AFRICA INTO THE UK
The Pan-African rails for scaleups using the UK as a launchpad.
For high-growth founders across Africa ready to scale into and from the UK. Funded by the UK Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade.
funded by
powered by
the framework
Entry to Scale to Exit.
The UK is the best place for African founders who need to scale offshore. Sandbox supports the whole journey, not a single moment.
01 · ENTRY
Land Properly
Incorporation, visas, banking and your first UK customers - set up right the first time, with the UK as your export market from day one.
02 · scale
Compound Growth
Capital raising, commercialisation and real UK operations - growth that compounds as you build across the corridor.
03 · Exit
Realise Value
High-growth capital, liquidity and exit pathways: secondaries, M&A, public markets. The end of one cycle, the start of the next.
the support stack
The support Sandbox offers is adapted and tailored to every individual founder and business's needs needs. With the starting base being assessment and application against nine core pillars with support of our coordinated partner network. Our role is to curate and coordinate the right support for you at the right time.
Market Entry
Positioning, ICP and a UK go-to-market plan that holds up.
Legal
UK incorporation, IP, contracts and the operating stack.
Tax
UK and cross-border tax structuring and incentives.
Finance
Banking, treasury and financial infrastructure for operations.
Visa
Founder, scale-up and global talent visa pathways.
Hiring
UK hiring playbooks and access to vetted operator networks.
PR
UK media positioning, launch comms and analyst relations.
Real Estate
Office, soft-landing space and UK wide city and base options.
Investment
Curated UK investor introductions across all stages.
your route in
Two ways in. No founder leaves without a route.
Early stage in South Africa or Nigeria?
You have a full deep-dive immersion programme in your market: webinars, office hours, sprints and in-person activiations. Live now for applications.
Any other market or at growth and scale?
No programme in your market. No worries, we can still support you. We assess you and route you to the right help in the ecosystem: from the Global Entrepreneur Programme for scale-ready companies, to recommending you other pathways, as well as notifying when in-country programmes or events go live.
on the ground
The year across the continent.
Each stop brings founder workshops, one-to-one sessions, ecosystem dinners and mixers. Think a pop-up Sandbox in your city - from the London Stock Exchange to UK Government all our in-market activiations are supported by our Sandbox Partner Consortitum.
Markets
Cairo, Egypt: Sunday 13th - Monday 14th September
Algiers, Algeria: Tuesday 15th - Wednesday 16th September
Tunis, Tunisia: Thursday 17th September
Algiers, Algeria: Tuesday 15th - Wednesday 16th September
Tunis, Tunisia: Thursday 17th September
Focus
In partnership with the Global Entrepreneur Programme (Office for Investment) and a consortitum of Sandbox Partners. We will be in three North African cities for a series of events and one to one office style sessions to meet founders.
Markets
London, United Kingdom: Monday 12th - Friday 16th October
Focus
As part of UK Africa Investor Week alongside AFSIC and AVCA, hosting Africa's leading Scaleups in London for a week of investor and capital engagements.
Markets
Accra, Ghana: Monday 26th - Tuesday 27th October
Lagos, Nigeria: Wednesday 28th - Friday 30th October
Lagos, Nigeria: Wednesday 28th - Friday 30th October
Focus
In partnership with the Global Entrepreneur Programme (Office for Investment) and a consortium of Sandbox Partners. We will be in Ghana for one to one meetings and then Lagos alongside Moonshot and the VP Prosperity Summit.
Markets
Johannesburg, South Africa: Monday 2nd - Tuesday 3rd November
Focus
In partnership with the Global Entrepreneur Programme (Office for Investment) to meet with high-growth scaleups for one to one sessions including South Africa Sandbox current and alumni companies.
Markets
Nairobi, Kenya: Monday 8th - Friday 12th
Cape Town, South Africa: Monday 15th - Tuesday 16th
Cape Town, South Africa: Monday 15th - Tuesday 16th
Focus
In partnership with the Global Entrepreneur Programme (Office for Investment) and a consortium of Sandbox Partners. We will be in Nairobi alongside Africa Tech Summit and then Cape Town for one to one sessions including South Africa Sandbox current and alumni companies.
trade missions
Inbound delegations from Africa into the UK.
Curated founder delegations from African markets into London, anchored around moments like London Tech Week and UK Africa Ecosystem Week using our 90+90 System:
90 Day pre-arrival readiness and meeting prep
Curated UK investor, corporate and partner 1:1 access
Government, regulator and ecosystem engagements
90 Day post-mission activiation plan and follow up engagement
no sandbox ACTIVITY in your market yet?
Get on our radar.
One short form. Three things back.
01 · your market
We'll tell you when a programme launches in your market, and your details help validate the need for one.
02 · your route
We'll look at your company and give you routing advice for accessing the UK now, including through our partners.
03 · your city
We're running activiations across Africa all year. We'll tell you when we're in your city.
