Empowering Africa to rise through STEM & innovation
We ignite the minds of Africa’s next generation to rise, lead, and transform their communities through innovation labs, mentorship, and accessible STEM education.
A growing community
of changemakers across the continent
Equipping 100,000 young Africans with real STEM skills by 2030.
Free, hands-on STEM learning and mentorship; so talent, not circumstance, decides who rises.
Start learning in three steps
From sign-up to a certificate you can share, the whole path is free.
Create a free account
Sign up in a minute with just an email. It is free, and always will be.
Learn by doing
Take a course, run real code right in your browser, and tackle hands-on challenges.
Earn a certificate
Finish the capstone project to earn a verifiable certificate you can share with schools and employers.
Our impact so far
Momentum that’s reshaping futures
256
Certificates Issued
506
Challenges Live
5
Learning Tracks
425
Students Trained
A youth-led movement for accessible STEM
RiseAfrica Foundation is a youth-led nonprofit advancing accessible STEM education, innovation, and leadership development for African youth, with a deliberate focus on under-resourced communities.
Reach the unreached: bringing labs and learning to communities the system overlooks.
Led by young Africans: built and run by the generation it serves.
Closing the gender gap: putting girls at the centre of STEM.
To bridge the STEM gap across Africa through innovation labs, mentorship, and partnerships that build a brighter, tech-driven future for all.
Ways we help young Africans rise
From makerspaces to mentorship, every program turns curiosity into capability.
Hybrid Master Class: AI, Management & Research (Sierra Leone)
A flexible hybrid program (online plus weekend or weekday in-person sessions) delivered with a local partner in Sierra Leone. Modules run over 4 to 6 months, taught by expert facilitators, ending in a RiseAfrica certificate. For college students and young professionals closing the gap between university and real-world skills.
Cybersecurity Fellowship
Hands-on defensive and offensive security training with mentorship from industry practitioners. Applications open soon.
Data Science Bootcamp (Cohort 1)
A 10-week, project-driven path from spreadsheets to machine learning on real African datasets. Includes weekly mentorship and a capstone.
Robotics & IoT Lab
Build sensors, embedded systems, and automation projects in a guided maker environment.
Free courses & real-world challenges
Our learning platform pairs guided courses with hands-on challenges on real African datasets, and verifiable certificates.
Capstone: Use AI to Win an Opportunity
The capstone for AI for Career Success. Use the Role-Task-Context-Format recipe to create something real with AI, land a job, learn a skill, or build something, refine it at least twice, and submit your work with a short reflection.
Start Challenge →Predict Student Exam Scores
The capstone for Intro to Machine Learning. Use the full machine learning loop to predict student exam scores, validate your model honestly, and write a short report on what you found.
Start Challenge →Data Analysis Mini-Project
Apply what you learned: pick a dataset, clean it, explore it, and report your findings.
Start Challenge →There’s a place for you in this
Whether you’re a teacher, student, or tech professional, your time, skills, or support move a young person forward.
Volunteer & Mentor
Give a few hours a month to teach, mentor, or run a lab session.
Become a Volunteer →Partner with us
Schools, companies, and NGOs: let’s build labs and programs together.
Start a partnership →
“Talent is everywhere across Africa — opportunity isn't. RiseAfrica exists to close that gap”
Ibrahim Denis Fofanah · Founder & Executive Director
Read the founder’s story →What our community says
“I went from never writing a line of code to analysing real data in a few weeks. Running everything in the browser meant I could keep learning on my phone, even when the network was slow.”
Aminata ContehData Science student, Freetown“The hands-on labs made it click for me. Reading real logs and spotting an attack felt like the actual job, not just theory from a textbook.”
“I built and explained my first sense-and-act project here. The lessons start from zero and never make you feel behind.”
“Mentoring with RiseAfrica is genuinely rewarding. The learners come curious and prepared, and the platform keeps the projects and feedback all in one place.”
In partnership with
Questions, answered
Who can join RiseAfrica?
Any young person in Africa who’s curious about technology. Beginner tracks assume no prior experience, so bring your curiosity and we’ll take it from there.
How much does it cost?
Our courses and challenges are free. RiseAfrica is a nonprofit funded by donors and partners so that cost is never the barrier to learning STEM.
Do I earn a certificate?
Yes. Complete a course (and its capstone project where one is set) and you earn a verifiable RiseAfrica certificate you can share with schools and employers.
What do I need to start?
An email address and an internet connection. The platform is built to be lightweight for African networks; some hands-on lessons are best done on a computer.
How can I support the mission?
You can give a one-time or monthly donation, volunteer as a mentor, or partner with us as a school, company, or NGO. Every contribution moves a young person forward.
Still curious? Reach out. We’d love to hear from you.
Ready to help Africa rise?
Join a continent-wide network of volunteers, mentors, partners, and changemakers building a tech-driven future for all.