Currently 2 active paid grants, fellowships and residencies open to applicants in Africa, across AI, arts, film, journalism, research, tech and cross-disciplinary practice. Hand-curated and updated weekly. Almost every entry is funded; a few notable unpaid open calls and festival submissions are included as clearly flagged exceptions. Browse the list below, or use the interactive desk for filtering and shortlisting.
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The Creative Industries Fund NL (Stimuleringsfonds) is recruiting one Netherlands-based designer, architect, spatial practitioner or maker for a two-month residency in 2027 at Think Tanger, a multidisciplinary cultural platform dedicated to stimulating culture, creativity, innovation and exchange in Tangier, Morocco. Founded in 2016, Think Tanger unites artists, designers, researchers, entrepreneurs and local communities to explore the urban and cultural dynamics of a city in transformation and to promote understanding and dialogue, working through alternative education, creative entrepreneurship, art production and participatory research. The residency was set up with the Fund to stimulate crossovers and experiments, initiate exchanges and learn from other people's perspectives, knowledge and ideas. It offers the opportunity to carry out research, expand your network and develop new work with a focus on design, urbanism and socio-spatial dynamics, creatively researching existing presuppositions and social issues in Tangier's unique urban context. ELIGIBILITY: you are an individual designer, architect, spatial practitioner or maker; you are established in the Netherlands, Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius or Sint Maarten (Kingdom of the Netherlands); you are registered in the business register of the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KvK) or another business register within the Kingdom of the Netherlands; and you have had a professional practice in the creative industry for at least two years (note: a lower bar than the four years required by the Fund's other 2027 residencies). NOT open to duos, collectives or cooperative ventures, nor to designers and makers who receive a grant during the work period under the Talent Development Grant Scheme, the Open Call Self-taught Designer or the Open Call Emerging Design Practices ABCSSS; accepting this open call means you cannot apply to those schemes and open calls in 2027. FUNDING: EUR 5,500 subsidy for the two-month residency. Assessment takes the form of a tender: an external advisory committee ranks proposals on the artistic quality of the work, the quality of the proposed project and the motivation in relation to the goals of the residency, and the highest-scoring proposal is awarded. Decision within eight weeks of the closing date. Submit via the Creative Industries Fund NL by 21 October 2026, 16:00 CEST.
GAIN SSA (Global AI Youth Network, Sub-Saharan Africa) runs the AI Safety Essentials Fellowship for residents of Africa considering how they can be effective contributors in shaping the continent's transition toward containing risks from transformative AI. Fellows spend six weeks mapping the priorities and gaps that need to be filled in Africa's AI safety ecosystem, through curated pre-reading and a live group call each week (about 5 hours per week). CURRICULUM: existential risks and catastrophic vectors; frontier AI models and Africa; defining safe and beneficial AI; subfields and alignment architectures; Africa's AI safety landscape and policy; and a capstone week on fellowships and career launch, with guidance toward international pipelines such as MATS, ERA, BlueDot and GovAI. Mentorship comes from international AI safety researchers, governance fellows and peer builders. FUNDING: after the program, top capstone action-plan proposals are funded from a USD 500 to 1,000 micro-grant pool (capped at USD 1,000), including proposals needing compute, travel to AI alignment conferences in Sub-Saharan Africa, or communication work (for example Substack Pro for writers); results are shared within 10 days of receiving a proposal. The main aim is to have participants take action to build Africa's first AI safety systems. APPLICATION: expression of interest for the inaugural cohort via the Google Form linked from the program page. DEADLINE: expressions of interest close 8 November 2026.