The Future of African AI is Here
The African Technology Forum, with $1M in support from Google.org, is launching the ATF AI Challenge to train 10,000+ young innovators across Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa.
ATF Challenge Winners 2024 & 2025 Cohorts
The Challenge & The Opportunity
We are building the proven pathway from the classroom to a career in AI.
Africa's greatest resource is its human talent, but a critical gap exists between education and employment. The ATF AI Challenge is our solution. We are building the continent's largest, most advanced talent pipeline to ensure the next generation doesn't just consume AI, but builds it, for Africa, by Africans.
The 3-Stage Pipeline
A Complete Journey. A Proven Model.
Our high-touch program guides participants through a three-stage journey:
1. The AI School (Learn)
A free, 4-week virtual bootcamp where 15,000 learners get the foundational AI skills and confidence they need to start building.
2. The AI Challenge (Build)
From the school's graduates, 10,000 participants form more than 2,500 teams. These teams are mentored by industry experts as they build functional AI-powered solutions to address real-world problems identified by institutional partners.
3. The Demo Days (Launch)
The culmination brings top teams face-to-face with more than 200 employers, investors, and strategic partners in each participating country. These showcase events create direct pathways to employment, internships, and funding, converting educational achievement into economic opportunity.
The Partnership
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This scale-up succeeds because it combines two essential elements: institutional depth and strategic acceleration.
ATF's 37-Year History: We aren't a startup. The African Technology Forum's deep-rooted university and industry networks, built since 1988, provide the stability and access to make this scale-up possible.
Google.org's $1M Support: This funding is an accelerant, allowing us to dedicate a full-time staff to provide the intensive, high-touch mentorship that sets our program apart from any online course.
Get Involved
Registrations for the 2026 AI School cohort will open in early 2026. The African Technology Forum is also actively seeking university, corporate, and NGO partners to participate in the program, whether by helping identify talent, providing mentorship, or setting real-world challenges for teams to solve.