01Mindset
First Commercialisation Principles
We approach every piece of research and every university and industry partnership with the end goal in mind: getting innovations out of the lab and into the market where they can create real-world impact.
Our Mission
A Technology Transfer Office forevery University in Africa.
The Problem
Africa is not behind on talent. It is behind on commercialisation.
Africa has 1,500+ universities. Most have no way to turn their research into reality. MARATTO™ changes that.
The research exists. The minds exist. What does not exist is the system to connect them to the economy. That is the structural gap MARATTO™ was built to close.
In 1980, the Bayh-Dole Act gave US universities the legal and structural framework to commercialise research. That is a 46-year head start built into the infrastructure of American innovation. Africa is not playing catch-up on talent. It is playing catch-up on plumbing.
There are three drains holding African research back: brain drain, resource drain, and structural drain. Brain drain and resource drain are documented. The structural drain is less discussed but equally devastating. MARATTO™ addresses it directly.
Kenya is investing $15M
To bring 50% of institutions up to TTO standard by 2030. This is not an isolated experiment. It is independent confirmation of the same insight.
Egypt has its TICO network
A national infrastructure for technology innovation and commercialisation, built on the premise that universities must connect to industry at scale.
Southern Africa has SARIMA
A SADC regional body coordinating research commercialisation across Southern Africa. Country by country, the conclusion is the same.
MARATTO™ is the pan-African layer that connects them. Not country by country. Continent-wide, from the start.
The Solution
Africa's outsourced Technology Transfer Office.
Everything a TTO does. None of what it costs to build one. Delivered in three layers.
01
Free Intelligence Layer
MARATTO™'s platform surfaces each university's research, patents, student ventures, and alumni network in a publicly accessible profile. Every university, visible to the world.
02
Fractional TTO Service
Universities that engage MARATTO™ get access to a curated network of Fractional Domain Experts deployed against their specific research commercialisation and student venture needs.
03
Industry Connection
MARATTO™ connects university research to the corporates, investors, and development partners that can commercialise it. We don't wait for industry to find research. We bring the deal to the table.
Our Values
MARATTO™ Core Values
Five operating principles. Not wall art. Every decision we make is traceable back to at least one.
02Execution
Builders, Not Briefers
We don’t just write reports and offer theoretical advice. We roll up our sleeves, deploy our expertise, and actively build the commercial pathways alongside our university and industry partners.
03Community
On-Continent + Diaspora, We Are One
We recognise that Africa’s greatest asset is its people, no matter where they are. We bring together local context and global exposure to create a unified force for African innovation.
04Intentionality
Engineered, Not Inherited
We do not copy the slow, legacy path of building traditional Technology Transfer Offices. We deliberately engineer our own, using AI, technology, and an on-demand knowledge force to build something designed for African institutions from the ground up, not adapted from someone else’s blueprint.
05Attitude
We CAN Because We Are AfriCAN
We operate with an inherent, unapologetic belief in the continent’s potential. We approach bottlenecks with optimism, resilience, and the deeply held conviction that African innovation can and will compete globally.
Who This Is For
Three audiences. One platform.
Universities
For institutions that want a Technology Transfer Office without the overhead of building it in-house. MARATTO delivers the capability, the expertise, and the connections.
Explore University ServicesDomain Experts
For senior practitioners turning African university research into real-world products, patents, and partnerships. Compensated project work, thought leadership, and a growing network.
Join the Expert NetworkIndustry
For corporates, development finance institutions, and innovation bodies looking to engage African research and commercialisation at a continental scale.
Explore IndustryReady to get started?
Whether you represent a university that needs a Technology Transfer Office, a domain expert who wants to contribute to African research commercialisation, or an industry partner looking to engage at continental scale, there is a place for you here.