined GDP — while intra-African trade is only 14–16% of total trade. Your next market may be a border away, not an ocean.
Sources: Radio Nigeria · DevDiscourse
Tell us your starting point
This short form is for existing business owners: your business type, how long it has traded, and what you most want to improve.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
Your next step is set out on this page — and applications for the March 2027 cohort are open when you are ready.
← Home/ Opportunity seekers becoming creators
YOUR PAGE — STAGE FOpportunity Creators
You are done waiting — for the job posting, the shortlist, the opportunity to arrive. You want to learn how to identify problems, create solutions, and build ventures that provide value.
Who you are
You have spent enough time searching for existing opportunities to know their limits. The shift you are making is the founding idea of this whole platform: from opportunity seeker to opportunity creator — a person who makes the opening instead of waiting for one.
What you need most
A new skill, learned the only way it sticks: by practising it. Spotting problems worth solving, testing whether a solution is wanted, taking the first small commercial steps — with guidance, feedback, and other builders around you.
The numbers behind your page
10–12M
young Africans enter the labour market every year; about 3 million formal jobs are created (AfDB / ILO). The arithmetic is the argument: creation has to outgrow seeking.
Sources: ILO / AfDB · AfDB
26%
of the world’s women-owned enterprises are in Africa — proof, at continental scale, that people here already create opportunities at a rate the world should study.
Sources: Mastercard · Mastercard Index 2019
Tell us your starting point
This short form is for opportunity seekers becoming creators: what you are doing now, and — if you have one — the problem you would love to solve.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
Your next step is set out on this page — and applications for the March 2027 cohort are open when you are ready.
← Home/ About
ABOUT THE FOUNDERS™Don’t just learn business. Build one.
THE FOUNDERS™ is a practical entrepreneurship and business-development platform — combining learning, business development, growth support, practical resources, and an entrepreneurial ecosystem. It is not a consulting agency, an online course site, a digital-product store, or simply a community.
Our mission
To empower people to create businesses, support entrepreneurs in building and growing sustainable ventures, and help reduce youth unemployment through practical learning, business resources, and community.
We encourage people to become creators of economic opportunities rather than only searching for existing ones — and we hold that entrepreneurship is not reserved for people who already have money, experience, connections, or a university degree.
Our vision
We see a generation of African founders who create businesses, jobs, and opportunity rather than only seeking them — building sustainable ventures that grow local economies and reduce youth unemployment.
A recognised destination where aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners can learn entrepreneurship through action, discover and evaluate opportunities, develop ideas into structured ventures, launch and strengthen businesses, improve marketing, sales, operations and customer acquisition, access practical tools — and connect with other people building businesses.
THE FOUNDERS™ is being developed as a platform that grows beyond a single website or a single service — carefully, and only with offerings that are real.
The principle the program runs on
This is bigger than money. THE FOUNDERS™ exists to tackle unemployment and strengthen our economy by empowering people to stop waiting for opportunities and start creating them. Every part of the program — how it is structured into three phases, who can enter each phase, and how it is priced — is built on that principle. See the full program →
Rooted in Africa — the patterns on this site
THE FOUNDERS™ is a project of Nk’AfrI Technology Group, an Africa-first group — and this site carries that heritage in its design. The black-and-white geometric patterns at the edges of these pages are inspired by Imigongo, Rwanda’s traditional art of interlocking diamonds, chevrons and spirals, drawn here in our own monochrome — because Africa is where this group is from, and who it builds for first.
Who it is for — open your page
Aspiring entrepreneurs
You want to start a business but don’t know where to begin. You need practical education, honest inspiration, and clear next steps.
Open your page →People with business ideas
You have an idea and need to know whether it solves a real problem, who would pay for it, and how it could operate.
Open your page →Students & graduates
You want entrepreneurial skills, a path to self-employment, and opportunities you create alongside or after your education.
Open your page →First-time founders
You are actively launching your first venture and need structure, planning, and support with early decisions.
Open your page →Existing business owners
You already operate a business and want to improve strategy, marketing, sales, operations, and long-term sustainability.
Open your page →Opportunity creators
You are done waiting to be chosen. You want to identify problems, create solutions, and build ventures that provide value.
Open your page →The Solution
The answer is a program that develops founders, not only ideas. Learn by Building develops the entrepreneur; Startup Development develops the business; and Business Growth & Development strengthens the business that already exists. It is practical at every stage, and open to people starting without money, experience, connections, or a degree.
How the three services fit together — the coffee business
First — the person
Learn by Building
You join to build entrepreneurial skill: exploring the coffee idea through exercises, customer conversations, and small tests — learning how building a business actually works.
Then — the venture
Startup Development
You decide to pursue it seriously: research the market, validate demand, set the business model, calculate startup costs, and prepare the launch plan.
Later — the business
Growth & Development
The coffee shop is open and trading. Now the work is marketing, sales, operations, keeping customers coming back, and planning expansion.
You don’t need all three. Each service stands on its own and has its own page: Learn by Building, Startup Development, Business Growth & Development.
Our philosophy — realistic, on purpose
Our focus is practical action, informed decisions, business development, and sustainable progress. That means being straight about what we don’t do:
- No guaranteed success. No program can promise a business will succeed — anyone who does is selling you something else.
- No instant wealth. Businesses are built step by step, and the steps take real work.
- No effortless entrepreneurship. We make the process clearer and better supported — not effortless.
- No invented offerings. We only present programs, resources, and services that are real and confirmed.
Ask a question about THE FOUNDERS™
A question about the platform itself — what it is, how it works, or where it is going? Ask it here. For service questions, the service enquiry form will serve you better.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Wherever you are starting from
Tell us your stage, and we will point you to the right service.
The Problem — Africa in Numbers
Africa in Numbers — the figures behind the mission
THE FOUNDERS™ is a project of Nk’AfrI Technology Group — Africa first, then the world. These are the researched figures that explain why business-building matters so much on this continent. Every figure is linked to its published source, and where two sources measure the same thing differently, both figures are shown with their definitions — never blended into one.
People & work
A young continent, entering work
~60%
of Africa’s population is under 25, and the median age is around 19 — the youngest continent in the world.
Sources: Christian Daily · UNFPA
10–12M
young Africans enter the labour market every year — while only about 3 million formal jobs are created annually (AfDB / ILO). That gap is the core problem THE FOUNDERS™ exists to answer.
Sources: ILO / AfDB · AfDB
85%+
of all employment in Africa is informal (ILO trade-policy brief). The ILO’s modelled regional total for 2024 is 83.1%. Two different measures of the same reality — most African work happens outside formal employment.
Sources: ILO brief, via High Street Journal · ILO regional profile (PDF)
Small business & money
An economy of small businesses
>90%
of all businesses in Africa are small and medium-sized enterprises — the continent’s economy runs on small businesses.
Sources: Afreximbank via GTR · Nigeria Communications Week
60%+
of employment is provided by SMEs (Afreximbank). Counting informal businesses as well, the World Bank puts the share at over 80% (reported via a Vodacom SME survey). The difference is coverage — formal only, or formal plus informal.
Sources: Afreximbank via GTR · Nigeria Communications Week
40–50%
of Africa’s GDP comes from SMEs — businesses that are most of the economy, most of the jobs, and the least financed part of both.
Sources: Afreximbank via GTR · Nigeria Communications Week
US$300B
is the estimated SME financing gap per year (Afreximbank, 2025) — the distance between the businesses Africa has and the finance available to grow them.
26%
of the world’s women-owned enterprises are in Africa (Mastercard / Gates Foundation) — African women build businesses at a rate few regions match.
Sources: Mastercard · Mastercard Index 2019
38.2%
of business owners in Uganda were women — the highest share in the Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs 2019, ahead of Ghana (37.9%) and Botswana (36.0%).
Digital & trade
Connected — but not yet included
Two different digital measures are shown separately on purpose: a share of people is not the same as a share of connections.
24%
of Africa’s population owned a smartphone in 2024 (GSMA Intelligence) — a share of people.
Source: Telecom Lead — GSMA Intelligence
63%
of mobile connections in Africa were smartphones in 2025 — a share of connections, which runs higher than the share of people who own one.
Source: Telecom Lead — GSMA Intelligence
64%
was the mobile-internet usage gap in 2024 — people covered by mobile networks who still do not use mobile internet, largely because of affordability.
Source: Telecom Lead — GSMA Intelligence
1.4B
people live inside the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), with a combined GDP of about US$3–3.4 trillion, across 54 of the 55 African Union member states.
Sources: Radio Nigeria · DevDiscourse
14–16%
of Africa’s total trade is trade between African countries — most African trade still leaves the continent. That low share is precisely the opportunity the AfCFTA exists to change.
Sources: Radio Nigeria · DevDiscourse
How to read these numbers: each card names what the figure measures and who published it, with a clickable link to the source. Where definitions differ — informal employment, SME employment share, smartphone people vs connections — the figures are presented side by side with their definitions, exactly as researched. Figures are snapshots from their sources and dates, not live data.
These numbers are the mission
If they describe the world you are building in, tell us where you are in your journey.
Ask about these numbers
Question a figure, challenge a definition, or suggest a source we should check — this form is only for the numbers and sources on this page.
Not sure where to start? Start Here — one question, five clear paths.
Ready to take the next step?
You have seen the problem, the solution, our mission and our vision. Applications for the March 2027 cohort are open.
← Home/ Start Here
START HEREStart Here
Not sure what you need? That is exactly what this page is for. No long form and no commitment — answer one question and we will point you to the right page. If you want to register your interest afterwards, a short optional form appears with your recommendation — after your choice, never before it.
One question
What stage are you at?
Choose the statement closest to where you are today. Your recommendation appears immediately — then you decide what to do with it.
Your recommended path
Optional — only if you want to hear from us. Like every form on this site, it opens your email app with your message ready for you to review and send.
None of these fit?
If your question doesn’t match a path — or you are writing for an organisation — the contact options cover everything else: general inquiries, service inquiries, partnerships, and more.
← Home/ Contact
CONTACTContact THE FOUNDERS™
Contact is organised into four routes, each with a dedicated page and form. Please choose the route that best matches the reason for your enquiry. Every form opens your own email app with your message already addressed to our inbox, ready for you to review and send; this website does not transmit or store anything you write. You can also write to us directly at hello@thefounderslabafrica.com.
Contact 01
General inquiries
Any general question about THE FOUNDERS™ — who we are, what we do, or anything that doesn’t fit the other options. A short form: name, email, subject, message.
Open the general form →Contact 02
Service inquiries
Questions about Learn by Building, Startup Development, Business Growth & Development, or Resources — told with the stage you are at, so the reply can actually fit.
Open the service form →Contact 03
Partnerships
For organisations that want to work with THE FOUNDERS™: what you offer, and what you propose. Partnerships are explored by enquiry — there is no programme list to join.
Open the partnership form →Booking
Book a call or meeting
Request a call or a meeting with the team on the booking calendar: pick an available day — morning or afternoon — from anywhere in the world.
Open the booking calendar →Contact 04
Other contact options
Press and media enquiries, speaking requests, feedback and suggestions, questions about the Africa numbers and their sources — and anything else.
Open the other-options form →Not sure which one fits?
Start Here asks one question — what stage are you at? — and points you to the right page, service, or form.
← Contact/ General inquiries
CONTACT — GENERALGeneral Inquiries
For any general question about THE FOUNDERS™ — who we are, what we do, how the platform works, or anything that doesn’t fit the service or partnership forms.
The general enquiry form
Keep it simple: who you are, a subject, and your message. When you submit, your email app opens with the message addressed to hello@thefounderslabafrica.com, ready for you to review and send. You can also write to us directly at hello@thefounderslabafrica.com.
A different kind of contact? See all contact options · Not sure where to start? Start Here
Ready to apply instead?
If you are ready to join the March 2027 cohort, the application is the direct route.
← Contact/ Service inquiries
CONTACT — SERVICESService Inquiries
Questions about a specific service — Learn by Building, Startup Development, Business Growth & Development, or Resources. The service pages across this site link here with their service already selected.
The service enquiry form
Tell us the service, the stage you are at, and what you need help with. The more honest the picture, the more useful the reply. The composed message is labelled with the service you chose.
A different kind of contact? See all contact options · Not sure where to start? Start Here
Ready to apply instead?
If you are ready to join the March 2027 cohort, the application is the direct route.
← Contact/ Partnerships
CONTACT — PARTNERSHIPSPartnerships
For organisations, institutions, and businesses that want to work with THE FOUNDERS™ — collaborations, resource partnerships, community partnerships, or something else you have in mind.
The partnership enquiry form
Partnerships are explored case by case through enquiry: there is no partnership programme, partner list, or application process to join, and enquiring creates no commitment on either side. Tell us what your organisation offers and what you propose.
A different kind of contact? See all contact options · Not sure where to start? Start Here
Ready to apply instead?
If you are ready to join the March 2027 cohort, the application is the direct route.
← Contact/ Other contact options
CONTACT — OTHEROther Contact Options
Everything that isn’t a general question, a service enquiry, or a partnership: press and media, speaking requests, feedback, and questions about the numbers on this site.
One form that adapts to your topic
Choose your topic and the fields change to fit it — an outlet and deadline for press, an event and date for speaking, the page concerned for feedback, the figure concerned for a numbers question. These are enquiry topics, not promised programmes, appearances, or responses.
A different kind of contact? See all contact options · Not sure where to start? Start Here
Ready to apply instead?
If you are ready to join the March 2027 cohort, the application is the direct route.
← Home/ Apply — March 2027
MARCH 2027 COHORT — APPLICATIONS OPENApply for March 2027
The first cohort of THE FOUNDERS™ runs in March 2027. It is a hybrid program: join in person in Kigali, Rwanda, or online via Zoom from anywhere, with live sessions running on Kigali time. Every journey begins at Phase 1 — Learn by Building — except for businesses that already operate, which can enter directly at Phase 3. Phase 2 sits between them and is reached only by passing Phase 1, so it cannot be applied for directly. Complete the application below and tell us, honestly, where you are starting from.
Format
In person in Kigali — or online via Zoom
Choose how you will take part: in the room in Kigali, Rwanda, or live online via Zoom. Either way, live sessions run on Kigali time.
Capacity
50 per phase — 150 per cohort
Each phase holds up to 50 participants, and the March 2027 cohort holds 150 in total across Phases 1, 2 and 3.
Fees & currencies
$500 full — or $200 per phase
The full three-month program is $500; taking it phase by phase is $200 per phase. Fees can be paid in USD or RWF.
The journey
Phase 2 is earned, never entered directly
Everyone starts at Phase 1 — including full-program applicants. Passing Phase 1 is what opens Phase 2; no application and no payment can substitute for it.
Commitment
Thursday to Sunday — 12 hours a week
Sessions run Thursday to Sunday, 12 hours a week in total. The commitment floor is 8 hours a week, agreed in writing before you start.
Sponsored seats
A sponsored-seat category is part of this cohort
If cost is the barrier, you can record your interest on the application form. Indicating interest does not guarantee a sponsored seat — selection details will be confirmed.
Why there is no Phase 2 option on this form
Phase 2 — Startup Development — is where participants apply everything built in Phase 1 to one idea, developing it into a launch-ready venture. Because the program accompanies each person through the whole journey from the first step, Phase 2 admits only those who have passed Phase 1, whatever their financial means. If your goal is Phase 2, the route is straightforward: apply here for Phase 1, or for the full program — which also starts at Phase 1 — pass Phase 1, and progress.
The application form — March 2027 cohort
Work through the sections in order. When you submit, your email app opens with your complete application already addressed to apply@thefounderslabafrica.com, ready for you to review and send — the application is sent from your own email app, and this website does not transmit or store it. Your application is complete once you have sent that email. If your email app does not open, the full composed application stays on this page below, ready to copy and send yourself.
Questions before you apply? Read the full program · See the contact options · Not sure which phase fits? Start Here
Applying on behalf of someone?
Parents, guardians, government entities and NGOs are welcome to complete this form for an applicant — the first question asks who is filling it in, so the application is read in the right context.