Lab of Tomorrow

What Lab of Tomorrow does

Lab of Tomorrow is a business development programme operated by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), with selected endorsement by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC). Founded in 2020 and headquartered at GIZ's registered offices in Bonn and Eschborn, Germany, the programme applies a Design Thinking-based co-creation methodology to identify unmet needs with business potential in emerging markets, then matches European companies with local firms to jointly develop new products and services that contribute to UN Sustainable Development Goals. Deliverables span core programme operations, discrete Challenges (current examples include Blue Economy Solutions in South Africa, post-harvest loss reduction in Cameroon, and EV battery circular innovation in Kenya), and resulting Ventures; supporting outputs include a publicly available Manual and Toolkit (English and French) that allow partner organisations to run their own programmes.

The business model is non-commercial and government-funded. The programme runs on official development assistance rather than earned revenue, with participation fees decided per programme (and sometimes discounted, e.g., 50% for African companies at conferences); travel and accommodation are borne by participants. GTM is event- and challenge-driven: challenges are published on the lab-of-tomorrow.com website, participants apply directly, and Ideation Sprints are run at conferences such as Ocean Innovation Africa, with teams co-owning resulting ventures. Customer segments span European businesses seeking emerging-market entry, local businesses in developing countries, development organisations and governments that initiate challenges, and impact investors receiving deal-flow access via pitch sessions, demo days, and a shared dealbook. Track-record metrics cited by the organisation include 29 running and completed programmes, 461 participating companies, 70 promising concepts, 24 ventures preparing for market entry, and 15 businesses active in the market across Africa, Asia, South-East Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and North Africa.

Name

Lab of Tomorrow

Legal name

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

Website

https://lab-of-tomorrow.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Lab of Tomorrow is a German government-funded GIZ programme, commissioned by BMZ, that uses Design Thinking to match European and local businesses in emerging markets to co-create SDG-aligned products and services. It has run 29 programmes with 461 participating companies across 20+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Eschborn

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Development Cooperation Funding: The programme is run on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by GIZ GmbH, funded through official development assistance rather than commercial revenue generation

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Lab of Tomorrow is a business development programme that identifies unmet needs with business potential in emerging markets and runs challenge-driven co-creation initiatives. It matches European companies with local businesses in developing countries to jointly design, pilot, and launch new products and services that contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The programme is implemented by GIZ on behalf of BMZ, providing business case sourcing, participant matching, business development coaching, and access to a partner network of investors, mentors, and policymakers.

Product overview

The lab of tomorrow is a business development programme operated by GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The offering consists of the core Lab of Tomorrow Programme, which runs challenges in emerging markets, supporting the creation of new ventures through co-creation between European and local businesses. The portfolio includes completed and running Challenges across sectors like agriculture, blue economy, circular economy, e-commerce, and healthcare. Supporting the programme are the Manual and Toolkit resources, which enable organizations to conduct their own lab of tomorrow programmes. Ventures resulting from the programme include Wingcopter (drone solutions), Wheeling Fruits (mobile food processing), Maisha Meds/Meds on Demand (digital health tools), Wazima Health (tele-health platform), Skytrip (digital travel), Health Games (eLearning), Wamala (solar cooling), and CDMS (NCD medication procurement).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lab of Tomorrow Programme A business development programme that inspires European and local businesses to jointly create new products and services for emerging markets, guided by Design Thinking principles and supported by topic experts and the public sector. Includes Ideation Sprints, incubation support, and pilot funding.
• Lab of Tomorrow Challenges Individual challenge calls within the programme that target specific development problems in emerging markets (e.g., Blue Economy Solutions in South Africa, Reducing Post-Harvest Losses in Cameroon, EV Battery Circular Innovation in Kenya). Companies apply and are matched into teams to co-create solutions.
• Lab of Tomorrow Ventures Viable new businesses created through the lab of tomorrow programme and owned/driven by private-sector participants. 15 ventures are active in the market, covering healthcare, agriculture, energy, logistics, tourism, and digital services.
• Lab of Tomorrow Manual A comprehensive guidelines document that enables organizations to conduct their own lab of tomorrow programme in a self-directed manner, available in English and French.
• Lab of Tomorrow Toolkit Supporting materials and tools that enable organizations to conduct their own lab of tomorrow programme, available in English and French.

Quantifiable outcome

• 29 programmes completed across 30+ countries
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• GIZ GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerImplemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, which provides access to an extensive network of international key players from public and private sector. GIZ runs the programme operations.
• BMZ (Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Lab of Tomorrow is run on behalf of BMZ, which supports cooperation with the private sector through consulting, piloting, and implementing projects as well as financing support.
• Austrian Development Agency (ADA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAustrian Development Agency has chosen the Lab of Tomorrow as programme of choice to solve specific development challenges.
• Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss Development Agency has selected the Lab of Tomorrow as programme of choice to address development challenges.
• Impact Hub KigaliminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner network organization supporting Lab of Tomorrow operations in East Africa.
• SeedstarsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner network organization in the Lab of Tomorrow ecosystem supporting startup engagement.
• AHK Southern AfricaminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGerman Chamber of Commerce Abroad in Southern Africa co-organizing Blue Economy challenge with GIZ and Ocean Innovation Africa.
• Ocean Innovation AfricaminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorConference organizer partnering with GIZ and AHK Southern Africa to host the Lab of Tomorrow Blue Economy challenge at their March 2026 conference in Durban.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Impact Hub Network: Global network of impact-focused entrepreneurship hubs (including Impact Hub Kigali, a Lab of Tomorrow partner) running incubation, ideation, and accelerator programmes for impact ventures — comparable co-creation format with shared participants in the same geographies.
• Shell Foundation: Shell Foundation builds and grows enterprises addressing energy, mobility, and digital inclusion in emerging markets — directly comparable venture-creation model with emerging-market focus and development-cooperation sponsorship orientation.
• UNDP Accelerator Labs: UNDP's global network of 90+ Accelerator Labs applies collective intelligence, design thinking, and rapid experimentation to development challenges — directly comparable methodology to Lab of Tomorrow's co-creation approach, but funded by UN member-state contributions rather than BMZ.
• Acumen: Acumen invests in and incubates early-stage enterprises serving low-income customers across Africa, Asia, and Latin America — shares Lab of Tomorrow's emerging-market venture-creation mandate and impact-investor linkage, but operates as an independent non-profit rather than a government-funded programme.
• Endeavor: Endeavor selects and supports high-impact entrepreneurs in 40+ emerging markets with mentoring, network access, and co-investment — overlaps with Lab of Tomorrow's entrepreneur-matching and partnership-building across emerging economies, but focuses on scale-up rather than ideation-stage ventures.

Broad incumbents

• GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit): GIZ is the parent operating entity of Lab of Tomorrow, with 25,000+ staff implementing German development cooperation globally; while broader in scope, GIZ sets the institutional framework, governance, and funding infrastructure under which Lab of Tomorrow operates.
• TechnoServe: TechnoServe works with entrepreneurial men and women in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses, and industries — broader in scope (agriculture-heavy, all-stage support) but operates in the same development-cooperation ecosystem serving emerging-market SMEs that Lab of Tomorrow targets.

Regional players

• FCDO/GOV.UK Private Sector Development programmes: UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office runs equivalent challenge funds and venture-building programmes in Commonwealth emerging markets — comparable donor-side approach but operates under UK development-cooperation funding rather than German ODA, and concentrates in different geographies.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/laboftomorrow
• Facebookfacebook.com/laboftomorrow

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Lab of Tomorrow