How it works
How you can enable Tech Access & Digital Literacy in the Global South today!
AI is reshaping the world, yet access to it is still deeply unequal. Tembi Labs closes that gap by running AI hackathons at universities across the Global South and equipping partners with the devices, skills and networks that turn talent into opportunity.
For universities
Are you a university and want to partner with us?
Our impact
25+
AI Hackathons organised
100%
Success rate
48
Partners & Supporters
4
Countries operating in
300
Students impacted
5
Solutions built
Providing opportunities is a two-way exchange
How to participate
- Join our "Tembi Company Partners" Program
- Donate devices your company might not need anymore
How to participate
- Get in touch with us to become a partner
- Collaborate with us to host a hackathon in the Global South
How to participate
- Get in touch with us to host a hackathon at your university!
- Join our Student Program to become a "Chapter Lead" or "AI Champion" at your university or community
What you get
- An official donation receipt (Spendenbescheinigung) for your tax exemption
- A transparency portal tracking the impact of the devices you donated
What you get
- You'll be part of one of the biggest AI & Tech Access programmes in the Global South
- AI hackathons introducing your students to the newest AI tools
- Improved infrastructure by building Computer Rooms & potential Science Labs
What you get
- You'll be part of one of the biggest AI & Tech Access programmes in the Global South
- Improvement in digital literacy matching the global standard
- Being part of AI hackathons and hosting your own for your uni or community
- Better job-market prospects through AI and other skills
AI & Tech Access — one partner, one university, one student at a time
How we work in detail
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Step 1
We host AI hackathons together with universities, igniting the fire and checking critical infrastructure for device donation.
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Step 2
During this process, starting from the initial hackathon, we enter into numerous talks with the university administration; they become our partners once vetted rigorously through our process.
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Step 3
Meanwhile, we partner in the Global North with companies who want to donate resources, funds, and devices in support of the mission, and with AI companies & research labs willing to provide AI credits and education programmes to the students.
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Step 4
To keep the fire going, we empower young students to take part in the Chapter Lead & AI Champion programme. They organise hackathons and become on-the-ground experts other students can approach.
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Step 5
Once partnered with a university, we set the cornerstones for device distribution with the administration, developing a concept and facilitating the distribution and the building of computer labs.
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Step 6
Beyond the computer labs, we focus on educating staff, teachers, community leaders, and more, to ensure these devices are used and remain impactful — spurring ideas and solutions to their communities' own challenges and igniting the entrepreneurial spirit.
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Step 7
Through this enablement, empowerment, and access to cutting-edge technologies, our focus shifts to value generation. We want to focus on entrepreneurship and economic outcomes, spurring further benefits to the whole community.
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Step 8
While we stay in the loop, making sure the previous steps continue without us, we open our platform for talent placement and recruiting. The hackathons, devices, and our enablement programme give us an immense pool of ready-to-work talent that we share with companies in the Global North — as a business model.
Tembi Hackathons
Why we, as Tembi Labs, do the things we do!
The AI revolution is accelerating at a pace that is widening the gap between those with access and those without. Tools like Cursor, Lovable, and GPT-4 are compressing years of learning into weeks — but only for those with a working laptop and an internet connection. The Global South is at risk of being locked out of the most transformative technological shift in a generation, not because of talent, but because of logistics.
Tembi Labs intervenes at the infrastructure layer. We solve the hardware problem first, the skills problem second, and the network problem third. In that order. With that architecture.
Why Tembi Labs?
Why choose Tembi Labs
People- & Mission-driven
We are primarily driven by the people we serve. The success and sustainability of the mission can only be achieved if we listen to people.
Transparency-centered
What we do can only be achieved through strong partners. That's why we track our impact and programmes through our all-time tracking platform for everybody to see.
Equity over equality
We allocate against the gap rather than per head, directing resources where the access barrier is highest instead of splitting them evenly.
Dignity over charity
We build infrastructure for excellence and capture people's successes, never their misery. Participants are the authors of their work, not recipients of handouts.
Technological sovereignty
We champion open source and repairable hardware, so the communities we work with own and can maintain the technology they rely on.
Ecosystem thinking
Hardware, education, and network only work when built together, so we design them as one connected system rather than isolated fixes.
Our offering
Tembi Programs
Digital Leadership Program for Teachers & Students
Hands-on AI and digital-literacy education for teachers and students, so the people around each computer room can teach, build, and keep the momentum going long after a hackathon ends.
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Tembi Labs
Digital Leadership Program
AI Champion Program
On-the-ground AI experts other students can approach for questions and help, trained through the education programmes our AI and research-lab partners provide.
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Tembi Labs
AI Champion Program
Chapter Lead Program
Students who organise further AI events on the ground between hackathons, advancing digital, tech, and AI literacy across their university or community.
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Tembi Labs
Chapter Lead Program
"Charity was yesterday. Equality is today. Equity is the future."
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Tembi Labs
Our motto
"A world where equal access to technology is a human right, for everyone everywhere."
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Tembi Labs
Our vision
FAQ
Questions you might have…
The first step is to get in touch with us. We'll discuss the best options with you and calculate the potential impact together. If you're happy, the next steps depend on whether you're a university, a company or a student. We're familiar with all three and guide you through the process from there.
We don't run charity, we run talent-activation programmes. We solve the hardware problem first, the skills problem second and the network problem third, in that order, and we report our impact, budget and failures openly. Participants are the authors of their success, not recipients of handouts.
Sponsor a Corporate Challenge Day (5,000 to 15,000 EUR): set a real problem, your jury takes part, you own the IP of the solutions and you meet the talent, while gaining brand presence and access to a talent pipeline.
Around 4 hours of AI-tool onboarding, then roughly 24 hours of team building, then a business pitch to a jury with prizes. Participants use AI-native tools like Cursor and Lovable and build working prototypes in 24 to 48 hours. The strongest builders join the Fellows Network.
Nothing. We sponsor AI stacks like Cursor and Lovable with credits, so students pay nothing to take part. Open hackathons are open to all levels.
Devices are earned, not given. A hackathon must prove demand first. After that, from refurbished enterprise laptops and through partners such as Computer Aid International, we build computer rooms with local custodians and a check-in after six months. We see access to technology as a human right, for everyone everywhere.
Yes. The university provides the venue, access to students, a local contact, plus power and internet. Tembi brings the format, facilitation, jury, sponsored AI tools and credits, mentors and storytelling. It starts with a 30-minute call and needs about 6 to 8 weeks of lead time.
Yes, and that will always be the case. Even after signing a partnership with us, we have dedicated team members who look after your inquiries.
One conversation. All answers.
Track design, format walkthrough, honest assessment.
No pitch deck — plain talk and real answers.
A Corporate Challenge Day on equal footing.
Tim Jamboula
Your contact at Tembi Labs
No pitch deck — plain talk and real answers.
A Corporate Challenge Day on equal footing.
Tim Jamboula
Your contact at Tembi Labs