10th Anniversary Edition · 2026 / 2027
Africa's Annual Challenge for young sustainability innovators. Bring an idea, leave with a tested prototype, a course, a community and a room full of investors. Free to enter, open to anyone aged 18 to 35.
Pick the one your idea speaks to. Every track runs the same journey, and every track is judged on the same thing: does it work, and will people use it?
Eight stops between now and April 2027. Not everyone reaches Demo Day, but everyone gets the course, the community and a certificate.
Your details, your idea, a 200 word essay and a short video pitch. The form saves as you type, so you can close it and finish later.
Start your application →Every applicant joins the #MyLittleBigThing community, where the updates, the workshops and the people building alongside you live.
We read applications in batches with our reviewers at Strathmore University instead of waiting for the call to close, so you hear back sooner.
A short course on the SDGs, business modelling and building something people will actually pay for. The course is free. The certificate that carries you to the next stage costs $20.
Five design thinking modules that turn an idea into a tested concept: the problem, the user, the solution, the model, the proof.
Two to three days in one room, building a working prototype with coaches, past winners and the rest of the fifty.
Put the prototype in front of real users, gather what they tell you, and report back on what changed. This is what decides the last cut.
15 semi finalists pitch to investors, partners and press. Winners carry on into the 12 month Investor Readiness Program.
Applying is free and the sustainability course is free. To carry your certificate into the next stage there is a fee of $20. If that fee is what stands between you and the next round, write to us.
Anyone aged 18 to 35 living anywhere in Africa, with an idea or an early stage venture that answers a sustainability challenge. You do not need a registered company, funding or a finished product.
Your project name and the track it fits, a 200 word essay covering the problem, your solution and how it sustains itself, and a 2 to 3 minute YouTube video introducing you and the idea. Unlisted videos are fine.
Yes, and we would like you to. Everything up to the bootcamp happens online. The bootcamp itself is held in Kenya and travel and accommodation are covered by participants, so plan for that if you are joining us from further away.
Yes. Your answers are kept in your browser as you type, so you can close the page and pick up where you left off on the same device.
We review applications in batches as they arrive instead of waiting for the deadline, so you will not be left in silence until the call closes.
The 2026 / 2027 Challenge is made possible by the organisations below. Thank you for backing young African innovators.
2026 / 2027 sponsor
Absa Kenya Foundation
The social impact arm of Absa Bank Kenya, investing in entrepreneurship, education and skills in communities across the country.
absabank.co.ke →
2026 / 2027 sponsor
SanlamAllianz
Sanlam and Allianz together in Kenya: life and general insurance, investments and retirement for families and businesses.
ke.sanlamallianz.com →
Want to back the next generation of African innovators? Talk to us about sponsoring
Applications close 31 October 2026. It takes about fifteen minutes to start.
Apply for the 2026 / 2027 Challenge →
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