The software engineering school built for Africa
You do not need a technical background. You need the right environment, the right standard, and the discipline to show up.
BUILD Institute provides the first two. The rest is yours.
Only 40 seats available for Cohort 1
The problem
Bootcamps produce graduates.
Companies need engineers.
Surface-level curriculum
They teach you to write code that works. Nobody teaches you to write code that lasts. Syntax, not architecture. Tutorials, not engineering principles. Students graduate able to follow instructions, unable to make decisions.
No quality gate
Every student passes. The one who barely showed up and the one who worked 20 hours a week get the same certificate. There is no standard — so the certificate means nothing, and companies know it.
Zero industry standard
What gets submitted would not survive a real code review. No error handling. No tests. Variable names from Stack Overflow. The gap between what they produce and what companies expect is measured in years, not weeks.
BUILD was created to fix all three.We set a standard. We enforce it. And no one graduates until they meet it.
The difference
BUILD is built differently.
Feel it before you understand it
You build first. Explanations come after. When you've wrestled with a problem yourself, the solution lands differently. This is not a methodology — it is how real learning works.
Consolidation weeks
Every few weeks, we stop moving forward. We go back. We reinforce what was hard. We correct what was misunderstood. You do not move to Week 10 carrying confusion from Week 6.
Real engineers review your work
Every submission is reviewed by a working engineer. Not automated. Not a rubric checkbox. Line-by-line feedback that reflects the standard of a real engineering team.
You do not graduate unless you are ready
You graduate when you meet the standard — not when the cohort ends. If you need more time, you take it. The certificate is difficult to earn. That is exactly why it is worth something.
The journey
Three levels. One engineer.
Each level is a complete programme. You can stop at 200 Level. Most students do not.
Foundation
8 weeks
The foundation most programmes skip. Command line, Git, computational thinking, and your first real programming assignments. We move slowly here on purpose.
Projects you build
- A working dotfiles repository with bootstrap script
- A Git-managed portfolio site with CI/CD pipeline
- An asynchronous CLI tool in Node.js with full test suite
- + more projects for this level
Junior Ready
15 weeks
You become an engineer who can build and ship. REST APIs, PostgreSQL, authentication, testing, and deployment. By the end, you can work on a real production codebase.
Projects you build
- A production-grade REST API with OpenAPI documentation
- A multi-tenant SaaS schema with row-level security
- A full-stack authentication system with JWT and OAuth
- + more projects for this level
Mid-Level Competitive
13 weeks
System design, architecture decisions, and codebase-scale thinking. Built for developers who want to interview for — and win — mid-level and senior engineering roles.
Projects you build
- A scalable notification delivery system with message queues
- A capstone system design document and public code showcase
- An open-source contribution with merged pull request
- + more projects for this level
Your roadmap at a glance
40
Total weeks
3
Levels
9+
Projects shipped
1
Standard. No exceptions.
The work
Try a real assignment.
Week 6, 100 Level. Write the function, explain the complexity. Then see how an actual Build student solved it.
Write a function that takes a sentence as a string and returns an object where each key is a word and each value is how many times that word appears. Handle capitalisation — "The" and "the" should count as the same word.
- Write pseudocode as comments first
- Then write the actual implementation
- Handle capitalisation — "The" and "the" are the same word
- Explain the time complexity at the bottom
Test Suite
5 checksPseudocode present
Has at least 2 comment lines explaining the plan
Returns an object
Creates and returns a plain object or Map
Splits the sentence
Uses .split() to tokenise the string
Case-insensitive
Normalises with .toLowerCase() or .toUpperCase()
Time complexity explained
Mentions O(n) in a comment
36 weeks · 3 levels · Engineer-reviewed submissions
Pricing
Transparent pricing. No surprises.
100 Level is free. You pay only when you choose to continue. Instalment plans available — speak to us.
100 Level
Foundation
Start without risk. Build the base every engineer needs. No payment required.
- Weekly assignments with instructor feedback
- Code review on every submission
- Community Discord access
- Certificate of completion
- Full access to all 100 Level resources
200 Level
Requires completion of 100 Level
Junior Ready
or Instalment plan available instalment
Build real systems. Develop the discipline and craft that companies pay for.
- Everything in 100 Level
- Advanced full-stack assignments
- 2 × 1:1 sessions with instructor
- Industry-standard code review
- Private cohort channel
- Job referral support on completion
300 Level
Requires completion of 200 Level
Mid-Level Competitive
or Instalment plan available instalment
Systems design, architecture, and the skills that separate mid-level engineers.
- Everything in 200 Level
- System design curriculum
- 3 × architecture review sessions
- Capstone project with public showcase
- LinkedIn and resume review
- Direct referrals to partner companies
200 + 300 Levels
Full Journey Bundle
Complete the full BUILD journey at a discount. Our most committed students choose this.
- Everything in 200 Level + 300 Level
- 5 × 1:1 sessions total
- Priority code review queue
- All architecture review sessions
- Full showcase portfolio
- Job referral network access
Pay upfront or use an instalment plan — standard (50% upfront, 50% by Week 4) or extended (40% upfront, 30% by Week 4, 30% by Week 8). Speak to us.
Our philosophy
Belief. Impact. Transformation.
Robert Ebafua
Founder & Director, BUILD Institute
At BUILD, we believe that everyone and anyone can create impact and transform society. Everyone can do great things — nothing is impossible for anyone who puts their mind to it.
True knowledge transforms. Our graduates are equipped to start a transformation from where they are — in their communities, their organizations, and the world at large.
BUILD exists to make them genuinely, demonstrably, irrefutably good — capable of creating real, measurable impact.
We don’t just teach coding. We cultivate engineers who understand systems, standards, and responsibility. Engineers who leave a mark wherever they go.
10+ years in production software engineering. Multiple companies built and shipped. Former engineering lead at scale. Now sharing everything we’ve learned to shape the next generation of impactful engineers.
FAQ
Questions we hear often.
Yes — but the commitment is real. Expect 15–20 hours of focused work per week. Students who underestimate this fall behind. We recommend blocking evenings consistently and one full day per weekend. The cohort structure makes accountability easier, not harder.
Have a question not listed here? Send us a message.
Your cohort starts soon.
Cohort 1 is small by design. We cap enrolment to protect the quality of instruction. Once the cohort fills, applications close.
Free to start · No commitment until 200 Level · Deferment available