TTO-AS-A-SERVICE · FOR AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES
Africa has over 1,500 universities.Fewer than 70 have an established TTO.MARATTOTM is the TTO for the rest.
Everything a TTO does. None of what it costs to build one.
Universities represented on MARATTO™
70
With an established TTO today
South Africa alone has 26
90%
Of African university IP goes uncommercialised
$0K+
Annual cost of building a TTO internally
~7 yrs
Avg. time from IP disclosure to deal without a TTO
What We Do
Your University's TTO.
Without the overhead.
MARATTOTM is not just a software platform that helps you run a TTO better. It is your TTO. Powered by AI, operated by specialists, delivered across the continent at a cost any institution can afford.
For the first time, any African university, regardless of size, funding, or location, can have a full-function technology transfer office working on its behalf from day one.
“South Africa stands out as a regional leader in technology transfer and research commercialization… [yet] South African TTOs struggle with limited human and financial resources, a lack of commercialization expertise, and weak links to the private sector.”
Flora Mpanju & Tana Pistorius, Huria Journal, 2026
Intelligent IP disclosure & classification
Patent landscaping & IP portfolio management
Commercialisation pathway generation
Licensing & industry partnership facilitation
Spinout formation & legal templates
Funding & capital matching
Student Venture Track
Council & accreditation reporting
What We Offer
Three tracks. One mission.
Helping universities build, commercialise, and scale their research, student, and alumni innovations.
Track 01 · VENTURA
VENTURATM
Faculty, Student, and Alumni Venture Track
A 12-week incubation and accelerator programme delivered to universities as a service. We turn faculty research, student innovation, and alumni ventures into venture-ready companies. We provide the curriculum, mentors, and infrastructure. Your institution gets the spinout pipeline.
From $3,000 per cohort
Designed to be accessible for any institution, at any stage of its innovation journey.
Learn MoreTrack 02 · OTTO
OTTOTM
TTO-as-a-Service
Whether you have 1,000 students or 100,000, MARATTO becomes your institution's fully co-branded TTO. IP management, commercialisation and spinout support, handled end-to-end.
Custom pricing for your institution
A fraction of the $200,000+ it costs to build a TTO internally.
Learn MoreTrack 03 · GALLOP
GALLOPTM
Fractional Executive Placement
When your spinouts need senior leadership, MARATTO places vetted fractional executives from our FDE network. The same experts who mentored your ventures step in to scale them.
- CTO
- CPO
- CMO
- CRO
- CFO
- COO
- NED
Bespoke terms per placement
Available to spinouts emerging from VENTURA and OTTO engagements.
Learn MoreBehind the Name
Built on the Mara.
The Maasai Mara is one of the world's great natural systems. Not because of any single species, but because of what happens when millions of individuals follow the same instinct at the same time.
The annual river crossing is the most dangerous moment in the migration. The zebras and wildebeest gather at the bank, hesitate, and then one moves, and everything follows. It is not leadership. It is momentum.
Africa's universities are at that bank. The research is there. The talent is there. What has been missing is the infrastructure to cross.
MARATTOTM is that infrastructure. The moment to advance is now.
“A group of zebras is called a dazzle.
That's not a coincidence.”
Photo: Thomas Fuhrmann / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Upcoming Events
UNICOM Country. Live from the continent.
One episode every two weeks. Join senior practitioners as we explore the commercial engine inside African universities — country by country.
UNICOM Country · Episode 01 ·
GHANA
University Commercialisation
The commercial engine for Ghana's universities.
Wednesday, 27 May 2026 · 12:00 in Ghana
Adelaide Asante
Phin Mpofu-Masamba II
UNICOM Country · Episode 02 ·
SOUTH AFRICA
University Commercialisation
The commercial engine for South Africa's universities.
Wednesday, 10 June 2026 · 14:00 in South Africa
Dr Babongile Mkhize
Phin Mpofu-Masamba II
UNICOM Country · Episode 03 ·
KENYA
University Commercialisation
The commercial engine for Kenya's universities.
Wednesday, 24 June 2026 · 14:00 in Kenya
Leonard Kambona
Phin Mpofu-Masamba II
University Community
684 Universities. One Platform.
We have already mapped 684 African universities across 54 countries. Find your institution, claim your profile, and unlock your innovation footprint.
Ndejje University
Uganda · East Africa
Presbyterian University College
Ghana · West Africa
Fountain University
Nigeria · West Africa
Paul University Awka
Nigeria · West Africa
Open University of Tanzania
Tanzania · East Africa
Rivers State University
Nigeria · West Africa
University of Arusha
Tanzania · East Africa
Université de Kisangani
DR Congo · Central Africa
Rhodes University
South Africa · Southern Africa
Each profile shows programme offerings, region, and institution type.
Get Started
Your role. Your profile. Your TTO.
MARATTO™ is building Africa’s shared technology transfer platform. Join as a university stakeholder, an entrepreneur, an investor, a donor, or a partner and start shaping what innovation looks like on the continent.
University stakeholders
Faculty
Surface your research to investors and partners
Student
Explore your institution’s innovation ecosystem
Alumni
Showcase your venture or academic output
Capital & ecosystem
Investor
Discover African university innovation at scale
Donor
Seed permanent commercialisation capability
Partner
Partner with MARATTO™ and universities
Entrepreneur
Build ventures on university IP or research
Already have an account? Sign in