Health & Diagnostics
Rapid tests, therapeutics, and tools built for African clinics, so diseases are caught earlier and treated closer to home.
About Future African Scientist
Turning Africa's scientists into founders
We find the continent's most brilliant scientists and give them what the lab never taught them, how to build the biotech companies Africa needs, at home.
About Future African Scientist
Future African Scientist is a non-profit turning the continent's most brilliant scientists into founders, building the biotech companies that will make Africa's own diagnostics, therapeutics, and food security.
FAS is an initiative of scientists, in Africa and around the world, who back the continent's brightest minds to build. We identify Africa's most talented scientists and equip them to become founders, bridging the gap between the lab bench and the market, so the continent builds its own health and wealth sovereignty.
Our advisors come from world-renowned institutions, the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT & Harvard, the Whitehead Institute, and the Max Planck Institute, and together we equip Africa's best scientists to become founders who translate deep science into ventures across diagnostics, therapeutics, and agriculture.
Our impactFollow our journey
From discovery to industry
Since 2020, Future African Scientist has grown from a single bold idea into a pan-African community of scientists who don't just publish, they build, launching ventures that solve problems in the places they come from.
From diagnostics to agriculture to therapeutics, our founders are proving that world-class, African-led biotech can be built on the continent, and that its value stays there.
- 500+
- Scientists trained
- 16
- Countries reached
- 30+
- Universities reached
- 100%
- African-led
Why we exist
We turn Africa's scientists into the founders of its biotech industry, so the continent makes its own therapeutics, diagnostics, and prosperity.
Our Vision
A self-sustaining African biotech industry, where the continent's scientists build the companies that solve its greatest challenges, and keep the value at home.
Our Mission
To find Africa's most driven scientists and equip them to become founders, building ventures that translate deep science into real-world impact.
Our focus
Where our founders build
Our founders build across three high-impact fields where African-led biotech can change lives, and where the continent can no longer afford to depend on imports.
Agriculture & Food
Biotech that protects crops, cuts waste, and strengthens food security, rooted in local realities and led by African founders.
Applied AI
Data and AI put to work accelerating discovery and diagnostics, across health, agriculture, and the problems still waiting to be solved.
Governance & leadership
The people guiding our work
FAS is guided by a distinguished advisory board of world-renowned scientists, educators, and entrepreneurs, and run day to day by a committed team, each bringing decades of experience to the founders we serve.
Advisory Board
Our advisory board comprises renowned scientists, educators, non-profit professionals, and entrepreneurs. Together they bring a wealth of experience to help us deliver the best possible experience to young African scientists.
Meet the Advisory BoardManagement Team
Future African Scientist is led by a team of committed young entrepreneurs and scientists who steer our strategy, operations, and programs across the continent.
Meet the Management Team
Our story through timeExplore the timeline
From an idea to a pan-African movement
What began in 2020 as a bold idea, that Africa's brightest scientific minds should build, not just leave, has grown into a pan-African community spanning many countries, disciplines, and generations of founders.
Follow our journey through the milestones that shaped FAS, from our first cohort to the ventures our scientists are building today.
The opportunity
Why this matters now
The gap between Africa's scientific talent and the industry it deserves is the largest opportunity of our generation.
25%
of the world's disease burden falls on Africa, yet the continent makes almost none of its own diagnostics and therapeutics.
<2%
of global scientific output comes from Africa, despite its abundance of brilliant talent.
1%
of the vaccines and diagnostics Africa uses are made on the continent.
1.56B
working-age Africans by 2050, 85% of the world's workforce growth, and its greatest untapped scientific force.
What guides us
Our core values
Six principles shape how we train, mentor, and build alongside Africa's next generation of founders, the standards behind every cohort and every venture.
Integrity
We uphold the highest standards of professionalism, communicate openly, and always act in the best interest of our community.
Excellence
We hold ourselves to world-class standards, pursuing rigour, quality, and mastery in the science we teach and the ventures we build.
Accountability
We take ownership of our responsibilities, embrace feedback, and learn from our mistakes to deliver exceptional results.
Teamwork
We trust and support each other, leveraging our strengths to overcome challenges and achieve our goals together.
Lifelong Learning
We value curiosity and continuous development, recognizing their importance in an ever-evolving field of research.
Commitment
We are deeply committed to our mission, with unwavering dedication and determination to impact the world positively.
Get involved
Partner with us to shape Africa's scientific future
- Back the founders building Africa's biotech, in diagnostics, therapeutics, and agriculture.
- Open doors, mentorship, lab access, and the resources our scientists need to turn discoveries into products.
- Bring capital, partnerships, or expertise to ventures solving the continent's toughest problems.
Newsletter
Stay updated with FAS
News, ventures, and opportunities from Africa's next generation of biotech founders, straight to your inbox.