A Sandbox for World-Changing Ideas

Zanzalu is an annual pop-up city and living laboratory in Fumba Town, Zanzibar. For several weeks each year, it brings together founders, technologists, academics, artists, investors, policymakers, and creators to test ideas in the real world and to build toward an abundant future in Africa and beyond.

Blending the energy of a festival and a builder hub, Zanzalu becomes a temporary city designed for collaboration, focus, and curiosity. Through residencies, forums, workshops, and launches, participants explore the continent’s most consequential challenges in technology, urbanization, and industrialization.

Zanzalu’s purpose is to cultivate a generative forum where people leave with new ideas, higher ambitions, and a lasting network of peers committed to building what comes next. It is both a gathering and a long-term project that aims to catalyze high-leverage experimentation and a culture of agency among rising talent.