Finding and
amplifying genius.

b54 is a foundation that discovers, promotes, and develops talent across Africa. We run three programs: Prizes for academic research, Builds for hackathons, challenges, and competitions, and Skills for technical training and development.

Prizes are academic research awards across six fields — Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Computer Science, and Engineering. Undergraduate winners receive $1,500 and postgraduate winners receive $2,500. Submit your thesis or original research and have it evaluated by expert panels.

Builds are hackathons, challenges, and competitions — virtual or in-person. They take many formats: weekend hackathons, multi-week challenges, live competitions, and more. Teams come together to build, compete, and ship real work across Africa.

Skills is our technical training and development program. We partner with training organizations to make world-class education accessible. b54 subsidizes tuition, offers scholarships, and covers costs — so talent, not money, determines who gets in.

Anyone based in Africa or of African descent. Prizes are open to undergraduate and postgraduate students. Builds welcome all builders — developers, designers, researchers. Skills programs have specific tracks for different experience levels.

We partner with organizations across Africa to deliver training, run events, and fund talent development. Our partners provide the expertise and infrastructure — b54 provides funding, scholarships, and reach to make programs accessible at scale.

Submit research for a Prize, register for an upcoming Build, or explore Skills training programs. You can also become a Campus Ambassador to help spread the word at your university.