Your Launchpad to Innovate, Build & Lead

NOVEMBER 17 - DECEMBER 5, 2025

Ready to turn your big idea into real-world impact? The Futurize Academy is a high-energy, 3-week launchpad where bold thinkers and daring dreamers become unstoppable entrepreneurs. You’ll dive into transforming raw ideas into powerful solutions tackling Africa’s greatest challenges in healthcare, climate change, and energy.

AFRICA’S LARGEST ENTREPRENEURSHIP ACADEMY IN HEALTH, CLIMATE & ENERGY

WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2025

JOIN OVER 2000 LEARNERS - LAUNCHING YOUR STARTUP AND WORK WITH THE BRIGHTEST MINDS

12 COUNTRIES

30+ HOURS

CONTENT

80+

MENTORS

28 UNIVERSITIES

ACADEMY OVERVIEW

Your Entrepreneurship Journey Starts With Futurize Academy

In only three weeks, you won’t just be brainstorming - you’ll be building. By the end of the Academy, you’ll have a sharp early-stage business concept, tested and ready to take to the next level. And this is just the beginning: the most promising teams will earn a coveted spot in the Futurize Incubator, launching March 2026, where your startup journey accelerates from concept to real-world impact. 🚀

Register for the Academy and join with your friends or solo. On the virtual platform, you can network with hundreds of students across 12 countries to form your team. We recommend to have 2 universities represented on a team! Team size is 3-6 members.
Attend 20+ hours workshops, keynotes, and industry masterclasses about healthcare and climate change. Each team receives a mentor to help them develop their idea. Prepare a 3 minute pitch video for your chance to advance to the Demo Day.
Day 1: Team Building & Networking: Find your co-founders
Days 2-18: Training, Workshops, & Mentorship: Learn from World-Class Experts on design thinking, ideation, pitching, business model canvas as well as receive exclusive insights in the topics of healthcare and climate change
Day 21: Pitch Day: Showcase Your Solution to the World
This is your chance to continue your entrepreneurship journey. The best teams have the opportunity to apply to our incubator program. More information can be found here.

REGISTER

PROGRAM FOCUS AREAS

Your task is to develop a concept for one of the following challenge statements. Technical prototypes are mandatory.

🚑

HEALTHCARE

AI and Digital Health for Accessible Care

How might we harness AI, machine learning, and digital platforms to improve the early detection, diagnosis, and management of diseases, particularly non-communicable diseases like diabetes, cancer, and hypertension, while expanding access to care in underserved African communities?

This includes solutions that connect patients with providers, enable remote consultations, and support data-driven healthcare delivery through AI-powered screening tools, low-cost diagnostic devices, telehealth apps, and predictive analytics platforms.

🌍

CLIMATE

Climate-Smart Agriculture and Sustainable Mobility

How might we develop affordable digital and IoT-enabled solutions that help African communities adapt to climate change, empowering smallholder farmers to boost productivity and resilience while transforming how people move within cities and rural areas?

This includes innovations that improve irrigation, monitor soil and weather data, optimize transport systems, and reduce emissions, such as sensor-based irrigation tools, AI crop advisory platforms, ride-sharing and e-mobility solutions, and apps promoting sustainable transport choices.

🔋

ENERGY

Clean and Resilient Energy Solutions

How might we develop affordable, tech-enabled innovations that expand access to reliable and sustainable energy while reducing dependence on fossil fuels across Africa?

This includes solutions that improve energy generation, storage, and efficiency through solar microgrids, smart metering systems, AI-powered energy management tools, and digital platforms that optimize household and community power use.

1. Form Your Team

Bring together 3-6 members. Your teammates can all be from your university, or you can form a cross-university team to combine different skills and perspectives. The virtual platform opens 1 month prior to launch, giving you time to connect with peers across the continent.

2. Dive Into the Academy

Participate fully in the workshops, keynotes, and mentorship sessions (delivered virtually). This is where you’ll learn the tools of entrepreneurship, from problem validation to prototype design.

3. Build Your Solution

Work with your team to develop a technical prototype that addresses a real challenge in healthcare or climate. A technical prototype can be a basic web or mobile app, AI Model, or data-driven tool that showcases your idea’s functionality.

4. Pitch Like a Pro

Create a 3-minute pitch deck and video that clearly communicates your idea, impact, and potential. Workshops will help you create the perfect submission.

5. Compete for Demo Day

Submit your final pitch. The top six teams will advance to Demo Day, where you’ll showcase your startup to investors, industry leaders, and partners.

6. Win and Launch

At Demo Day, the winning team receives $1,000 USD and direct entry into the Futurize Incubator - the next step toward building an investor-ready venture. Every participant receives an official certificate of completion.

WHAT IT TAKES

From team to prototype to pitch — all the way to Demo Day

YOUR ENTREPRENEURIAL JOURNEY STARTS WITH THE FUTURIZE ACADEMY

These startups took their first step by participating in the Academy as a newly formed team - continuing their journey from September to November in our flagship incubator program