# Thinklab Foundation Africa

> Thinklab Foundation Africa is a Ugandan non-profit, founded in 2026 and registered as Thinklab Foundation Ltd (URSB Reg. No. 80043438913782). It builds solar-powered community STEAM labs where young people aged 12 to 28 think, create, collaborate and invent solutions to the challenges in their own communities. It starts in Uganda and plans to open step by step across Africa.

Website: https://thinklabfoundation.org/
Contact: +256 772 310 404 · connect@thinklabfoundation.org · P.O. Box 119678, Wakiso, Uganda
Tagline: Curiosity that inspires innovation.

## Pages
- [Home](https://thinklabfoundation.org/): overview, programs open now, roadmap and FAQ
- [About](https://thinklabfoundation.org/about.html): who we are, vision, mission, values, who we serve, five challenges, design commitments, governance
- [Team](https://thinklabfoundation.org/team.html): founders and Board; mentor, volunteer and intern applications
- [Partners](https://thinklabfoundation.org/partners.html): partner types, six ways to partner, program partners, partnership enquiries
- [Membership](https://thinklabfoundation.org/membership.html): packages and fees for schools and organisations, with application form
- [University Fellowship](https://thinklabfoundation.org/fellowship.html): fellowship for university students, with application form
- [Donate](https://thinklabfoundation.org/donate.html): ways to give and donation form
- [Einstein Curiosity](https://thinklabfoundation.org/einstein-curiosity/): six-week STEAM program for ages 11 to 16 (details: https://thinklabfoundation.org/einstein-curiosity/llms.txt)

## Key facts
- Who we serve: young people aged 12 to 28, wherever they live: high school, TVET and university students, and young people out of study. Equal opportunity: no segregation on the grounds of gender, religious affiliation, economic status or disability.
- Vision: An Africa where every young person, wherever they live, has the tools, skills and confidence to solve their community's problems through STEAM, and where the continent's next breakthroughs are conceived and built by its own young people.
- Mission: To turn curiosity into capability, and capability into livelihood, by building solar-powered community STEAM labs where young people aged 12 to 28 solve real problems in their communities; coaching teachers and mentors; anchoring learning to the national curriculum; and opening pathways into further study, enterprise and work.
- Values: Curiosity, Community, Creativity, Innovation, Character, Hope.
- What we offer: community STEAM labs; innovation challenges; commissioned research; teacher mentoring and AI adoption.
- Lab model: one shared, solar-powered community lab per area; model lab for 150 young people at a time and 10 staff, about UGX 500 million (about US$117,000) to set up; regional flagship labs about US$1 million each.
- Targets per lab once fully running: 20+ patent-ready ideas and 5+ products a year; at least 50% girls.
- Roadmap: 2026 founding; 2027 schools and first innovation challenge; 2028 first model lab; 2029 regional lab campaigns; 2035 first flagship lab in Uganda for 2,000+ young people.
- Campaign: US$5 million for five regional labs, built one at a time.
- Team: Nanteza Ruth Ssebagala (Executive Director and Team Lead), Isaac Ssekisambu (Legal and Brand Communications), Emmanuel Ssekyanzi (Global Partnerships), Rachel Ogwang (Programs Lead). The four founders form the Board of Directors.
- School membership (per year): Associate free (pay as you go, US$7 per innovator or teacher per term); Elite US$1,000; Partner US$3,000. Extra innovators or teachers US$7 a term. Under-served rural schools pay no fees.
- Thinklab University Fellowship: for university students building a career or enterprise in science or the creative industries. UGX 85,000 a year; one-time application fee UGX 10,000 paid by MTN Mobile Money to +256 772 310 404 (Nanteza Ruth Ssebagala); rolling applications. Includes STEM career guidance, enterprise building, STEAM bootcamps, innovation challenges, mentorship on enterprise building, and a community with a clear job or enterprise pathway.
- Images: building images on the site are artistic impressions of planned regional labs, not existing facilities.

## Frequently asked questions
### What is Thinklab Foundation Africa?
Thinklab Foundation Africa is a Ugandan non-profit, founded in 2026 and registered as Thinklab Foundation Ltd (URSB Reg. No. 80043438913782). It builds solar-powered community STEAM labs where young people aged 12 to 28 solve real problems in their communities.

### Who can take part?
Young people aged 12 to 28, wherever they live: high school, TVET and university students, and young people who are out of study. We never segregate any young person on the grounds of gender, religious affiliation, economic status or disability.

### Where is Thinklab based?
We are based in Wakiso, Uganda (P.O. Box 119678, Wakiso). We are starting in Uganda and will open, step by step, across the rest of Africa.

### Is there a Thinklab I can visit now?
Not yet. Our first model lab is planned for 2028. Until it opens, our sessions run in a Pop-Up Lab, and we share the details with members and participants.

### How can my school join?
High schools, TVET institutes, colleges and organisations can join as Associate (free), Elite (US$1,000 a year) or Partner (US$3,000 a year). Under-served rural schools pay no fees. You can apply on the Membership page.

### How can university students join?
Through the Thinklab University Fellowship. It costs UGX 85,000 a year, with a one-time application fee of UGX 10,000, and applications are open all year.

### How is Thinklab funded?
Through school and organisation memberships, commissioned innovation challenges and research, and gifts from individuals, companies and foundations, including our US$5 million campaign for five regional labs.

### How can I support Thinklab?
You can donate, sponsor a lab, bring us a challenge, commission research, or give your time as a mentor or volunteer. Call +256 772 310 404 or email connect@thinklabfoundation.org.

### Fellowship
### Who can apply for the Thinklab University Fellowship?
University students who want to build a strong career or enterprise in science or the creative industries.

### How much does the fellowship cost?
There is a one-time application fee of UGX 10,000. If you are accepted, the fellowship costs UGX 85,000 a year.

### When can I apply?
At any time. Applications are open all year, and we review them as they arrive.

### How do I pay the application fee?
Send UGX 10,000 by MTN Mobile Money to +256 772 310 404, registered to Nanteza Ruth Ssebagala. Then upload a screenshot or photo of the confirmation message with your application.

### What do fellows get?
STEM career guidance, enterprise building, STEAM bootcamps, innovation challenges and mentorship on enterprise building. Most importantly, you belong to a community with a clear pathway to a job or an enterprise.

### Do I need a business idea to apply?
No. You can start by looking for a real problem to work on. If you already have an idea, tell us about it in your application.

### Do I have to study a science course?
The fellowship is for university students who want to build a career in science or the creative industries. Tell us what you study and where you want to go, and we will consider your application on that basis.

### What happens after I apply?
We review your application and contact you by email or phone. If you are accepted, we tell you how to pay the UGX 85,000 yearly fee and when your orientation starts.

### Membership
### Who can become a member?
High schools, TVET institutes, colleges and organisations. University students join on their own through the Thinklab University Fellowship.

### How long is a term?
A term is three months.

### What if we have more innovators than our package covers?
Each extra TVET or high school innovator or teacher beyond your package costs US$7 a term.

### Can our school get a fee waiver?
Yes, if you are an under-served school in rural Africa. These schools are exempt from all fees. Ask for a waiver in the application form, and we will confirm it in writing.

### Do we pay anything when we apply?
No. We first agree your package with you. For Elite and Partner packages, we then send an invoice.

### Where do member sessions take place?
Until our first model lab opens in 2028, member sessions run in our Pop-Up Lab.

### What do membership fees pay for?
Running the innovation lab, paying key technical staff, and buying reagents and equipment.

### What is an Innovation Challenge team?
A team of five learners that works on a real problem set by Thinklab or a partner, builds a prototype and presents it.

### Donations
### How do I make a donation?
Fill in the donation form on this page. Our team will email you official payment details for bank transfer or Mobile Money, and send a receipt once your gift arrives.

### Can I choose what my gift supports?
Yes. You can choose the first model lab, the regional lab campaign, teacher mentoring and AI adoption, equipment and materials, innovation challenges, or wherever it is needed most. We use your gift as agreed.

### Will I get a receipt?
Yes. Every contribution is receipted, accounted for and used as agreed.

### Can I give from outside Uganda?
Yes. Choose your currency in the form, and we will send you payment details for an international transfer.

### Can my company give?
Yes. Companies can give, sponsor a regional lab, set an innovation challenge or commission research. See our partners page, or use the donation form.

### How will I know what my gift achieved?
Partners and donors receive a report every quarter on funds and progress, and our annual accounts are shared on request.

### Can I give equipment instead of money?
Yes. Choose ‘Equipment or services’ in the form and tell us what you would like to give.

### Can I give anonymously?
Yes. Choose ‘keep my gift anonymous’ in the form, and we will not name you in our reports.

Last updated: 2026-10-28