Position
A research and advisory firm that builds venture-building frameworks from the African context and deploys them globally through its own technology.
Who we are
A research and advisory firm built from the African context.
SDC studies how founders in Africa build companies, the conditions they work in, and the strategies that hold up. We turn that evidence into models that founders, institutions and ecosystem builders can use in any market.
Mission
To develop and share the frameworks, models and applied knowledge that give founders anywhere a structured path from idea to scalable venture.
Vision
A world where the knowledge behind building a venture comes from African realities and works in any market.
Why SDC
Why institutions choose SDC.
We design and we deliver
SDC does not stop at advice. We design the programme architecture and run it end to end: recruitment, selection, delivery and reporting. More than ₦145M in grants and prizes has gone out through programmes we delivered.
Every programme starts with research
We build frameworks from African market realities first, then test whether they travel. We do not adapt imported models after the fact.
Engagements structured for institutions
Five distinct offerings, from programme delivery to capacity development, each matched to what governments, DFIs, corporates and universities need to own at the end.
Proven delivery at scale
10,000+ programme applications and 7,500+ founders reached through engagements with MTN, Africa Technology Expo and Futurize Global, across fintech, healthtech, agritech, edtech and cleantech.
Capability that stays with you
When partners want to run programmes themselves, we train their teams to design and deliver them. The goal is lasting institutional capability, not one-off facilitation.
Research Focus Areas
Four areas where SDC builds original knowledge.
Our core work is building frameworks and models for venture building in the African context. Innovation drives and SDC OS are where those frameworks get used, tested and refined.
01
Founder identification and profiling
How to tell someone building an SME from someone building a startup, and what marks out high-potential founders at the earliest stage. This work produced SDC's Founder Personality Assessment.
Outputs. Founder profiling methodology and assessment tools.
02
Venture-building models for global markets
We study how startups are actually built in African markets and write frameworks that reflect that reality. Then we test whether those models hold up in other markets.
Outputs. African venture-building framework and stage-gate models.
03
SME-to-startup transition pathways
A structured model that helps SME owners decide whether to move from running a lifestyle business to building a startup, and how. Few researchers work on this question.
Outputs. SME-to-startup transition framework and readiness criteria.
04
Ecosystem intelligence and outcome tracking
We track and publish data on early-stage startup education in Africa and beyond, including founder outcomes, programme completion rates, and long-term tracking of SDC alumni through SDC OS.
Outputs. Annual State of Startup Education report and outcome datasets.
Who we serve
Institutional partners across four sectors.
Corporate and private sector
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
Government and public institutions
Ministries, national and state agencies, and technology development bodies strengthening startup education at home and across borders.
Advisory · Curriculum design · Ecosystem strategy · Framework licensing
Development finance and foundations
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
Academic and research institutions
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
₦145M+
Grants and prizes awarded
Distributed through SDC-delivered programmes.
10,000+
Programme applications
Across SDC accelerator and cohort programmes.
7,500+
Founders reached
Through SDC founder education and training tracks.
5+
Programmes delivered
Across fintech, healthtech, agritech, edtech and cleantech.
“Africa does not have a talent problem. It has an opportunity gap. SDC's job is to close that gap, one well-trained founder at a time.”
Selected proof
Projects delivered across the SDC portfolio.
How the five partnership offerings become real delivery: founder education, accelerator design, research-backed execution and institutional support.
Project 01 · MTN Nigeria
The GatheriNG Pitchathon
Full programme design and delivery across Lagos, Enugu, and Aba.
- Lagos edition awarded ₦45M across 8 startups selected from 30 participants.
- Winners: HubPharm Africa (₦15M), Coconoto Ltd (₦10M), RavaSend (₦5M), plus five ₦3M consolation awards.
- Programme expanded to Aba, extending SDC's delivery reach beyond Lagos.
30
Startups pitched
8
Funded
₦45M
Awarded
3
Cities
Ready to scope something similar?
Bring us the mandate. We will shape the delivery.
Whether you need a delivered programme, a platform, research, strategic direction or a trained team, we structure the engagement around that outcome.