AXUMINSTITUTE

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FOR CONTINENTAL PROSPERITY

Illustrative image of African researchers examining an agricultural sensor prototype.
Illustrative image · Research into practical possibility

We investigate problems that matter to Africa.

Axum Institute supports researchers and builders investigating problems shaped by African realities, and helps turn what they learn into knowledge, technology and systems that work.

Research grants are open Read our manifesto

01 / OUR PURPOSE

Our founding manifesto

Knowledge must become agency.

02 / FROM QUESTION TO VALUE

Where intellectual property fits

Invention follows research.

Patents, products and new institutions are not where research begins. They are what a healthy research ecosystem produces over time. Africa’s small share of patent activity is one visible sign of a wider gap in research and invention.

  1. 01Problem
  2. 02Question
  3. 03Research
  4. 04Evidence
  5. 05Invention
  6. 06Product / Institution
  7. 07Economic & intellectual value

Patent figures describe where applications are filed, including filings by non-residents. They do not measure all African invention. The population figure is not a graduate count.

Intellectual property is one possible outcome of good research. Where the evidence supports it, we help researchers assess patentability against prior art and the requirements of each jurisdiction, and find a route to use that creates value in Africa.

03 / WHERE WE ARE LOOKING

Examples, not boundaries.

Problems worth investigating.

Africa’s languages, disease ecologies, farming systems, institutions and infrastructure create problems that generic solutions can miss. These eight areas show where we have begun to look. They are examples of important problems, not funding categories. A strong proposal may sit between them or outside them entirely.

Illustrative imagery generated for Axum’s research priorities.

04 / AXUM RESEARCH GRANTS

Inaugural cycle · Rolling review

Have a question worth investigating?

Axum Institute is accepting proposals from researchers and builders investigating problems that matter to Africa.

Propose a project

No CV or cover letter. Start with the question.

INAUGURAL RESEARCH CYCLE

Up to $2,000

in total funding is available for selected projects in our inaugural research cycle.

This is the total funding pool for the cycle. It is not a guarantee of $2,000 per applicant or selected project. Funding can be allocated across one or more projects based on scope and requirements.

WHAT A PROJECT PRODUCES

Within approximately 90 days, a project might produce a research paper, dataset, evaluation, field study, open-source tool, prototype, new method or rigorous case study.

Negative results are valid outcomes when produced through rigorous work.

START WITH THE PROBLEM

Many proposals will involve AI, particularly where existing systems fail because African users, languages, institutions, infrastructure, documents or markets differ from the settings those systems were built for. AI may be the solution. It does not have to be.

We welcome work in energy, manufacturing, agriculture, health systems, public information, finance, infrastructure and beyond, where the contribution is genuine research, measurement or evidence.

WHO CAN APPLY

  • Researchers
  • PhD students
  • Engineers
  • Scientists
  • Builders
  • Domain experts
  • People who have met an important problem through their work

Applicants may be based in Africa or elsewhere. Academic credentials are useful but not required.

THE TERMS

Research funding

This is project research funding, not a salary, full-time role or promise of employment. Projects should generally be possible alongside an existing university, institutional or professional affiliation.

THE TERMS

Your work remains yours

Axum does not automatically take ownership of your thesis, data, affiliation or intellectual work. Any specific IP, authorship or data arrangements are agreed before a project begins.

THE TERMS

How we review

Proposals are reviewed as they arrive, with no fixed deadline. We review them primarily on the question, the quality of the proposed investigation, and whether Axum can meaningfully help make the work happen.

Propose a project

Pledges to research areas and a searchable record of prior work are in development and not yet available.