Code for Africa AI For Good Fellowship 2026 for African Technicians ($500/month) – Opportunities for Africans

Application deadline: May 11, 2026

Applications are now being accepted for 2026 Code for Africa AI For Good Fellowship. Through Code for Africa (CfA), the Digitalise Youth consortium is awarding six fellowships to African technologists to collaborate with human rights defender (HRD) organizations and help them strengthen their impact through the responsible use of AI.

As HRD organizations are based not only in the Sahel region, but also in neighboring countries in West and East Africa, it is essential that they are familiar with the region and its political, social and digital realities.

Through this fellowship, technologists will help HRDs enhance existing AI-enabled initiatives and resources, as well as design new tools and workflows as needed. Therefore, fellows should have experience building with practical AI tools, especially generative AI tools including large-scale language models (LLMs), and a strong commitment to human rights and responsible AI practices. Activities include co-designing AI tools with HRD, supporting safe and contextual deployment, and generating actionable insights to inform policy, advocacy, and public interest interventions.

Fellows can develop AI-enabled tools/interventions independently or in collaboration with other experts. These solutions may include multilingual research assistants, tools to analyze and summarize large amounts of text, systems to detect or track harmful narratives, and workflow automation to enhance citizen engagement and public interest responsiveness. Expected deliverables include research summaries, prototype AI tools, and practical plans to scale up AI-powered interventions that enhance HRD’s work and help protect public discourse.

Selected fellows will receive support from CfA’s TechLab, DataLab, and AI Sandbox, as well as mentorship from global AI experts, civil society organizations, and policymakers. This broad partnership includes climate resilience networks, public health agencies, and digital advocacy groups and provides additional opportunities to prototype, test, and scale solutions.

requirements

This fellowship is seeking problem solvers who:

Social impact – Proven experience in developing AI-driven solutions that enhance citizen information, support human rights defenders, and address societal challenges.
Data fluency – Expertise in collecting, cleaning, and analyzing socio-economic or environmental datasets.
Design thinking – Skills in co-creating solutions with communities and CSOs.
Prototyping experience – Proven track record of testing AI solutions in resource-constrained settings.
Scalability planning – Ability to design tools that are widely adopted in different regions.
Technical proficiency – Experience with AI modeling (NLP, computer vision, predictive analytics).
Ethical AI practices – A commitment to fairness, transparency, and inclusivity in AI design.
Collaboration skills – Experience working with policy makers or grassroots organizations.
fluency In either English/French/Arabic
friendliness Use open source tools and open data principles.
Applicant must prove Connections with African communities.
position: Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Sudan, Guinea, Benin, Togo, Cameroon, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia.

advantage

scholarship: $500/month
interval: 4 months
Instruction: Guidance from CfA’s TechLab and support from partner institutions in the Digitalise Youth consortium.
network: Collaborate with consortiums and their regional networks.
Real world impact: Opportunity to collaborate with HRD organizations to implement solutions to existing challenges.
Showcase: Present capstone projects to local, national, continental and global partners. And at events too.