Deadline Date: March 27, 2026
The AFRISE Challenge provides an unparalleled opportunity for high-potential African youth and student entrepreneurs to advance their entrepreneurial journey and contribute to economic development.
The program focuses on key areas including Financial Services, Healthcare, Agriculture, Energy / Utility, Education, Environment, Telecommunications, and Arts & Creativity.
Targeted at African youth aged 18 to 35, AFRISE seeks applications from Nigeria, Uganda, Morocco, Kenya, Rwanda, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal. The initiative aims to identify young innovators and entrepreneurs who have scalable ideas to solve widespread challenges. Concordia University and Hindsight Ventures have partnered to create this platform, with a central theme emphasizing how youth entrepreneurs can help African economies to “Rise.”
Selected participants will join a mentorship and leadership development accelerator designed to guide founders through essential aspects of building and scaling their ventures. The program is delivered by successful founders, industry leaders, domain experts, and investors, alongside faculty and leaders from Concordia University and the Hindsight Ventures network.
The Accelerator Program culminates in an International Demo Day, where the top 15 entrepreneurs present their ideas virtually to early-stage venture investors and Entrepreneurship Support Organizations, providing access to both grant and equity-based funding. In addition, each startup receives over $600,000 in technology credits from partners such as AWS, Zoho, IBM, Microsoft, Canva, DigitalOcean, FreshWorks, and more, helping them scale and refine their solutions effectively.
For more information, visit Concordia University.
