In July, it was reported that CcHub had launched a new co-funded initiative to support innovation within African universities, in partnership with the Make-IT in Africa project implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

Thirty startup teams were selected from 256 entries in August 2023, with an initial six-week design sprint to help strengthen their pitch and innovation prior to the Demo Day. There six teams were selected for the next stage, namely Smart BiliWrapper (University of Lagos), TY Dami Energy (University of Lagos), Slim Re Biopsy (University of Ibadan), Pharmalink (University of Lagos), Medherence (University of Ibadan), and ConnectCare (University of Ibadan).

A total of 12 more student-led ventures will be selected from Kenya and Namibia for the Uninnovators programme, and those companies will then participate in a knowledge exchange with leading researchers in their fields and get the opportunity to travel to Germany for physical sessions to help to strengthen their prototypes. 

They will then receive funding and advisory services towards building and deploying their MVPs in the marketplace and in partnership with industry where applicable. The programme will culminate in a two-day summit in Nairobi, Kenya where startups will pitch to an international audience of investors and stakeholders as we try to showcase the critical role that higher education institutions play in the broader innovation ecosystem on the continent.