African Union (AU) Digital And Innovation Fellowship Program (Cohort 2) For African Tech Innovators

Introduction to the African Union (AU) Digital and Innovation Fellowship Program

Application Deadline: April 28, 2024Applications are currently being accepted for the 2024 cohort of the African Union (AU) Digital and Innovation Fellowship Program.

This program spans 12 months and aims to select and deploy highly skilled technology innovators from Africa to various units and departments within the African Union headquarters.

These individuals will serve as resident fellows, gaining an understanding of the operations within these units, identifying data management challenges, and devising solutions through the collaborative creation of innovative, customized products and processes.

The goal is to enhance data management procedures and overall efficiency within the AU, while also ensuring the sustainability of the developed solutions beyond the fellowship period by strengthening the internal capacity of AU staff within these units.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible, you must:

– Be based in Africa and hold citizenship of an African Union member state.

– Be under 34 years old at the time of application.

– Possess a tertiary education degree or its equivalent.

– Demonstrate the ability to gather comprehensive information on complex issues, analyze information accurately, and identify key problems and solutions.

– Have experience and technical expertise in designing innovative technology products or solutions.

– Be able to travel to attend an induction workshop.

– Be willing to commit to a 12-month period.

Fellows must be prepared to take a hiatus from current responsibilities and relocate to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

– Applicants proficient in more than one AU official language (Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swahili) are strongly encouraged to apply.

Benefits

Participate in multiple capacity-building training sessions led by leading experts from the African innovation ecosystem.

Receive mentorship from seasoned industry experts selected from the AfriLabs community.

Network and gain insights from various peer-to-peer learning opportunities.

Receive monthly stipends for the duration of the Fellowship.

Take part in fully-funded trips to ecosystem events, onboarding/offboarding sessions, study tours, and more.

Attend a formal graduation ceremony where fellows will receive certificates.Be acknowledged as a fellow/alumnus of the African Union Digital and Innovation Fellowship Program.

All-expense Paid TripDuring the Fellowship, all fellows’ travel expenses for deployment to Addis Ababa, events, learning tour, offboarding, etc. will be fully covered by the Fellowship.

Capacity Building TrainingInduction Workshop:

Throughout the Fellowship, fellows will receive support through various capacity-building training sessions, starting with an Induction Workshop.

Virtual Pre-deployment Workshop:

Prior to their deployment to AU departments/organs in Addis Ababa, fellows will participate in a virtual pre-deployment workshop led by seasoned tech fellowship experts.

Needs-based Capacity Building Training:

Fellows will undergo needs-based capacity building training tailored to address their identified areas of need, determined through a needs assessment.

This training will be conducted by experienced trainers from the AfriLabs network.

Learning Tour:

Fellows will embark on a learning tour to a leading tech organization renowned for its expertise in assisting tech innovators develop solutions for government and organizational challenges.

Application and SelectionThe African Union Digital and Innovation Fellowship application is available to all qualified applicants, and the selection process is entirely based on merit.