The GrowUp Incubator supports early-stage entrepreneurs with innovative solutions that have the potential to create substantial environmental and social impact. The 2022 cohort of GrowUp Incubator addresses sustainable food systems in East Africa to enable sustainable agricultural production and support sustainable practices along the whole food value chain and to mitigate climate change and build resilient communities. Selected entrepreneurs receive tailored mentorship, interactive capacity building workshops and networking opportunities with local partners. Eligibility extends to social business entrepreneurs in Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Burundi. The call for applications closes 21 November 2021. GrowUp Incubator
Africa
Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund — Clean Energy Technologies
The Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF) supports the private sector to expand its clean energy technologies to Africa’s rural communities. The AECF Innovation Fund is looking to invest between US$100 thousand and US$300 thousand to support business growth for impactful innovations across clean cooking and productive use of energy technology sectors. The co-financing requirement is a minimum of 30% of the project cost. Eligibility extends to the African private sector (for-profit as well as non-profit) in Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Nigeria, Mali, and Sierra Leone. Applications close 26 November 2021. AECF Innovation Fund
Volkswagen Foundation — Research Workshops and Summer Schools in Sub-Saharan Africa
In its research program “Knowledge for Tomorrow,” the Volkswagen Foundation funds research projects of African scientists in cooperation with partners in Germany. The program supports research across all disciplines. To aid with project proposals and development, the Volkswagen Foundation makes grants for workshops, symposia, and summer schools in Africa to help partners discuss and agree on research priorities and approaches. Applications for workshops and summer schools have to be submitted by 20 December 2021. Explore
Partnership for Economic Policy — Impact Evaluation in East and West Africa
Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP) launches a new initiative for Strengthening Impact Evaluation Capacities for Development (SIECD) in East and West Africa. This initiative aims to strengthen experimental impact evaluation capacities among experienced researchers and within governments in East and West Africa. PEP invites project teams to submit an expression of interest to pilot a new or existing policy initiative that can be evaluated using experimental evaluation techniques. Funding for the evaluation project up to US$114 thousand. Each project team must be composed of both researchers and government officials. The submission deadline is 12 November 2021. Find the call
Netherlands Enterprise Agency — Access to Renewable Energy
The Netherlands Enterprise Agency supports projects that contribute to access to sustainable energy for households in developing countries. Projects under this call should contribute to access to renewable energy technologies and services. Applicants can apply for a subsidy of min. €250 thousand and max. €2.5 million per project. The program is open to activities in the following countries: Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, Gambia, India, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Uganda, Rwanda, Senegal, Sudan, Tanzania, and South Sudan. The main applicant has to be a Dutch organization but local partnerships are required to be eligible. The application deadline is 22 November 2021. Access to Renewable Energy
MeerWissen — Marine Biodiversity Conservation in Africa
MeerWissen Initiative seeks to support projects that contribute to strengthening marine biodiversity conservation in sustainable blue economy approaches in Africa. MeerWissen supports partnerships of at least one German and one African academic institution. It is, however, required that a German academic institution submits the application. Projects may request up to €360 thousand for a period of up to two years. Partnership projects in the following African coastal states are supported: Algeria, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Guinea, Liberia, Libya, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania. Applications have to be submitted by 31 December 2021. MeerWissen
German Academic Exchange Service — Postdoc Program in Research on Climate Change in Africa
The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) seeks African researchers for a new postdoc program in application-oriented research on climate change. The program supports capacity building and collaborative research activities in the following areas: Agriculture, Land Use, Biodiversity, Food Security, Marine Science, Energy, Water Security, Woodland and Forest Sustainability. The fellowship consists of a flat-rate travel allowance, research funding of up to €10 thousand, and a monthly allowance of €800. The fellowship awards are for a period of 12 to 24 months. The deadline for applications is 17 November 2021. Detailed information
U.S. Agency for International Development — Innovative and Resilient Agriculture Market Systems
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) seeks applications for a cooperative agreement to implement the USAID Feed The Future (Promoting Innovative and Resilient Agriculture Market Systems) program in Mozambique. Feed The Future supports producers and small to medium sized enterprises in agriculture to increase their profitability using a market systems development approach, while increasing their resilience to climate change. USAID intends to provide approximately US$25.5 million in total USAID funding over a 5 year period. Eligibility for this RFA is not restricted. Local organizations may partner with multiple applicants. The closing date for applications is 22 November 2021. Link
United Nations Environment Programme — Pilot Projects for Efficient and Resilient Energy Systems
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) launches a call on digitalization for flexible and resilient energy systems. The initiative aims to step up global climate action and uptake of clean energy models. UNEP intends to support the implementation of pilot projects across Brazil, Colombia, Morocco, Tunisia, India, Indonesia and South Africa. Projects must cater to the increasingly urgent need to ensure efficiency and resilience of power systems to enable cost-effective clean energy transitions, mainly based on renewables. Applicants can submit a project for a maximum of €1.8 million. Candidates will need to be part of an international consortium that includes both public and private actors. Applications must be submitted before the deadline on 30 November 2021. Details here
Milken Institute and Motsepe Foundation — Prize in AgriTech
The Milken-Motsepe Prize in AgriTech is a global competition for innovative solutions to increase economic value to farmers, from seed to sale. Registration is free and open to anyone, with a US$1 million grand prize available for the winning team, and US$1 million in additional prizes. First, teams submit their design and business model. An independent panel of expert judges will select up to 25 teams to receive US$10 thousand each. In the finalist round, teams develop their prototypes and conduct field tests on small and medium-sized farms in Africa. To compete, agritech solutions have to be registered by 08 December 2021. Milken-Motsepe Prize in AgriTech