Deadline Date: January 10, 2026
The pan-African timbuktoo network, driven by UNDP, is offering a major opportunity for incubators and accelerators across Africa to plug into a continent-wide innovation ecosystem.
applications are open for organizations that wish to become a timbuktoo network partner — becoming part of a shared platform designed to support thousands of startups across multiple sectors. As a participating incubator, you would gain pan-African visibility and collaboration opportunities, connecting with thematic hubs and peer organizations working toward entrepreneurship and inclusive growth.
Joining timbuktoo means access to capacity building through training sessions, workshops, webinars, and exposure to global best practices in incubator management, program design, startup evaluation — tools that can strengthen your ability to nurture early-stage ventures. The network offers resources such as an integrated digital platform, mentorship networks of local and global experts, cohort management tools, data-tracking dashboards, and a repository of case studies and templates to help improve operational efficiency and program quality. Through close collaboration with timbuktoo’s sectoral Hubs, incubators can co-incubate startups across fields like fintech, healthtech, agritech, cleantech, creative industries and more — giving supported ventures specialized domain expertise and access to advanced programs and funding.
This opportunity isn’t limited by sector: incubators working in technology broadly or with particular focuses such as agriculture, climate, health, education, creative industries or manufacturing are all eligible. To qualify, an applicant must be based on the African continent, have a track record in running startup incubation or acceleration programs, and possess a committed team and mentors capable of delivering such programs. Organizations should demonstrate a commitment to inclusive, sustainable impact — including outreach to youth, women, underserved communities — and a readiness to collaborate and adopt new tools, methodologies and shared standards.
For incubators and accelerators that meet these criteria, timbuktoo offers a chance to become part of a large-scale, well-supported continental infrastructure for startup support. Being part of this network can substantially amplify the reach and impact of your work, provide access to expertise and resources that might otherwise be unavailable, and position you at the heart of Africa’s emerging innovation ecosystem. For those committed to building sustainable enterprises and enabling startups to scale, this is an invitation to be part of something transformative — and to shape the future of African entrepreneurship.
For more information, visit UNDP.
