About this opportunity
African university innovation pods are producing founders faster than they can find people to guide them. timbuktoo is trying to close that gap with a continent wide bench of volunteers.
timbuktoo is the United Nations Development Programme pan-African initiative to build the largest university linked innovation ecosystem in the world, spanning 54 countries, with UniPods already running in Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo, Niger, The Gambia, Botswana, Uganda, South Africa, Zambia and Ethiopia. The pods sit inside public universities and give students training, mentorship and incubation.
The Mentor Network is recruiting experienced professionals in artificial intelligence, technology and business to mentor emerging innovators on a pro bono basis. This is a volunteering role rather than a funded placement. What you give is time, and what the innovators get is someone who has already solved the problem in front of them.
Applications close on 15 November 2026. If you have built the thing a young founder would want to ask you about, this is a low friction way to put it back into the ecosystem.
What you receive
- Join a pan-African mentor community inside a UNDP initiative
- Support student and early career innovators in university UniPods
- Contribute to an ecosystem targeting 10,000 startups and 100 million livelihoods by 2030
- Network with mentors and innovators across more than 20 African countries
- Information session and onboarding before mentorship begins
Who can apply
- Experienced professionals able to offer guidance in artificial intelligence, technology, business or a related field
- Based in or willing to support innovators in African countries in the timbuktoo network
- Willing to commit time on a pro bono basis
- Able to attend an information session before mentoring begins
Who should not apply
- This is a volunteer role, no stipend, salary or honorarium is offered
- Innovators seeking funding are not the target of this call, it is recruiting mentors
- UniPod startup applications run through a separate route on the timbuktoo site
Documents to prepare
- Completed mentor application form
- Details of your professional background and areas of expertise
- The sectors and skills you are willing to mentor in
How to apply
- Review what timbuktoo and the UniPods do on the timbuktoo site
- Confirm you can commit time to mentoring innovators on a pro bono basis
- Complete the mentor application form with your expertise, sector and availability
- Watch for the information session the organisers hold before applications close
- Submit before the 15 November 2026 deadline
Selection process
- Applications are reviewed by the timbuktoo Africa UniPods team
- An information session is held for interested professionals before the cohort is confirmed
- Selected mentors are matched to innovators and UniPods in the network
- Mentors support innovators through idea development, technical questions and progress towards practical solutions
Sources and verification
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Questions applicants ask
Is this a paid role?
No. The Mentor Network is a pro bono volunteering network. You contribute expertise and no stipend or fee is offered.
Who can apply?
Experienced professionals who can guide emerging innovators in artificial intelligence, technology, business and related fields, supporting UniPods across African countries in the timbuktoo network.
What is timbuktoo?
timbuktoo is the United Nations Development Programme pan-African initiative building university innovation pods and sector hubs across the continent, targeting 10,000 startups and 100 million improved livelihoods by 2030.
When does the application close?
15 November 2026.
Important disclaimer
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