SDC develops venture-building frameworks from the African context and deploys them globally through proprietary technology, advisory engagements, and applied research.
SDC is a research and advisory firm. Its frameworks reach founders through SDC OS, its own learning platform, and are applied in the field through innovation drives.
The parent institution. It develops original venture-building frameworks, models and applied knowledge from the African context. Everything starts here.
Research CenterSDC's own platform, and the way every SDC framework reaches founders. It is fully remote, so anyone, anywhere, can learn from SDC's research.
Explore SDC OSThe programmes that put SDC's frameworks into practice with founders: Primer Course, Startup School, Launchpad and Champions.
Explore innovation drives
Who is building, where, and what they need. Drawn from 1,833 founders in 47 countries who joined SDC's Innovation Drives.
The evidence points one way: SDC is building the founder pipeline, not drawing from an existing one.
Venture building without research is guesswork. Research without application stays on the shelf. Our process turns field evidence into playbooks that founders and institutions can use.
We gather primary data from founders, operators and institutional records across African markets.
We turn that evidence into frameworks that can be taught, repeated and tested.
We put the frameworks to work through SDC OS, advisory engagements and innovation drives.
Companies working with the African startup ecosystem as employers of founder talent, sponsors of innovation programmes, or providers of startup education through SDC OS.
Framework integration · Corporate innovation · Co-deployment · Sponsored research
Ministries, national and state agencies, and technology development bodies strengthening startup education at home and across borders.
Advisory · Curriculum design · Ecosystem strategy · Framework licensing
DFIs, international foundations and philanthropic organisations that fund or co-produce research on venture building and early-stage startup education.
Research collaboration · Impact measurement · Co-funded programmes · Evidence production
Universities and research centres building startup education programmes, or co-producing research on founder development from non-Western contexts.
Research collaboration · Curriculum licensing · Co-authorship · Faculty advisory
Frameworks, field notes, and early findings. Sent four times a year. No noise.