SDC's frameworks are developed through ongoing research into how founders build ventures across African markets. As frameworks complete the firm's release process, full release, sample, feedback, improve, working paper, they will be published here.
Annual reports, briefings, working papers, and the State of Startup Education series.
Founder identification, venture-building models, SME-to-startup transition, and ecosystem intelligence.
Frameworks will appear here once they are named, published, and ready for public release.
SDC's primary work is the development of frameworks and models for venture building in the African context. Our innovation drives, programs, and community tools are the vehicles through which these frameworks are adopted, tested, and refined in practice.
SDC researches how to distinguish between individuals building SMEs and those building startups — and what distinguishes high-potential founders at the earliest stage. Includes SDC's proprietary Founder Personality Assessment framework.
Output: Founder profiling methodology; assessment tools
We study how startups are actually built in African contexts and develop frameworks that reflect those realities. We then test whether those models travel to other markets — producing universally applicable knowledge from African intellectual foundations.
Output: African venture-building framework; stage-gate models
SDC has developed a structured model for helping SME founders understand whether and how to transition from lifestyle business thinking to startup thinking — a largely unexplored area where SDC holds a unique intellectual position.
Output: SME-to-Startup transition framework; readiness criteria
We track and publish data on the state of primary startup education across Africa and globally — including founder outcome data, program completion rates, and longitudinal tracking of SDC alumni through SDC OS.
Output: Annual State of Startup Education report; global outcome datasets
Quantitative analysis, founder pipeline intelligence, and sector-specific reports compiled from SDC's research desk.
Our research team is available for advisory engagements and institutional knowledge transfer.
Book a research consultationWe collaborate with universities, research centers, and institutions to co-produce original research on venture building and founder development.