CODESRIA African Fellowships for Research in Indigenous and Alternative Knowledges (AFRIAK)
Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA)
Seven-month research fellowship for African nationals aged 35 and under who live in Africa and work on indigenous and alternative knowledges. Up to 70 per cent of places go to young women. The second-cohort call closed 15 February 2026; a further call is expected.
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Eligibility
- Who can apply
- Africa
- Education required
- None
- Age
- up to 35 (Young African nationals aged 35 and below at the time of application.)
- Fields
- Social sciences, Arts humanities, Development studies
- Residency
- Applicants must reside on the African continent and be based in formal research and knowledge institutions or indigenous knowledge research centres in Africa.
- Also required
- Engaged in research and knowledge production that draws, or aspires to draw, on indigenous or local knowledge perspectives
- Practitioners aged 35 and below with formal education qualifications who apply indigenous or local knowledge are also encouraged to apply
- Up to 70 per cent of those selected will be young women; persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply
- Group applications must have three to five members with at least 70 per cent women; any ineligible member disqualifies the whole group
About this opportunity
AFRIAK is CODESRIA's research and fellowship programme for young African researchers working on indigenous, local and endogenous knowledge, run with support from the Mastercard Foundation. CODESRIA, the Dakar-based pan-African social science research council, designed the programme to train a new generation of young people - especially young women - to design research projects and produce knowledge jointly with academic mentors and with bearers of indigenous knowledge, on the argument that knowledge embedded in African communities is close at hand yet largely shut out of university curricula.
The fellowship runs for seven months and consists of an induction workshop, fieldwork, a residency at an intellectual hub, a virtual mid-term institute, dissemination activities and post-fellowship engagement in an alumni community of practice. One of the seven months is spent at an intellectual hub in a country other than the fellow's own, so the award carries real pan-African mobility. Fellows are grouped into teams and supported by academic mentors, indigenous knowledge bearers and host hubs. Research themes span indigenous medical science and practice, agriculture and agri-food systems, the creative sector, digital systems, indigenous pedagogies and curriculum, climate change and ecological sustainability, nutrition heritage, indigenous languages and science, and governance and state-building.
The call targets young African nationals aged 35 and below at the time of application who reside on the African continent and are based in formal research and knowledge institutions or indigenous knowledge research centres in Africa; practitioners aged 35 and below with formal qualifications are also encouraged. Up to 70 per cent of those selected will be young women, and CODESRIA strongly encourages applications from persons with disabilities. You can apply individually or as a group of three to five members with at least 70 per cent women. Applications are made on the dedicated CODESRIA portal with a structured concept note, CV details and two signed one-page reference letters, which CODESRIA says are themselves assessed and carry significant weight. The second-cohort call was published on 17 December 2025 and closed at 23:59 GMT on 15 February 2026; watch CODESRIA's call-for-applications page from December for the next round.
- Level
- Early career, Master's, PhD
- Where
- Multiple countries
- Duration
- Seven months, one of which is spent at an intellectual hub in a country other than the fellow's country of citizenship
- Difficulty
- High · about 6 weeks to prepare
Funding
Funding varies
- travel
- research costs
- training
The call describes what the fellowship provides - an induction workshop, fieldwork, a one-month residency at an intellectual hub in another African country, a virtual mid-term institute, dissemination activities and mentorship - but does not state a stipend or grant figure.
What you will need
- CV / résumé
- Project or business proposal
- Reference letters (2)
Applications are completed directly in the CODESRIA portal: curriculum vitae details, a structured concept note covering the research topic, literature, methodology and expected outcomes, and two signed one-page reference letters. CODESRIA warns that 'reference letters are also assessed and contribute a significant portion to the success of the application'. Group applications need two letters endorsing the group as a whole.
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