African Maker Innovation Ecosystem

What We Do

Makerspaces are Digital Innovation Hubs for local smart production in Africa. A transdisciplinary approach to connect European and African Digital Innovation Hubs to maximise their potential as spaces for digital innovation, skill building, job creation and contact points for global collaboration networks.

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Make Business

Create new revenue streams for start-ups and SMEs that are for-profit and for-purpose.

Make Community

Strengthen collaboration between DIHs/makerspaces at national, regional and intercontinental (between Africa and Europe) levels. Improve links between DIHs/makerspaces and public-sector actors and policymakers.

Make Skills

Build the skills of innovators, start-ups SMEs, and DIH/makerspace management. Foster sustainable capacity development through peer-to-peer learning and mentoring.

Make Infrastructure

Prototype and implement—across networks of DIHs/makerspaces—online open standards and systems for mutual skills recognition, mapping of machinery, and contracts for distributed manufacturing.

Cape Town African Makers Conference

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Project Members

The project consortium is managed by the Centre for Social Innovation (ZSI) in Austria, in collaboration with consortium members based in Ghana, Cameroon, South Africa, Spain, Denmark and Germany.

mAkE consortium members have extensive experience in network- and ecosystem-building. The members deploy state-of-the-art co-creation, co-design, social innovation and digital fabrication processes; and culturally- and gender-sensitive community and network engagement practices. Through the combined networks of the consortium members, mAkE has strong on-the-ground relationships—in Africa, Europe, and beyond—with DIHs/makerspaces and with the innovators, start-ups and SMEs collaborating at the hubs/spaces.

percent Of future jobs will require digital and tech skills

Percent of African Youth Are not in employment, education, or
training

Percent Of makers say they’ve developed job-ready skills

Makerspaces Worldwide

Our Story

2001

The first official “Fab Lab” is launched by MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms—laying the groundwork for the global makerspace movement.

2005

The term makerspace begins gaining traction, driven by the launch of Make magazine and the first Maker Faire in California.

2009

Makerspaces spread globally, with open-source hardware like Arduino making digital fabrication more accessible.

2020

During the COVID-19 pandemic, African makerspaces step up by 3D printing PPE, creating local supply chains, and proving their role in innovation and resilience.

2024

MaKe Africa is founded, which would then kick off the Africa Makerspaces Association.

“Verum ipsum factum.
We only know what we make.”

Giambattista Vico

“If you want to have good ideas, you must have many ideas.”

Linus Pauling