What Science for Africa Foundation does

Science for Africa Foundation (SFA Foundation) is a pan-African, non-profit public charity headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, founded in 2021 to support, strengthen, and promote science and innovation across Africa. The foundation operates as a grant-making intermediary, issuing competitive calls for proposals, managing peer review, and distributing multi-year funding to research consortia, individual scientists, and institutions across 33 African countries, with thematic coverage spanning health, climate, agriculture, biodiversity, genomics, mental health, social sciences, humanities, and pandemic preparedness. It administers 10 long-term programmes organised into four portfolios (Leadership & Excellence in Science, Science-based Products, Science Solutions for Emerging Global Priorities, and Science Knowledge in Society) and runs flagship initiatives including DELTAS Africa, H3Africa, Grand Challenges Africa, the Clinical Trials Community Africa Network, POSSIBLE-Africa, the Being Initiative, and the recently launched Nexa climate-health vehicle.

The foundation's core technology stack consists of three purpose-built platforms: Agaseke, a grants management system for applications, reporting, and notifications; Open Research Africa, an open-access publishing platform operated in partnership with F1000/Taylor & Francis and indexed in PubMed and Scopus; and the Clinical Trials Community Platform mapping over 3,500 clinical trial centres across Africa. It has also developed two domain standards, the Good Financial Grant Practice (GFGP) Standard and the Good Research Management Practice (GRMP) Standard (with the African Union through ARSO), positioning it as a governance standards-setter for African research management.

SFA Foundation is funded almost entirely by institutional donors and philanthropic foundations, including Wellcome (core funder, co-funder of H3Africa and DELTAS Africa II), UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Mastercard Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Johnson & Johnson Foundation, Novo Nordisk Foundation, Sanofi Foundation, Government of Canada, Grand Challenges Canada, and the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation. Funds are committed to African scientists over five-year cycles, with $250 million committed for 2023-2027 and $121 million received as of 2023 against $64.35 million awarded to researchers. The foundation does not charge for its services; grant funding is awarded competitively, and it generates no commercial revenue in the traditional sense.

Name

Science for Africa Foundation

Legal name

Science for Africa Foundation

Website

https://scienceforafrica.foundation

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Science for Africa Foundation is a Nairobi-based pan-African non-profit that competitively grants multi-year funding to scientists, research consortia, and institutions across 33 African countries in health, climate, agriculture, genomics, and social sciences, operating the Agaseke, Open Research Africa, and Clinical Trials Community platforms and funded primarily by Wellcome, UK FCDO, Gates, and NIH.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Science Research Grant Administration

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

akta.pro primary industry

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM), Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL), Global Health Research, Evidence & Technical Assistance Organizations (HLAJAKAN)

Keywords

• Research grant funding
• Science capacity building
• Open research publishing
• Clinical trials coordination
• Research management standards

Headquarters

HQ city

Nairobi

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding from International Donors: The foundation receives funding from international donors and development agencies to support African science and research. Major funders include Wellcome, UK Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Johnson & Johnson Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Mastercard Foundation, and various governments. Funds are committed to African scientists over five-year cycles.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Science for Africa Foundation is a pan-African, non-profit grant-making organization that awards competitive grants to African scientists, research institutions, and innovators across health, climate, agriculture, genomics, and social sciences. It administers long-term programmes (such as DELTAS Africa, H3Africa, Grand Challenges Africa, Nexa, and POSSIBLE Africa) and operates technology platforms including the Agaseke Grants Management System and Open Research Africa publishing platform to administer funding, coordinate research networks, and support the African science ecosystem.

Product overview

Science for Africa Foundation is a pan-African, non-profit organization that operates a multi-product science funding and support ecosystem. The core offering includes the Agaseke Grants Management System for grant administration and the Open Research Africa publishing platform. The organization administers 10 long-term programmes organized across four strategic portfolios: Leadership and Excellence in Science (including DELTAS Africa, LEARN R&D Consortia, and H3Africa), Science-based Products (including SITE, SCOPE R&D, and Mental Health R&D), Science Solutions for Emerging Global Priorities (including C-HAB, Being Initiative, and Pandemic Sciences), and Science Knowledge in Society (including SPEAR, REMACS, PES, and SSH Programme). Additionally, the organization manages multiple initiatives including Grand Challenges Africa, Clinical Trials Community Africa Network, POSSIBLE Africa, Transition to Scale, and various capacity-strengthening programmes. The organization recently launched the Nexa Initiative (2026) for climate and health innovations. The portfolio spans basic, applied, and translational sciences, social sciences, humanities, and arts across health, climate, and agriculture thematic areas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Agaseke Grants Management System Online grants management system enabling applicants, reviewers and committees to access grant information, submit applications, update personal information, submit reports, and receive notifications. Named after a Rwandese woven basket representing community and unity of purpose.
• Open Research Africa (ORA) Open research publishing platform providing African research organizations a dedicated space to share and promote research outputs rapidly and transparently using a post-publication peer review model.
• Grand Challenges Africa Innovation programme supporting bold, impactful ideas with seed and scale-up grants for African solutions addressing health and developmental challenges.
• DELTAS Africa Long-term programme (Developing Excellence in Leadership, Training, and Science in Africa) supporting consortia to develop world-class research and African scientific leaders.
• Human Heredity & Health in Africa (H3Africa) $176M genomics initiative supporting population-based studies using genetic, clinical, and epidemiological tools to understand disease susceptibility, pathogenesis and prevention in African populations.
• Clinical Trials Community Africa Network (CTCAN) Network providing a coordination platform for African clinical research stakeholders including clinical researchers, regulators, industry partners to define priority diseases for clinical research and increase sustainable clinical trials.
• Being Initiative Global partnership managing longitudinal research programmes across 13 priority countries to understand and predict long-term effects of stressors on mental wellbeing of young people aged 10-24.
• POSSIBLE Africa Two-year programme (Preparing Outstanding Social Science Investigators to Benefit Lives and Environments in Africa) supporting up to 25 African postdoctoral fellowships advancing social sciences and humanities research with $65,000 per fellow.
• Cross Pharma Capacity Development Initiative (CPCDI) Initiative increasing the number of clinical research and trial investments on the continent by developing local and sector partners to collectively develop clinical trial capacity.
• Nexa Initiative Global initiative providing catalytic funding for early-stage and growth-stage climate and health innovations that strengthen health systems adaptation and resilience, with up to US$200,000 for early-stage proof-of-concept and up to US$2 million for proven innovations.
• Africa Brain Health Action Plan Five-year action plan promoting brain health and economic growth across Africa through digital tools, research, and partnerships, addressing brain-related conditions and enhancing African brain capital.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 400 scientists benefited across Africa
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

23 partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Grand Challenges CanadacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 June 2026Co-launch of Nexa global initiative to support locally-led innovations addressing climate-driven health impacts in low- and middle-income countries. Partnership aims to mobilize US$50 million+ in investments targeting vector-borne diseases, extreme heat, and poor air quality.
• Pandemic Sciences Institute, University of OxfordcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to issue call for proposals and establish innovative networks of research excellence in epidemic and pandemic sciences across Africa.
• African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMoU to advance Africa's Agenda 2063 through implementation of long-term scientific programmes. Joint launch of Grand Challenges Malawi and support for Grand Challenges Rwanda.
• UNESCOcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLetter of Intent for high-level collaboration mechanisms to foster regional science dialogue and co-create science products. SFA Foundation facilitated Africa regional foresight workshop for UNEP.
• F1000 / Taylor & FranciscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to operate Open Research Africa publishing platform enabling rapid, peer-reviewed, indexed and accessible publishing for African research.
• International Vaccine InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to strengthen global health and vaccine equity, reflecting shared vision to address Africa's sustainable development challenges while empowering vaccine impact globally.
• Davos Alzheimer's CollaborativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to launch Africa's first five-year Brain Health Action Plan and harness AI for brain health across Africa. Aligns with South African-led G20 Health Working Group priorities.
• African Population Cohorts Consortium (APCC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLandmark partnership with APCC and African Bioinformatics Institute (ABI) for £10 million GEN-IMPACT investment to empower African genomic discovery.
• African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFive-year strategic partnership to advance African-led research and policy impact, embedding science at the heart of Africa's development agenda.
• Liverpool School of Tropical MedicinemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic alliance to fortify Africa's health resilience through expanded programme activities within existing areas of work.
• African BioGenome Project (AfricaBP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlliance to advance scientific approaches to safeguard Africa's biodiversity through genomics. Coordinated pan-African effort to build genomics capacity and generate data for biodiversity and agriculture.
• African Society of Human Genetics (AfSHG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in H3Africa initiative management alongside NIH and Wellcome.
• Clinical Trials Community Africa Network (CTCAN) PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork including nuvoteQ.io, BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH), Global Public Health R&D (Janssen), Fondation Mérieux, and Medicines Development for Global Health Ltd (MDGH) to coordinate clinical research stakeholders in Africa.
• Being Initiative PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal partnership including Fondation Botnar, Grand Challenges Canada (Government of Canada), United for Global Mental Health, Orygen, and UK Department of Health and Social Care (NIHR) to improve mental wellbeing of young people aged 10-24 in 13 priority countries.
• African Humanities AssociationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMoU partner for social sciences and humanities programmes, developing collaborative training programmes and mobilizing funding.
• Human Sciences Research Council of South AfricamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMoU partner for POSSIBLE-Africa implementation, contributing to training workshops and social sciences capacity development.
• Africa CDCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on Africa Health and Development Annual Research Symposium and mental health leadership programme, and collaboration on Africa's digitalisation and innovation agenda.
• Africa Pandemic Sciences CollaborativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership deploying innovative structures based on networks of excellence called Epidemic and Pandemic Sciences Innovation and Leadership Networks (EPSILONs) to strengthen Africa's pandemic resilience.
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdmitted as Observer Organisation to enhance scientific rigour, inclusivity, and policy relevance of evidence from Africa in support of IPCC's work.
• African Union (through ARSO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to develop Africa's first Good Research Management Practice (GRMP) Standard addressing systemic gaps limiting research capacity.
• East, Central, and Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA-HC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in 2nd Africa Health and Development Annual Research Symposium alongside APHRC and GSMA.
• GSMAmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Africa Health and Development Annual Research Symposium focusing on decolonisation of global health.
• African Open Science Platform (AOSP) / National Research Foundation (NRF)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-host of AI & Data Science policy convening addressing critical policy gaps in AI and data science within global health context.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Wellcome Trust: One of the world's largest biomedical research funders and SFA Foundation's largest partner, providing core funding and co-funding H3Africa and DELTAS Africa. Operates a comparable science grantmaking model at much larger scale.
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: Major funder of SFA's Grand Challenges Africa and contraceptive R&D grants. Operates a globally focused science and global health grantmaking model that overlaps with SFA's developmental health research agenda.
• Carnegie Corporation of New York: Philanthropic funder supporting SFA's POSSIBLE-Africa social sciences fellowship programme. Operates a comparable grantmaking approach focused on education, democracy, and international peace including African science capacity.
• Novo Nordisk Foundation: Major philanthropic funder now partnering in SFA's Nexa climate-health initiative. Operates a comparable science and health grantmaking model with significant global health and sustainability programmes.
• Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI): Philanthropic science funder supporting biomedical research and global health with comparable research grantmaking methodology, ecosystem-building approach, and platform/grant investment models overlapping SFA's programmes.
• Open Society Foundations: Large philanthropic foundation supporting public health, education, and scientific infrastructure in Africa. Operates a comparable continental grantmaking footprint and supports science-policy translation analogous to SFA's SPEAR portfolio.
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI): Major biomedical research funder supporting investigator programmes and capacity building, with comparable model of funding research leaders and consortia similar to SFA's DELTAS Africa and LEARN R&D.

Direct peers

• African Academy of Sciences (AAS): Continental African science funding body that previously housed AESA, the predecessor transferred into SFA. Maintains overlapping pan-African science capacity-building and fellowship programmes with shared history and similar target researchers.
• EDCTP (Global Health EDCTP3 Joint Undertaking): European-African partnership funding clinical trials and capacity development in Africa. Directly comparable to SFA's Clinical Trials Community and DELTAS Africa programmes, with overlapping funder base and similar research consortia model.
• Grand Challenges Canada: Direct co-launch partner of SFA's Nexa climate-health initiative; comparable Grand Challenges innovation funding model and shared pipeline in low- and middle-income country health innovations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SciforAfrica
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCzq0fwxoPY0kxI2oNUlUTzg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/scienceforafricafoundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/scienceforafricafoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles22 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Science for Africa Foundation