AstroBizNet Apply

Start with the sky. End with a business.

AstroBizNet takes young people in Namibia and Botswana from astronomy fundamentals, through data and digital skills, into entrepreneurship — ending in a live pitch competition with seed funding. Free. Online. Assumes nothing.

Apply to join See the programme
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Why astronomy

The best on-ramp
into hard technical
skill there is.

Astronomy demands data handling, programming, statistical reasoning and a stubborn willingness to keep asking how anyone actually knows a thing. That is the same toolkit that builds companies — which is why this programme uses one to teach the other.

How it works
The Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula
Pillars of Creation, Eagle Nebula — NASA / ESA / Hubble
The Cosmic Cliffs of the Carina Nebula, imaged by the James Webb Space Telescope

Two blocks, eight weeks

Astronomy first.
Then everything
it teaches you.

The first half builds real scientific literacy. The second turns those habits on markets, customers and business models. A weekly assessment runs throughout, and it decides who moves forward.

Inside the programme
The Sun imaged by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory

The competition

It ends
on a stage.

Assessment scores and submissions decide who reaches the final six. Those six are matched with mentors, then pitch to judges over three days at a university venue — competing for seed funding.

How the funnel works
Artist's concept of Voyager 1 entering interstellar space
Voyager 1 entering interstellar space — NASA / JPL-Caltech

What you leave with

Evidence, not
a certificate.

Python and data analysis you can demonstrate. A professional profile and portfolio that survive a real hiring process. A business idea you have actually tested on real people. And a completion record from the learning platform.

Apply to join

Supported by

IAU Office of Astronomy for Development
IAU Office of Astronomy for Development AstroBizNet is an OAD-funded project, run in Namibia and Botswana.
International Astronomical Union