Big Bets Fellowships/

Big Bets Fellowship:
Africa

Powering Africa’s leadership to create universal opportunity

2026 Big Bets Fellowship: Africa applications are open!

A Transformational Fellowship for a Better Future

As part of our long-standing commitment to making opportunity universal, the Big Bets Fellowship equips visionary leaders with the mindset, skills, and networks needed to realize their ambitions and drive change in their communities at scale.

Each year, we select a diverse and interdisciplinary cohort of changemakers who are driving bold, systemic solutions to the world’s most urgent challenges – improving lives and expanding opportunity for those historically underserved.

In 2026 the Big Bets Fellowship will engage leaders from across the African continent who are creating the systems, policies, and innovations that can power a prosperous and sustainable future for all.

Centering Africa

Africa stands at a defining moment in its history. Home to the world’s fastest growing and youngest population, the continent’s vitality, ingenuity, and entrepreneurial spirit represent an extraordinary force for global progress. By investing in African leadership now, we can help channel this momentum into building systems, innovations, and opportunities that benefit everyone, not just the fortunate few.

The Big Bets Fellowship: Africa will empower leaders to develop entrepreneurial solutions, resilient systems, and policies that seize the opportunity for growth that is good for people and the planet.

We are looking to support leaders with bold solutions that reimagine an existing system or introduce innovative approaches to harness the know-how, assets, capacities, and energies of others to power a prosperous future for all Africans, focused on ensuring economic prosperity, stability and opportunities for communities who need it most.

Program Dates:

  • Onboarding Call: week of May 4th, 2026
  • Virtual Programing: weekly 90-minute online sessions from May to August
  • In-person Convening at The Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center: week of August 23rd, 2026
  • Amplification Moment: Fall 2026

Travel expenses for participation in the in-person convening will be covered by The Rockefeller Foundation. Fellows will be responsible for securing the necessary visa(s) for any travel during the course of the program.

Fellow Selection Criteria

While there is no single profile of a Big Bets Fellow, the following characteristics describe individuals who are likely to thrive in the program:

  • 5–15 years of experience driving impact through professional, entrepreneurial, or community-based work.
  • Deep engagement in their region, reflected through lived experience, professional contributions, or community involvement.
  • A distinctive perspective and fresh insight into a pressing challenge, informed by both personal and professional experience.
  • A proven track record of meaningful change, demonstrating the ability to lead initiatives and bringing together diverse stakeholders to achieve shared goals.
  • Collaborative, curious, and community-driven, with a strong commitment to learning and contributing to the Fellowship network.
  • Courageous and bold, willing to challenge the status quo and advance new approaches for lasting impact.
  • Applicants must be members of the Big Bets Community to be eligible for the Fellowship.

Project Selection Criteria

A Big Bet is a bold, concerted effort to fundamentally solve a problem, not just make incremental improvements.

Projects may take many forms — from social innovations and policy experiments to community-based initiatives or technology-driven solutions — but all should clearly demonstrate the potential to:

  • Foster greater regional and international collaboration by developing new models of cooperation among African nations, regional bodies, and global partners to strengthen Africa’s collective leadership in shaping the future of multilateral systems for the benefit of African communities OR
  • Accelerate decentralized renewable energy deployment across underserved communities, leveraging Africa’s vast solar and wind resources to close the energy poverty gap and power green industrialization OR
  • Advance public health and heat resilience by strengthening health systems to better prevent, predict, detect, and respond to disease outbreaks and extreme heat impacts driven by climate change, ensuring vulnerable populations can lead healthier lives OR
  • Transform food systems to enhance food security, including by providing nutritious school meals or supporting smallholder farmers OR
  • Strengthen markets and trade systems that enhance regional economic integration and economic development for excluded participants, OR
  • Create enabling conditions for the impact described in any of the priority areas above, with a strong emphasis on artificial intelligence, policy innovation and data access to support African-led solutions for local underserved communities.

To learn more about the program, eligibility criteria and focus areas, please check out the 2026 Big Bets Fellowship: Africa Terms and Conditions.

Read the Terms and Conditions
Application Dates

  • Application Launch: November 10th, 2025
  • Deadline to complete the Eligibility and Pre-Application Forms: December 1st, 2025
  • Finalists invited to submit Full Application and schedule interviews: Early January 2026
  • Deadline to complete Full Application: Late January 2026
  • Interviews conducted: January 2026
  • Fellows announced: Late February 2026

  • The work of these fellows flips the script: the Global South is not just a hotspot for challenges, but a powerhouse for innovative solutions.
    Nathalia Arcencio De Marchi dos Santos
    Manager, Convenings and Networks
    The Rockefeller Foundation
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