Outreachy pays $7,000 for a three-month remote internship. Erasmus Mundus pays €1,400 a month for up to two years. AWS re/Start trains jobseekers in cloud computing for free. All three reach African applicants.
Those programmes sit within a much wider set of funded tech opportunities for Africans in the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union. Governments fund master’s degrees, foundations and open source groups pay for mentorships, and companies such as Amazon and Google fund free training. They matter at a moment when African startups raised $3.5 billion in 2025 and skilled returnees are in demand.
TechMoonshot checked thirteen programmes with published funding and clear application routes. Where a round has closed, the entry says when to plan for the next one.
Government and Foundation Scholarships
- Chevening Scholarships (UK): The UK government funds a one-year master’s at any UK university for citizens of eligible countries, with a monthly living stipend. Applicants need an undergraduate degree and two years of work experience. The 2027/28 round opened on 4 August and closed on 6 October 2026, so start preparing for the next window now.
- Commonwealth Master’s Scholarships (UK): The UK government funds one-year taught master’s degrees for citizens of low- and middle-income Commonwealth countries, including Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya. Awards cover tuition, airfare and a monthly stipend, according to scholarship guides. Applications go through national nominating agencies, which often set earlier deadlines, and courses must fit the Commission’s development themes. The 2027/28 round closes on 20 October 2026.
- Mastercard Foundation Scholars at Edinburgh (UK): The programme funds young Africans for a one-year on-campus master’s, a part-time online master’s or a postgraduate diploma. Eligible 2027/28 courses include a Data Science Technologies MSc route and Operational Research, alongside sustainability-focused programmes, according to the university’s recruitment notice. Applicants must be 35 or younger and attend a mandatory information session to reach the application form. Edinburgh said invitations would go out on 13 October, with outcomes due in February and March 2027.
- Fulbright Foreign Student Program (US): Fulbright is the US government’s flagship academic exchange, funding master’s and PhD study at American universities. Awards typically cover tuition, a living stipend, health insurance and airfare, according to ScholarshipsForAfricans. Applications run country by country, and most African cycles open between February and April. Nigerian awards for 2027–28 begin between August 2027 and March 2028, according to Fulbright’s Nigeria page.
- Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters (EU): These EU-funded master’s degrees rotate students across at least three universities in different European countries. The award covers tuition, travel support and a €1,400 monthly allowance for 12, 18 or 24 months. Students apply directly to each programme, since there is no central portal, and most deadlines for the September 2027 intake fall between December and February. The European Commission selected 37 new joint masters for that intake, according to Scholarships Central.
- DAAD STEM Scholarships (Germany): Germany’s academic exchange service funds a full master’s in maths, computer science, natural sciences or engineering at a tuition-free German university. The scholarship pays €992 a month, with rent and family allowances in some cases. It targets high-achieving graduates from developing and emerging countries who do not yet hold a master’s degree. The latest round, for the 2027 intake, closed on 3 September 2026.
Paid Internships and Mentorships
- Outreachy (US, remote): A paid, remote internship on open source projects, with a $7,000 stipend for three months, according to Outreachy. The programme is open to applicants worldwide, including people who are not students, and many past interns began with little open source experience. Rounds run twice a year, and the May 2026 round opened in February.
- Google Summer of Code (US, remote): Google’s open source mentoring programme pays contributors a stipend. The amount varies by country, set by purchasing power, according to Outreachy’s comparison page. Applicants who apply to both programmes are considered for Google Summer of Code first. Past Google Summer of Code interns cannot join Outreachy later, so choose your order with care and check current eligibility.
- LFX Mentorship (US, remote): The Linux Foundation places newcomers in project-based open source mentorships, including projects from the Cloud Native Computing Foundation. Stipends follow a purchasing-power formula built on a $6,000 baseline. The schedule was refreshed for programmes starting on or after 1 July 2026, according to the Linux Foundation. Some projects offer stipends and many mentorships are unpaid, so check each listing on the LFX platform.
Company Training and Founder Programmes
- AWS re/Start (US): Amazon’s free, full-time, 12-week programme prepares unemployed or underemployed people for entry-level cloud roles. It requires no prior tech experience, according to AWS. It reached Sub-Saharan Africa in October 2020, according to ITWeb, and runs through local partners. Ghana’s AmaliTech round for 2026, which closed on 31 March, listed an exam voucher, a stipend and an internet bundle.
- Google Career Certificate Scholarships (US): Google funds Career Certificate places delivered through Coursera, with tracks such as data analytics, cybersecurity, AI essentials and UX design. It pledged 100,000 scholarships for young Ghanaians in 2026, according to the call for applications. It has also run separate calls for women in tech across Africa. Availability varies by country, so check Google’s Africa blog before applying.
- Harvard CS50x (US, online): Harvard’s introductory computer science course is free online. It has no individual assignment deadlines in 2026, according to a guide to the course. A free CS50 certificate is available to learners who meet the course requirements, while the edX verified certificate costs $199 and is optional. It suits beginners who want a university-grade foundation before applying to the programmes above.
- Google for Startups Accelerator (US): Google’s equity-free programme gives African startups mentorship, technical support and Google Cloud and AI credits, according to listings for its 2026 cohort. Since 2018 it has backed more than 190 startups in 17 African countries. They have raised over $400 million, according to Google as reported by Bizcommunity. The South Africa edition offers up to R1 million in equity-free funding, and its 2026 round closed on 28 August.
How to Plan Your Applications
Start with the calendar. The Commonwealth round closes on 20 October, so check your national agency’s earlier deadline today. Erasmus Mundus programmes are opening now and most close by early 2027, while Outreachy, Fulbright and the LFX terms follow through the year. If this year’s pattern holds, Chevening and DAAD open again late next summer.
Pair each application with a clear study or project plan. Graduates who return will find an ecosystem that raised $1.44 billion in the first half of 2026. The continent’s largest funding rounds included fintech, clean energy and mobility companies. Funded tech opportunities for Africans in the US, UK and EU can become a first job, a stronger CV or a start-up.
