Investing in Africa's Greatest Opportunities
Through the Wicked Innovation Labs, we invest in turning Africa's most complex challenges into lasting opportunities, bringing founders, industry, academia, and policymakers together to design solutions and back the ventures that grow from them.
Africa’s Greatest Challenges Hold Its Greatest Opportunities
The same problems that hold communities back, from unreliable energy to fragile food systems, represent some of the largest untapped markets on the continent for anyone able to solve them well.
We fund Wicked Innovation Labs to turn those challenges into ventures that create jobs and improve lives
Turning Wicked Problems Into Viable Ventures
We pair funding with a proven method for understanding complex problems, so that the opportunities we back are ready to grow and scale.
Ideathons
Every great venture starts with a problem worth solving, so we bring innovators together to uncover the right problems and frame them clearly before anyone jumps to solutions.
Hackathons
Teams collaborate to prototype, test, and refine their ideas at speed, learning quickly what works and what doesn't.
Masterclasses
Hands-on training and product-building challenges that help founders and teams make real progress, fast.
Pitch competitions
Founders present their ventures to investors and industry leaders, sharpening their story and competing for the backing to take it further.
Early-stage funding
Capital at the stage where it matters most, giving promising ventures the runway to build and prove their product.
Investor readiness
Preparation that helps founders raise their next round with confidence, from their pitch to their numbers.
From Africa's Challenges to Africa's Next Ventures
Every venture that comes through Wicked Innovation Labs begins with a real problem on the continent, and these are some of the opportunities our alumni are building from them.
The Innovate Africa Grant
We’re looking for people challenging the status quo and creating meaningful change in their communities, industries, and beyond. If their work reflects our values of Innovation, Audacity, and Stewardship, we want to know about them.
Through nominations and an independent selection process, selected innovators will receive non-dilutive grants of $2,000 to help take their work further.
Unlocking Opportunity Across Africa
- 1500+Builders convened
- 2Hackathons
- 127+Ventures received structured support
- 6Portfolio companies
Help Us Fund Solutions to Africa's Wicked Problems
Your support gives the people tackling Africa's hardest challenges the capital, resources, and expertise to build solutions that last.
More from the foundation
- Convene
Inspire Africa Conference
Bringing Africa's product community together to exchange ideas, build connections, and shape what comes next.
- Capital
Wicked Innovation Labs
Backing founders tackling Africa's most pressing challenges with capital, expertise, and connections.
- Connect
WorkNigeria
Connecting Nigeria's product talent with organisations looking to hire and grow product capability.
Frequently asked questions
Wicked Innovation Labs works with founders building solutions to Africa's most complex challenges, and with organisations and institutions that want to turn those challenges into opportunities alongside them.