Carnegie Mellon University Africa (CMU-Africa) has opened applications for the 2026 TechSkills Marketplace Program, a talent-matching initiative that connects African startups and MSMEs with top graduate students from the institution.
The programme offers participating businesses access to highly skilled CMU-Africa interns, specialising in areas such as artificial intelligence, data science, software engineering, product development and other emerging technologies. The internship is paid under a co-funding model, with CMU-Africa covering part of the stipend.
According to the organisers, the initiative is designed to help African companies accelerate innovation, expand their technical capacity and strengthen digital product development, while giving students hands-on experience with real industry challenges.
Programme Summary
Host: CMU-Africa
Category: Internship | Training
Eligible Applicants: Startups & MSMEs across Africa
Benefits: Paid Internship, Technical Support, Networking Opportunities
Deadline: December 1, 2025
Eligibility Criteria
Businesses must:
Be legally registered and operational in any African country
Be developing a clear product, service or business model
Be willing to co-fund the internship stipend
Have the capacity to host and mentor interns on tech-driven projects
Be open to remote or hybrid collaboration
Programme Benefits
Participants gain access to:
Highly skilled CMU-Africa graduate interns
A subsidised internship funding model
Support from the Industry Innovation Lab community
Opportunities to scale technology-driven products
Increased visibility within the African innovation ecosystem
Application Procedure
Eligible businesses can apply through the official TechSkills Marketplace portal on the CMU-Africa website.
The application window runs from November 1 to December 1, 2025.
➡️ CLICK HERE TO APPLY
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