StartUpAfrica, Inc.

Name

StartUpAfrica, Inc.

Legal name

StartUpAfrica

Website

https://startupafrica.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Entrepreneurship Education and Training

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Business Planning, Pitching & Competitions (Pitch Decks, Demo Days) (EDAMAHAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA), Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators (EDAMAHAC), Entrepreneurship, Startup Incubation & Pitch Programs (EDAMAKAK), Entrepreneurship, Business & Innovation Camps (EDAMALAL)

Keywords

• Youth entrepreneurship programs
• Innovation competitions
• Entrepreneurship education
• Capacity building training
• Startup awards galas

Headquarters

HQ city

Wilmington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Sponsorships: Primary revenue from individual donations (via GivingTuesday campaigns) and corporate sponsorships at Platinum ($5,000), Gold ($3,500), Silver ($2,500), and Bronze ($1,500) tiers. Sponsors receive event tickets, signage, social media recognition, and award presentation opportunities.
2. Event Revenue: Tickets sold for the annual Entrepreneurship Awards Gala. Nominations and registrations for Innovation Olympiads and other programs generate modest enrollment fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

StartUpAfrica is a non-profit organization that runs a portfolio of entrepreneurship education and innovation programs for African youth. Its core offerings include the Innovation Olympiads competition, Entrepreneurship Academy and Bootcamp, Educator Capacity Building, the Agriculture/Agribusiness and STEAM Program, the Innovation Towards Climate Change Program, and the annual Entrepreneurship Awards Gala. Programs are delivered through university partnerships, physical events, and the SkillPark Africa online registration platform, funded primarily by donations and corporate sponsorships.

Product overview

StartUpAfrica is an entrepreneurship support organization offering a multi-program portfolio centered around youth innovation and business development. The core offerings include the StartUpAfrica Innovation Olympiads (SIO) as the flagship annual competition platform, complemented by seven specialized programs: the Entrepreneurship Academy, Entrepreneurship Bootcamp, Entrepreneurship Exchange Program, Educator Capacity Building Program, Agriculture/Agribusiness and STEAM Program, and Innovation Towards Climate Change Program. Additional offerings include the annual Entrepreneurship Awards Gala and Giving Tuesday fundraising campaign. The organization operates SkillPark Africa, an online registration and event management platform. The portfolio functions as an integrated ecosystem where programs build upon each other—from high school competitions through TVET training, educator empowerment, and international exchange—to develop entrepreneurial skills across Africa's youth.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• StartUpAfrica Innovation Olympiads (SIO) Pan-African in-person innovation competition for students and aspiring entrepreneurs to showcase groundbreaking concepts and solutions, fostering collaboration and job creation across Africa.
• Educator Capacity Building Program Program that enhances the skills and knowledge of teachers and lecturers, cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset within classroom environments and supporting educators in integrating innovation into teaching.
• Entrepreneurship Academy Immersive educational program providing students with hands-on experience in entrepreneurship through learning from seasoned business leaders and professionals.
• Entrepreneurship Bootcamp Intensive and hands-on training program designed to empower young individuals with essential tools and knowledge required for entrepreneurial success.
• Entrepreneurship Exchange Program Transformative international experience designed to inspire and activate students' entrepreneurial potential through experiential education and immersion in a global entrepreneurship ecosystem.
• Agriculture, Agribusiness, and STEAM Program Program nurturing Africa's agribusiness pioneers by combining traditional agricultural wisdom with cutting-edge STEM applications and promoting sustainable agriculture practices.
• Innovation Towards Climate Change Program Program that harnesses the potential of Africa's youth to drive transformative change in the fight against climate change through green innovations and sustainable solutions.
• StartUpAfrica Entrepreneurship Awards Gala Annual gathering that celebrates achievements and recognizes entrepreneurs who have contributed significantly towards the development of entrepreneurship, featuring ticketed tickets and corporate sponsorship tiers.
• Entrepreneurship Awards Nominations Nomination platform for entrepreneurs to be recognized across multiple award categories including Lifetime Achievement, Entrepreneur of the Year, and Youth Entrepreneur Award.
• Giving Tuesday Campaign Annual fundraising campaign dedicated to nurturing innovation and empowering the next generation of leaders across Africa through donations.
• SkillPark Africa Platform Online platform for managing skills and opportunities, providing participant registrations, judge accounts, and event management for StartUpAfrica programs.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Kabarak UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 May 2024Kabarak University serves as the national competition venue for StartUpAfrica Innovation Olympiad in Kenya. The campus hosts young innovators from across the nation presenting projects, with the Awards ceremony held on May 25, 2024, creating an environment for collaboration and innovation.
• Makerere UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMakerere University in Uganda hosts the 2025 Innovation Olympiads as the continental venue. The university serves as a key institutional partner providing facilities for Africa's largest youth innovation event, uniting aspiring entrepreneurs, industry experts, investors, and thought leaders.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Tony Elumelu Foundation: The Tony Elumelu Foundation runs the flagship TEF Entrepreneurship Programme, a pan-African initiative that trains, mentors, and funds young African entrepreneurs annually. Direct peer: same target cohort (African youth entrepreneurs), similar training-plus-competition model, and overlapping geographic footprint across multiple African countries.
• Harambe Entrepreneur Alliance: Harambe is a network that empowers young African entrepreneurs through mentorship, fellowships, and flagship summits like the Harambe Optimist Society. Direct peer: focuses on African youth entrepreneurship ecosystem development, provides pitch/competition platforms, and cultivates a pan-African community of emerging entrepreneurs.
• Enactus: Enactus operates a global student entrepreneurship competition where university teams pitch social enterprises to expert judges, with active country operations across Africa. Direct peer: nearly identical structure (student-led entrepreneurship, pitch competitions, university partnerships), and serves as a competing platform for the same student entrepreneur cohort.
• Anzisha Prize: Operated by the African Leadership Academy, the Anzisha Prize identifies, supports, and celebrates young African entrepreneurs aged 15-22 through awards, mentorship, and a venture accelerator. Direct peer: nearly identical target audience (African youth entrepreneurs), venture showcase model similar to the Innovation Olympiads, and comparable entrepreneurship training programs.
• Junior Achievement Africa: Junior Achievement Africa delivers entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial literacy programs to African youth through schools and educators. Direct peer: same supplemental education model, school- and educator-led delivery, pan-African country footprint, and youth entrepreneurship curriculum orientation.
• Youth Business International: YBI is a global network of organizations supporting young entrepreneurs with training, mentoring, and access to finance across more than 50 countries, including multiple African markets. Direct peer: shares the entrepreneurship training and mentorship model, multi-country network structure, and youth-target segment.

Broad incumbents

• Mastercard Foundation: Mastercard Foundation runs large-scale programs (e.g., Young Africa Works, Scholars Program) focused on education, skills training, and employment for African youth. Broad incumbent: addresses the same youth unemployment and entrepreneurship challenge but at a vastly larger scale, primarily as a funder rather than an operator, and could be a partner or competitor for donor/participant mindshare.

Regional players

• African Leadership Academy: ALA is a pan-African secondary institution in South Africa that develops young African leaders through entrepreneurship, leadership, and college-prep curricula, and runs the Anzisha Prize. Regional player: same African youth leadership/entrepreneurship focus but operates as a residential secondary school rather than a multi-program nonprofit network.
• African Leadership University: ALU is a network of pan-African higher education institutions offering undergraduate and graduate programs with a strong entrepreneurship and leadership curriculum. Regional player: addresses the same audience (African youth pursuing entrepreneurship skills) but through formal degree programs rather than supplemental competitions and short-format training.

Emerging players

• African Management Initiative: AMI delivers management and leadership training to African entrepreneurs and small business managers through online courses and on-the-ground programs. Emerging player: comparable entrepreneurship training content and African SMB/youth segment, but more focused on existing business managers than on ideation-stage youth innovators.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/startup_africa
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/startupafrica-inc-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles20 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about StartUpAfrica, Inc.