Applications open — June 2026 cohort

African data.
African authors.
Analysed by Africans.

A 60-day online bioinformatics programme for African researchers who have sequencing data and need the skills to analyse it — independently, without collaborators, in a browser.

60 Days of training
20+ Tools taught
0 Software to install
54 African countries
Galaxy Africa· FastQC· BWA-MEM· GATK4· TB-Profiler· SPAdes· IQ-TREE2· QIIME2· Kraken2· AlphaFold2· AutoDock Vina· ACMG Classification· ResFinder· MLST· Mutect2· Biopython· phyloseq· AfroDB· Galaxy Africa· FastQC· BWA-MEM· GATK4· TB-Profiler· SPAdes· IQ-TREE2· QIIME2· Kraken2· AlphaFold2· AutoDock Vina· ACMG Classification· ResFinder· MLST· Mutect2· Biopython· phyloseq· AfroDB

Africa generates the world's most important genomics data.
Africa rarely analyses it.

60%

of global infectious disease genomics studies use African samples

Nigerian TB isolates. Kenyan Klebsiella outbreaks. Ugandan gut microbiome. African SARS-CoV-2 lineages. The data is here. The capacity to analyse it often is not.

<12%

of first authors on those papers are African scientists

Samples from Africa. Analysis in Europe. Authorship on both sides — but not equally. The gap is not talent. It is training, tools, and access to structured support.

African researchers are trading authorship for computational help. European and American collaborators provide analysis in exchange for co-authorship — a transaction that compounds the capacity gap year after year. The Africa Bioinformatics School breaks this cycle. We teach African researchers to analyse their own data, on their own, using free browser-based tools that work on any internet connection across the continent.

60 days. Two phases.
One transformation.

Phase 1 teaches you every tool. Phase 2 makes you use them on your own research — with daily support, mentor sessions, and structured milestones.

Phase 1 — Days 1–30 Teaching: 6 modules, live sessions, African datasets
WEEK 1 · DAYS 1–7
Foundations
Galaxy Africa Linux Python Biopython BLAST NCBI H3Africa
WEEK 2 · DAYS 8–14
Genomics & NGS
FastQC Trimmomatic BWA-MEM GATK4 TB-Profiler SPAdes IQ-TREE2
WEEK 3 · DAYS 15–21
Metagenomics & Structural
QIIME2 Kraken2 HUMAnN3 AlphaFold2 AutoDock Vina AfroDB
WEEK 4 · DAYS 22–30
Clinical Bioinformatics
ACMG ResFinder MLST Mutect2 CNVkit GitHub Zenodo
Phase 2 — Days 31–60 Practice: Your own data, supervised, with mentors

What Phase 2 includes:

  • Daily drop-in Galaxy labs (Mon–Fri, 2 hrs, TA available)
  • 2 individual mentor sessions per participant
  • 5 structured milestones with instructor feedback
  • Final report (1,500 words) + Day 58 presentation
  • Shared Galaxy workflow + GitHub repository
  • Certificate of completion

Choose your project track:

TRACK A

AMR Genomics

K. pneumoniae Kenya outbreaks

TRACK B

Gut Microbiome

Ugandan children — PRJEB36553

TRACK C

Phylogenomics

African SARS-CoV-2 lineages

TRACK D

Drug Discovery

Virtual screening — Mtb InhA

OWN DATA

Bring your own research dataset

Custom plan assigned within 24 hours of submission

Everything runs in your browser.
No installation. No server. No cost.

All analyses run on Galaxy Africa (africa.usegalaxy.eu) — a free, browser-based platform with 2,000+ tools and dedicated compute capacity for African researchers. It works on 3G internet.

Galaxy AfricaPlatform
FastQCQC
TrimmomaticTrimming
BWA-MEMAlignment
SAMtoolsBAM
GATK4Variant Calling
TB-ProfilerAMR — TB
SPAdesAssembly
QUAST + BUSCOAssembly QC
ProkkaAnnotation
MAFFTAlignment
trimAlAlignment trim
IQ-TREE2Phylogenetics
QIIME2Metagenomics
DADA2ASV calling
Kraken2Classification
BrackenAbundance
HUMAnN3Pathways
AlphaFold2Structure
AutoDock VinaDocking
ResFinderAMR
MLSTTyping
Mutect2Somatic SNVs
BiopythonScripting
phyloseq + RDiversity

Built for African researchers with data they cannot yet analyse.

🔬

PhD Students

You have sequencing data sitting on a hard drive. Your supervisor is a wet-lab scientist. Your collaborators want authorship. You need skills, not dependency.

No coding experience required
🧬

Postdocs & Early Faculty

You need to establish a computational pipeline for your research group. You cannot yet hire a bioinformatician. Your next grant application needs this.

60 days — flexible schedule
🏥

Clinical Researchers

You have TB isolates, Klebsiella samples, or HIV sequencing data. You need a drug resistance report in days, not months, without sending samples abroad.

AMR & clinical focus
🌍

Public Health Officers

You manage outbreak surveillance or genomic epidemiology. You need to understand the data your teams generate and lead analysis — not just receive reports.

MLST, phylogenomics, AMR
💊

MSc Students

You are about to start a thesis that involves genomics data. You want to be the student in your lab who can actually run the analysis — not just collect samples.

Student pricing available
🏛️

Institutions & Departments

You want to build computational capacity across your department or hospital. Group enrolments, institutional certificates, and custom partnership agreements available.

Group rates & MoUs

Accessible pricing for every African researcher.

Scholarship places in every cohort. Payment plans available. Financial barriers should not stop the right person.

Student (Africa)
₦115,000 / programme
≈ $72 USD · MSc/PhD students at African institutions
  • Full 60-day programme access
  • All 6 Phase 1 teaching modules
  • Phase 2 supervised project
  • Daily drop-in Galaxy labs
  • 1 mentor session
  • Certificate of completion
  • Student ID required at registration
Scholarship
₦55,000 / programme
≈ $34 USD · Financial need · full scholarships also available
  • Full programme — no reduced content
  • Same curriculum as all other tiers
  • Requires 200-word financial need statement
  • Up to 20 partial scholarships per cohort
  • 5 full (free) scholarships per cohort
  • Reviewed personally by the programme director

International (non-Africa): from $110 USD · Institutional group rates: from ₦700,000/year · Contact us for MoU agreements

Choose your payment method

Multiple secure payment options for African researchers. All transactions are encrypted and processed by trusted payment providers.

Select your preferred payment gateway. All are secure and support Naira, Dollars, and major African currencies.

Paystack

Nigeria's most trusted payment gateway. Cards, bank transfer, USSD, mobile money. NGN + USD.

Flutterwave

Pan-African payments. 30+ currencies. Mobile money (M-Pesa, Airtel, MTN MoMo). Cards.

Selar.co

African digital commerce platform. Instant access after payment. NGN, USD, GHS, KES, ZAR.

🔒 Secured by your chosen payment gateway · 256-bit SSL encryption · PCI-DSS compliant

Transfer directly to our corporate bank accounts. Your enrolment is confirmed within 2 business hours of payment verification.

🏦 UBA (United Bank for Africa)

Account name
Noblekinmat Ltd
Account number
1028860869
Bank
UBA

🏦 Zenith Bank

Account name
Noblekinmat Ltd
Account number
1228634767
Bank
Zenith Bank PLC

Important: Use your full name and email address as the payment reference/narration. Example: "AMINA OKAFOR — amina@uni.edu.ng — ABS PROFESSIONAL"

Send proof of payment (screenshot) to enroll@africabioinformatics.school or WhatsApp +821029476251.

Split your enrolment fee into 3 payments. Available via Selar flexible payment plans.

Instalment payments are processed via **Selar**. You will receive payment links for instalments 2 and 3 automatically at Day 15 and Day 35 of your cohort. Failure to complete instalment 2 pauses your access until payment is received.

Enrolment Summary

Professional (Africa) ₦165,000
CohortJune 2026
Start dateJune 2, 2026
Duration60 days
Format100% online
USD equivalent≈ $103 USD

What's included

30 days of live-supported teaching
30 days of supervised research
All course materials & datasets
Galaxy Africa access
2 individual mentor sessions
Certificate of completion

Everything you need to know before enrolling.

Do I need coding experience?

No. The programme starts from zero. Day 2 teaches Linux and Day 3 teaches Python — from the beginning, in the context of bioinformatics. Most graduates had never used a terminal before joining.

What computer do I need?

Any laptop, desktop, or phone with a web browser (Chrome, Firefox, or Edge) and an internet connection. All analysis runs on Galaxy Africa's servers — your computer does no computation. It works on 3G.

How much time does it require?

Phase 1 (Days 1–30): approximately 3–4 hours per day on weekdays. Phase 2 (Days 31–60): approximately 2–3 hours per day at your own pace. Most participants work around existing research and teaching responsibilities.

Is the certificate internationally recognised?

The certificate is issued by the Africa Bioinformatics School. It is not an accredited degree — it is a professional training certificate, equivalent to EMBL-EBI or Physalia certifications. We are pursuing H3Africa BioNet endorsement.

What if I need a scholarship?

Apply on the enrolment form and select the scholarship tier. Write 200 words: your research, why you need this training, and what you will do with the skills. We read every application personally. Full scholarships are available for exceptional applicants.

Can I use my own research data?

Yes. In Phase 2 you can work on your own research dataset with a custom analysis plan assigned within 24 hours. Or choose from 5 curated African project tracks. Most participants use a combination of both.

What is the refund policy?

Full refund within 5 days of enrolment if you have not yet accessed any course materials. 50% refund before Day 10. No refund after Day 10. Contact us — we always try to find a solution.

Is there institutional pricing?

Yes. Department licences from ₦700,000/year. University-wide from ₦2,000,000/year. Includes up to 60 student enrolments, institutional certificate, and a dedicated account manager. Contact us for a proposal.