Deadline: February 11, 2026
Applications are open for the CivicHive Civic Tech Fellowship 2026. The CivicHive CivicTech Fellowship is a 20-week bootcamp designed for early-stage civic innovators with tech-enabled ideas that can actually solve social problems in West Africa.
Nigeria is home to one of the world’s fastest-growing youth populations. In this context, civic technology has emerged as a powerful catalyst for social change, leveraging digital and non-digital tools to bridge gaps between governments and citizens, expand civic space, and strengthen democratic participation.
Civic tech innovations today play a critical role in advancing public participation, transparency, accountability, climate resilience, justice reforms, and efficient public service delivery. The CivicHive Civic Tech Fellowship exists to identify, nurture, and support the next generation of civic tech leaders responding to these challenges.
The fellowship is an incubation programme designed to support early-stage civic tech ideas and solutions. They welcome ideas at any stage and scale—from local and hyperlocal initiatives to regional platforms—and encourage diverse uses of technology, including radio, SMS, print, artificial intelligence, and social media.
Thematic Areas
- Artificial Intelligence for Good: Civic tech solutions that use AI responsibly to address social challenges, strengthen accountability, mitigate bias and harm, and contribute to transparent, inclusive, and effective governance of AI systems.
- Low-Cost Climate Tech Solutions: Affordable, tech-driven solutions addressing climate adaptation, agriculture, environmental management, food security, and community resilience, particularly in local and resource-constrained contexts.
- Technology for Social Good (Health, Education, and Justice): Civic innovations that improve access to essential public services, protect rights, close service delivery gaps, and empower citizens to demand accountability and equitable outcomes.
- Advocacy and Social Movements: Tools that strengthen advocacy, civic organising, collective action, and citizen-led movements, especially in shrinking civic spaces and contexts facing repression or exclusion.
Benefits
The CivicHive Civic Tech Fellowship will incubate 15 civic tech solutions across West Africa. Selected fellows will receive:
- Technical, product, and legal support
- Mentorship from experienced civic tech leaders
- Access to a regional civic tech network
- A monthly stipend throughout the fellowship
- Support to prepare solutions for launch and early scaling
- Paid trip to attend the 2026 West Africa Civic Tech Conference
Eligibility
- Be citizens or residents of any West African country,
- Be individuals or teams working on a civic tech idea or solution,
- Must have tested the idea or been in operation for 1-3 years.
- The solution must align with one or more of the fellowship’s thematic areas.
- Demonstrate a clear public-interest or social impact focus, particularly in strengthening civic space, accountability, participation, or service delivery,
- Be available to fully participate in the fellowship activities for the duration of the programme,
- Be open to mentorship, peer learning, iteration, and collaboration within a regional civic tech ecosystem.
Application
The selection process prioritises ideas with clear impact on people and civic spaces, strong potential for sustainability and long-term public value, and participants who demonstrate commitment, resilience, and a compelling vision for change.
For more information, visit CivicHive Civic Tech Fellowship.
