Innovation Drives

Frameworks applied in practice.

Innovation drives are the adoption vehicles through which SDC's research frameworks reach founders in the real world. Each drive is built on an underlying SDC framework, deployed through SDC OS, accessible fully remotely by anyone anywhere.

Find your drive
01

SDC Primer Course

Entry Point · Awareness & Identification

Deploys SDC's Founder Identification Framework. Individuals understand the difference between building an SME and building a startup via SDC's proprietary Founder Personality Assessment. The entry point into the SDC ecosystem for any founder, anywhere.
Open accessFully remoteSelf-paced
02

SDC Startup School

Core Curriculum · Self-Paced Online Learning

Open Startup School
SDC's foundational venture-building frameworks deployed as a structured online curriculum. Free to access. Any founder, anywhere in the world, can enrol and progress through the full program via SDC OS. The primary vehicle for global framework adoption.
3,500+ learnersSince 2022Global access
03

SDC Launchpad

Advanced Stage · Cohort Pre-Incubation

Open Launchpad
For founders ready for structured, guided application. Delivered via SDC OS as a semi-cohort pre-incubation program with direct coaching, peer community, and ecosystem exposure. Generates the deepest longitudinal outcome data in SDC's research pipeline.
100+ founders5 cohortsVia SDC OS
04

SDC Champions

Student-Focused Arm · Campus to Startup Pipeline

Meet the Champions
SDC's dedicated program for student innovators across Africa. A structured path from a primer course and assessment through community access, Startup School, and the SDC Global Buildathon — turning campus ideas into ventures. Free to join, no prerequisites.
30,000+ students50+ universitiesPan-African
Applied pathways

From awareness and identification to self-paced curriculum and advanced cohort application, the drives form a single pathway into SDC's knowledge infrastructure.

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