ZuAfrique Residencies
Twenty-one days of living, learning and building together, where we test what the human layer makes possible.
Who it serves
Builders, founders, researchers, creatives, operators and community leaders, chosen for curiosity, openness and generosity as much as for what they have already built.
How people are chosen
Open applications. Rather than selecting only on professional achievement, we look for curiosity, openness, generosity and a willingness to contribute to the shared experience.
What a gift funds
Accommodation, meals, facilitation, excursions and the research that turns each residency into shared knowledge. In 2026, a residency cost about $2,500 per resident for 21 days.
Outcomes so far
- 120+ people across two residencies (2025 and 2026)
- 95.7% of surveyed 2026 residents said their sense of what's possible expanded
- 100% committed to follow-up action with someone they met
Why residencies
As AI makes technical capability cheap and abundant, the scarce thing becomes people who trust each other and can build together. Trust is built over time, not in a weekend.
A ZuAfrique Residency gives people three weeks. They share meals, run sessions for each other, explore together and work side by side. Over time, a group of strangers becomes a community. In 2026, residents described the result as connection that was faster and deeper than they had expected, in an environment that was neither extractive nor transactional.
ZuAfrique 1.0 (Kilifi, Kenya, 15 April – 6 May 2025)
The first residency grew out of Africa’s Web3 community. It was organised by AyaHQ with funding from AyaHQ and Lisk, and inspired by the pop-up city model pioneered by Zuzalu. That chapter was our launchpad. It brought 60+ people together for 21 days, and residents ran most of the 110+ sessions themselves. It also showed us that the most valuable thing we create is not any single technology, but the human layer underneath it.
ZuAfrique 2.0 (Kilifi, Kenya, 13 April – 3 May 2026)
The second residency had one theme: Allow Yourself To Feel. It was a deliberate counterweight to ecosystems built for speed and output.
- 40 residents and 20 non-residents from nine countries: Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Sweden, Spain and Italy
- 50+ experiences, including workshops, sessions run by residents, excursions, wellness and cultural events
- Near-daily sessions on AI, alongside sessions on trust, storytelling, social capital and the Igbo apprenticeship system
- A community-funded Love Feast, organised and paid for by residents themselves
“In the end, when technology reaches its peak, human connection becomes the key differentiator between humans and machines.” — Michael Lawal, VP of Partnerships, AyaHQ
The full story, including what didn’t work, is in our 2026 reports.
ZuAfrique 3.0 (April 2027)
Our third residency is planned for April 2027, building on everything we learned in 2026. 78.3% of surveyed 2026 residents said they intend to return, and many have offered to help plan it. Location and exact dates will be announced here. Register your interest and we will tell you when applications open.
Charitable purpose: Advancing education, including research into how people build trust, connection and collaboration, and publishing the results for public benefit.