Est. 2024 · Pan-African
Africa accounts for 17% of the world's population and carries 25% of its disease burden, yet contributes just 1% of global research output. ARPL was built to close that gap, starting at the secondary school level.
The Problem
Africa is home to over 1.4 billion people, with one of the youngest and fastest-growing populations on earth.
African communities carry a disproportionate share of the world's health challenges, many of which remain understudied.
Africa produces less than one percent of peer-reviewed research published globally, despite the scale of what it faces.
"Africa's problems deserve African researchers working on them."
ARPL was started on a specific observation: the pipeline that would produce African researchers at scale does not exist at the secondary school level. Graduate programs are too late, and most academic research training assumes students who are already at university. ARPL works backwards from that gap, taking students through the same process a graduate researcher would follow and guiding them to peer-reviewed publication before they ever leave school.
The result is a published paper with the scholar's name on it. That is the only outcome we measure against.
African Leadership Academy · Roodepoort, South AfricaCohort 2 · 2025–2026
ARPL scholars and leadership team, African Leadership Academy, 2025
By the Numbers
The curriculum is organized across 37 modules spanning three core categories: Research Modules (foundational theory and methodology), Type-Specific Modules (systematic reviews and specialized approaches), and Professional Modules (career development and communication skills). It was designed to be accessible to scholars with no prior research experience and is currently available in English, Arabic & Amharic. We are currently expanding to Kiswahili and Yoruba.
Raised within weeks of launch, before a single paper had been published. The funding came from people who saw what ARPL was trying to do and decided it was worth backing early.
The founding team comes from 22 countries across the continent. That geographic spread is deliberate. ARPL was built to serve all of Africa, and the people building it reflect that.
How it works
Every ARPL scholar follows the same structured sequence. The program does not compress or skip steps. Each phase builds directly on the one before it, and the work done in each phase is real.
Scholars spend the first two months working through 37 structured modules organized across three tracks: foundational Research Modules covering theory and methodology, Type-Specific Modules focused on specialized approaches like systematic reviews, and Professional Modules addressing resume-building and academic communication. This comprehensive foundation is completed before scholars produce any original research. The curriculum establishes the theoretical groundwork that rigorous research requires: how knowledge is produced, what distinguishes different research paradigms, where bias enters the process, how to navigate trusted scholarly sources, and how to read and evaluate existing literature. The phase culminates in a comprehensive assessment across all modules, which scholars must pass before advancing.
This is where scholars do the actual research. Each scholar is assigned a mentor and meets weekly in one-on-one sessions throughout the phase. The work follows the same sequence as a real academic paper: identifying and refining a research question, conducting a literature review, designing and executing a methodology, then writing up results and discussion. By the end of March, each scholar has a complete manuscript that goes to the ARPL board for internal review before entering peer review.
A completed manuscript is a draft. Phase Three is the process of getting it to the standard that academic journals require. Scholars revise based on reviewer feedback, select appropriate journals, format to submission guidelines, and submit. They also present their work at the ARPL Research Fair, which runs as a conference-style event where scholars defend and discuss their findings in front of an audience. The target by June is full journal submission for every scholar in the cohort.
Track Record
Cohort 1 · Cohort One
Every scholar who completed Cohort 1 submitted a manuscript for peer-reviewed publication. Most graduate research programs, with far more resources and time, do not reach that rate.
Cohort 1 · Scholars
Four scholars entered. Four manuscripts were submitted. The program worked on the first attempt, at full completion rate, and that is what Cohort 2 was built on.
Cohort 2 · Now
Scholars currently enrolled, up from 4 in a single cycle.
ARPL is now an officially recognised learning experience at the African Leadership Academy, with Canvas and PowerSchool integration, faculty advisor support, and full institutional backing. Cohort 2 scholars are Year 1 and Year 2 students drawn from across the continent, each working with a dedicated research mentor who has prior publishing experience.
The Cohort 2 target is the same as Cohort 1: 100% manuscript submission by June 2026.
Official learning experience at the African Leadership Academy
The People
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Egypt
Chief Program Officer
Egypt
Chief Learning Officer
Morocco
Head of Visual Media
Equatorial Guinea
Chief Media Officer
Côte d'Ivoire
Quantum Physics Mentor
Kenya
Chief Logistics Officer
Morocco
Chief Technology Officer
Ethiopia
Co-Chief Logistics Officer
Nigeria
Computational Physics Mentor
Egypt
Physics Research Mentor
Ethiopia
Political Science Mentor
Tunisia
Biology Research Mentor
DRC
Environmental Engineering Mentor
Egypt
Anthropology Research Mentor
Nigeria
Social Media Manager
Egypt
Advisor
Egypt
Advisor
Egypt
Advisor
Egypt
Advisor
Morocoo
Where our team went
Applications
Scholars are selected through a written application followed by a Finalist Day assessment. The process is competitive, and the program is intentionally small.
Cohort 2 is currently underway at the African Leadership Academy. Applications are open to students at any African high school. If you are currently enrolled at a secondary school anywhere on the continent, you are eligible to apply.
There is no school-specific requirement. If you are a secondary school student somewhere in Africa and can commit to the program, you can apply.
The program runs on bi-weekly seminars and weekly one-on-one mentor sessions. Attendance is mandatory. Scholars who cannot commit to this should not apply.
Research methodology is not discipline-specific. Scholars have worked across the sciences, humanities, and social sciences. The skills transfer regardless of subject area.
Prior research experience is not required. Scholars are selected on academic seriousness and the capacity to follow through on a long-form project, not on credentials.
Submit the application form. Shortlisted candidates are invited to Finalist Day, where they meet with the ARPL leadership team for a short assessment interview. Offers are made within two weeks of Finalist Day.