Programmes
ATTP Fellowship.
For early-stage founders and young professionals aged 20 to 35 who are past the exploring stage and ready to build something real. More rigorous than TIA. Fewer hand-holds. Stronger output.
What is Fellowship?
Fellowship is ATTP's advanced cohort programme for people who already have an idea or an early product and want to take it further under real pressure. It runs alongside TIA but is designed for a different person at a different stage.
Where TIA is discovery-led, Fellowship is output-led. You arrive with something. You leave with something stronger, better articulated, and ready to be put in front of the people who matter. Every session has a specific deliverable. Every week has accountability built in.
Participants are paired with a mentor from week one — not someone who gives generic advice, but someone with relevant experience in the domain you are building in. That relationship runs for the full cohort and beyond.
Fellowship is deliberately small. The cohort size is capped so that facilitation stays personal and feedback stays specific. If you are accepted, you are expected to show up and ship.
The work Fellows pursue spans technology, civic innovation, creative enterprise, and community development. What matters is not the sector but the seriousness with which you are approaching it. Fellows who are building for underserved communities or working on problems with a civic dimension are particularly encouraged to apply.
Who gets in?
Young Nigerians aged 20 to 35 who are working on an idea, early startup, side project, or community initiative. You do not need a registered company or technical skills. You do need clarity on what you are building, why it matters, and the capacity to commit to six consecutive Saturdays. TIA alumni are given priority. Fellowship is free to attend — no application fee, no programme charge.
Fellowship 2026
Applications for the first Fellowship cohort open alongside TIA 2026. The cohort is capped at 12 participants. Apply early — once the cohort is full, the waitlist opens. The cohort closes with a public graduation event where Fellows present their work to mentors, partners, and the wider ATTP community.
Comparison
How Fellowship differs from TIA
| TIA | Fellowship | |
|---|---|---|
| Target stage | Discovery and early framing | Existing idea or early product |
| Age range | 13 to 22 | 20 to 35 |
| Mentor pairing | Access to mentor network | Dedicated mentor from week one |
| Output expectation | A project on Launchpad | Pitch deck, prototype, and go-to-market plan |
| Accountability | Facilitated sessions | Weekly check-ins and peer review |
The programme
Six Saturdays. Build something real.
Each week has morning teaching and an afternoon build session. You leave each Saturday with a concrete output.
Week 1
September 7
Clarity
You cannot build what you cannot explain. This week cuts through the noise — who you are as a founder, what problem you are actually solving, and why you are the person to solve it. The ideas that survive this week are the ones worth building.
Week 1
September 7
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Why You, Why This, Why Now
The origin story of every great company is a founder who could not stop thinking about a specific problem. Before we talk about markets or products, we talk about you — your unfair advantage, your founder-market fit, and the clarity of your conviction. Founders who cannot explain why they are the right person to build this do not last.
What you will do
Write a 200-word founder brief: who you are, the problem you live with, why you are the person to solve it. Present to the room. Take questions for 5 minutes.
Learning outcomes
Clarity on founder-market fit. The ability to articulate your conviction without hedging. Knowing the difference between an idea you find interesting and a problem you cannot ignore.
Practicals
Founder brief writing. Peer presentation and critique. One round of questions designed to break the argument — fellows defend or update their position.
You leave with
Your founder brief, sharpened by the room. One page. No jargon.
1:00 PM – 3:30 PM
The Problem is the Product
Most founders fall in love with their solution before understanding the problem. Today we work backwards. A sharp problem statement is the foundation everything else is built on — product, pitch, and pricing all follow from it. If the problem is fuzzy, the product will be too.
What you will do
Map the problem stack for your idea using the 5 Whys framework. Identify who has this problem most acutely and what they are currently doing about it. Rewrite your problem statement based on what you find.
Learning outcomes
How to distinguish surface symptoms from root causes. How to identify the person who suffers the problem most. How to write a problem statement that would survive investor scrutiny.
Practicals
Problem stack mapping in pairs. Group critique — one person plays devil's advocate for each problem statement.
You leave with
A revised problem statement. And a clear picture of who your first user is.
Week 2
September 14
The Market
The market always wins. This week you stop theorising and start listening — to real people with real problems. You will run customer interviews, stress-test your assumptions, and come back with evidence instead of opinions.
Week 2
September 14
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Talk to People Before You Build Anything
Customer discovery is not surveying. It is archaeology. You are digging for what people actually do, not what they say they want. Most founders ask the wrong questions and get answers that feel confirming but mean nothing. Today we learn to ask questions that actually surface truth — and we practise until it is uncomfortable.
What you will do
Build your customer interview guide. Run one live interview in pairs during the session. Then run 5 real customer interviews before Week 3 — not with friends, not with people who already support you.
Learning outcomes
How to run a non-leading customer interview. How to extract signal from noise. How to identify your real ICP based on evidence rather than assumption. How Nigerian purchase decisions get made — trust, community, referrals, and why cold outreach works differently here.
Practicals
Good interview vs. bad interview role-play (live demo). Interview guide building. One live interview per pair with feedback from the group.
You leave with
Your customer interview guide. The names of 5 people you will speak to this week. Interview results due at the start of Week 3.
1:00 PM – 3:30 PM
The Size of the Prize
Market sizing done wrong is worse than not doing it. Top-down percentages ("we are targeting 1% of a ₦10 trillion market") tell investors nothing — they have heard it a thousand times. Bottom-up sizing built from real unit economics tells them you understand your business. Today we do it properly, and we find the beachhead: the smallest market you can dominate first.
What you will do
Build a bottom-up market size for your idea. Start from the unit: one customer, one transaction, one month. Work outward. Present your assumptions.
Learning outcomes
Bottom-up market sizing from unit economics. The concept of the beachhead market and why starting small is a strategic choice, not a limitation. How to present market opportunity to someone who will push back.
Practicals
Market sizing spreadsheet (template provided). Each fellow presents assumptions for group stress-testing.
You leave with
A defensible market size and your beachhead market — the specific slice of the market you go after first. One page.
Week 3
September 21
The Product
Build the smallest thing that proves the biggest idea. This week is about product discipline — deciding what to build, what to cut, and how to ship before you are ready. The best builders are ruthless editors.
Week 3
September 21
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
The Smallest Thing That Proves the Biggest Idea
The MVP is a learning tool, not a product. Most founders build the wrong thing because they skip assumption mapping and go straight to building. By the time they realise the assumption was wrong, they have spent three months and significant money on something nobody wants. Today we map the riskiest assumption in your idea and design the smallest possible experiment to test it.
What you will do
Define your MVP. Identify the single riskiest assumption your entire business depends on. Design the smallest experiment you can run to test it — this could be a WhatsApp conversation, a landing page, a concierge service, or a prototype.
Learning outcomes
MVP thinking vs. product thinking. The difference between a concierge MVP, a prototype, and a product. How to identify the riskiest assumption in any idea. Why Nigerian founders tend to over-build and how to break that habit.
Practicals
Assumption mapping workshop. Each fellow maps assumptions by risk and effort. Group votes on the riskiest assumption for each idea.
You leave with
Your MVP definition. The one experiment you will run before Week 4, with a clear hypothesis and success metric.
1:00 PM – 3:30 PM
Product Discipline
What you leave out of your product is as important as what you put in. Every feature you add is a commitment — to build it, maintain it, explain it, and support it. The best early-stage products do one thing very well. Today we build your product roadmap and cut ruthlessly.
What you will do
Write a one-page product spec: the problem, the user, the core use case, and the one thing that must work perfectly. Use RICE scoring (Reach, Impact, Confidence, Effort) to prioritise your feature list. Cut anything that does not make the MVP.
Learning outcomes
Feature prioritisation using RICE. Product spec writing. The discipline of cutting — being able to say no to good ideas in order to protect great ones. How to define a "done" for your MVP.
Practicals
Product spec writing. RICE scoring exercise. Peer review — each fellow challenges one feature on someone else's roadmap.
You leave with
A one-page product spec. A ruthless cut list. A clear definition of done for your MVP.
Week 4
September 28
Traction
Traction is the only argument that matters at your stage. Without it, everything else is speculation. This week you build your go-to-market strategy and run your first traction sprint. You will have results to report by Week 5.
Week 4
September 28
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Your First 100 Customers
Most founders think about distribution after building. The ones who win think about it before. Today we look at the channels that actually work for Nigerian startups — not the Silicon Valley playbook, which assumes a different market, different trust dynamics, and different infrastructure. WhatsApp, community-led growth, referral loops built on personal trust, and the specific way cold outreach works in Lagos and Abuja.
What you will do
Pick your top 3 traction channels. Build a 2-week traction sprint plan: what you will do, who you will contact, what success looks like.
Learning outcomes
The 19 traction channels and which 3 are most relevant for your product and market. Why distribution strategy must match your market's trust and communication patterns. How to build a traction sprint with a clear hypothesis and measurable outcome.
Practicals
Traction channel selection exercise. Sprint planning in pairs — each fellow pressure-tests the other's plan.
You leave with
Your 2-week traction sprint plan. You will report results at the start of Week 5.
1:00 PM – 3:30 PM
The Go-to-Market Strategy
Go-to-market is not marketing. It is the full motion from zero to first revenue — who you reach, how you reach them, in what order, with what message. Get this wrong and a good product dies quietly. Get it right and a mediocre product survives long enough to improve. Today we map the entire motion and a mentor reviews it.
What you will do
Map your full GTM motion: the sequence of outreach, the message at each stage, the partnership or channel that unlocks the first 10 customers. Present to a mentor for live feedback.
Learning outcomes
GTM strategy design. B2C vs. B2B GTM in Nigeria — what is different, what the standard playbooks miss. How to engineer word of mouth in a trust-based market. How to identify partnerships that accelerate distribution without giving away too much.
Practicals
GTM mapping exercise. Mentor review session — each fellow gets 10 minutes with an assigned mentor.
You leave with
A written GTM strategy for your first 90 days post-launch.
Week 5
October 5
The Business
A great idea with a broken business model is just a hobby. This week is numbers — revenue models, unit economics, pricing in a market that thinks everything should be free, and an honest look at fundraising in Nigeria.
Week 5
October 5
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
How You Make Money
The business model is not a detail. It is the argument for why this can become a real company. Today we work through revenue models, pricing in a market where people expect things to be free, and the three numbers every founder must know cold: CAC, LTV, and payback period. We also hear traction sprint results — what worked, what did not, and what it means.
What you will do
Traction sprint report: 3 minutes each. What you tried, what happened, what you learned. Then: model your unit economics. What does the business look like at 100 customers? At 1,000?
Learning outcomes
Revenue model selection for your type of product and market. How to price against a culture of free. Unit economics: calculating CAC, LTV, and payback period from real or estimated data. The difference between a revenue model and a business model.
Practicals
Unit economics spreadsheet (template provided). Each fellow walks through their model with the group. One round of hard questions per fellow.
You leave with
Your unit economics model. Your pricing decision and the reasoning behind it — in writing.
1:00 PM – 3:30 PM
The Fundraising Reality
Most founders think about fundraising wrong. They see it as validation. It is not — it is a tool, and like any tool it is only useful in the right situation. Today we look honestly at the Nigerian and African funding landscape: who is investing, at what stage, on what terms, and what they actually look for. We also look at the alternatives — grants, revenue-based financing, angels, and what it looks like to build a real business without external capital.
What you will do
Decide whether you should raise. If yes: what would you raise, from whom, for what, and on what timeline? If no: what does your path to sustainability look like? Write it out.
Learning outcomes
The Nigerian and African funding landscape at pre-seed and seed. What investors actually look for (versus what they say they look for). Alternatives to VC that are underused by Nigerian founders. When not to raise — and why that is sometimes the stronger position.
Practicals
Funding strategy document. Peer review — is the raise decision coherent with the business model and traction strategy?
You leave with
A one-page funding strategy or a one-page bootstrapping strategy. Whichever path you choose, you will be able to defend it.
Week 6
October 12
The Pitch and Beyond
Now tell the world. This week is pitch day — each fellow presents to a panel of mentors, investors, and alumni. But the real work is the story you have built over six weeks. The pitch is just how you tell it.
Week 6
October 12
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Storytelling for Founders
The best pitch is not the most polished. It is the most honest. It makes the listener believe you see something they do not — and that you are the person who will turn that insight into something real. Today we build the narrative arc of your pitch from scratch. Not the slides. The story. Then we practise until it is tight.
What you will do
Write your pitch narrative: the origin, the insight, the evidence, the ask. Two live rounds — 5 minutes each, full panel questions after each round. Refine between rounds.
Learning outcomes
How to construct a founder narrative that is honest, specific, and compelling. What investors and mentors think during your pitch (and what they never say out loud). How to handle pushback without losing your footing.
Practicals
Pitch narrative writing. Two timed rounds with live panel feedback. Peer notes after each round.
You leave with
Your pitch narrative — written, rehearsed, and tested. You know what questions are coming tomorrow.
1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Pitch Day
Each fellow presents to a panel of mentors, investors, and ATTP alumni. This is not a rehearsal. The panel has not seen your pitch before. You have 5 minutes to present and 10 minutes of questions. Written feedback from each panelist arrives within 48 hours. After pitches, graduation — and a conversation about what comes next.
What you will do
Deliver your pitch to the panel. Take the questions. Listen more than you defend.
Learning outcomes
The ability to pitch under real conditions. How to receive and process honest feedback. Clarity on your next 90 days after the Fellowship — what you are building, who you are talking to, what you need.
Practicals
Live pitch to panel. Graduation. Fellows share one thing they are committing to in the next 30 days.
You leave with
Panel feedback report within 48 hours. ATTP Fellowship certificate. Access to the Fellowship alumni network and warm introductions from ATTP mentors.
At the end of the programme
What you leave with.
A refined pitch deck
Built week by week, pressure-tested by your mentor and peers. Ready to present to investors, partners, or a room of potential users.
A prototype or plan
Depending on your stage, a working product, a tested mockup, or a credible go-to-market plan with evidence behind it.
A mentor relationship
Not a one-off call. A six-week structured relationship with someone who has done what you are trying to do.
A certificate of completion
Issued by ATTP, with your name, cohort, and a link to your portfolio page.
A public portfolio entry
Your Fellowship project is published on Launchpad and visible to the ATTP community, mentors, and future collaborators.
Community access
Ongoing access to the ATTP alumni network, past cohorts, current members, and the wider mentor pool.
Questions
Frequently asked
- Who is Fellowship for?
- Young Nigerians aged 20 to 35 who have an existing idea, early product, or community initiative. You do not need a registered company. You do need something real to work on and the capacity to commit fully for six Saturdays.
- How is it different from TIA?
- TIA is for discovery and early framing, it is where you work out what you want to build and why. Fellowship assumes you have already done that work and are ready for rigorous output, mentor pairing, and accountability.
- Is Fellowship free?
- Yes. There is no fee to apply or attend.
- What is the mentor pairing?
- Every Fellowship participant is paired with a mentor relevant to their domain from week one. That relationship is structured, not just a one-off call, and runs for the full six weeks with check-ins built in.
- What do I leave with?
- A refined pitch deck, a working prototype or go-to-market plan (depending on your stage), a certificate of completion, a portfolio entry on Launchpad, and an ongoing relationship with your mentor and the Fellowship cohort.
- Can TIA alumni apply?
- Yes, TIA alumni are prioritised in Fellowship selection. The programmes are designed to work together: TIA is where you start, Fellowship is where you go next.