Who it's for

If you've ever been handed a digital asset question you weren't trained for, this was built for you.

We select for trajectory, not pedigree. The cohort is a constructed portfolio, some Fellows bring deep sector knowledge, others functional excellence, others institutional access. The collective capability is a design output, not an accident of who applied.

Find yourself below. If you're between two of these, you're probably a good fit.

The young professional

2–4 years in

You're competent and ambitious and stuck behind the experience barrier. This gives you the first credible, verifiable digital asset experience, a published artefact, and a mentor several levels above your current reach.

The lawyer

You reason well and keep getting handed custody, Travel Rule and on-chain questions you can't advise on with confidence. You'll leave with the technical fluency to advise, a comparative pan-African regulatory map, and a credible claim to be your firm's digital assets lead.

The compliance officer / MLRO

Your framework was built for traditional finance and you're extending it under supervisory pressure without a template. You'll get the implementation toolkit: risk assessment methodology, Travel Rule operating model, sanctions screening design, on-chain typologies, and a peer network of MLROs across the continent.

The risk professional

You're asked to opine on digital asset exposure without a risk taxonomy for it. You'll build one: stress scenarios, depeg and custody failure analysis, VASP counterparty methodology.

The AML analyst

Your case files now contain on-chain elements you can't analyse. You'll get blockchain analytics fundamentals, laundering typologies, tracing and attribution literacy, and a specialist career path.

The fintech professional

Compliance keeps arriving as a blocker. You'll learn to build products that pass supervision the first time, understand licensing pathways, and hold a credible regulator conversation.

The blockchain professional / developer

You build systems that later fail compliance review. You'll understand how custody model, upgradeability, KYC architecture and chain selection create legal consequences, and become a technical-regulatory translator, one of the scarcest profiles in the sector.

The researcher / academic

You need practitioner access, data and a route into policy processes. You'll get co-authorship, a fast credible publication route, and affiliation with the African Stablecoin Compliance & Policy Lab.

The economist

You're being asked about stablecoin and CBDC implications with little primary material on African contexts. You'll get the monetary and payments frameworks, dollarisation and capital flow analysis, and a continental research network.

The government official

You must contribute to digital asset policy without a technical background, and you'd rather not import a framework that doesn't fit. You'll build comparative analysis and implementation feasibility capability, and meet peers in other jurisdictions facing identical questions.

The regulator / supervisor

You're supervising activity your institution is still building expertise on, with a constrained training budget. You'll get supervisory methodology, examination technique, on-chain analytics literacy and a peer supervisory network, with industry insight and without capture.

Public-sector seats are prioritised for scholarship funding.

The academic programme lead

You're designing fintech, law or finance curricula. You'll get content, a practitioner faculty network, and a channel for your students.

The consultant

Client demand for digital asset advisory exceeds your internal capability. You'll get deliverable-grade methodologies, comparative jurisdictional knowledge and a differentiated service line.

The graduate student

No experience, high competition, unclear entry route. You'll get a portfolio before your first role.

A limited number of merit places, competitively assessed.

The entrepreneur / founder

Regulatory uncertainty is your primary business risk and investor diligence is asking about compliance maturity. You'll build licensing strategy, regulator engagement capability, compliance architecture that scales, and investor-grade governance.

What the Founding Cohort should look like

We construct the cohort deliberately after individual scoring.

Countries represented
10–15
Public sector: regulators, central banks, FIUs, ministries
20–25%
Private sector: banks, VASPs, fintechs, law firms, consultancies
45–55%
Academia, research, graduate students
15–20%
Entrepreneurs and founders
10%
Women
Minimum 45%
Experience range
2–15 years, with a strong mid-career core

We are deliberately seeking Francophone and Lusophone representation, not only Anglophone.

Founding Cohort

If you recognised yourself, apply.

We select for trajectory, not pedigree. The written task matters more than the CV.

Applications close 30th November, 2026.