Grant opportunity
African Union Food and Energy Sovereignty Challenge 2026
The African Union is calling for African-owned companies with mature food or energy sovereignty solutions ready for scale, visibility, and partnership support.
- Funder
- African Union
- Application deadline
- Application deadline: May 25, 2026
- Award
- Scale-up support, market access, investor and government matchmaking, and AU visibility
- Applicant
- African startups, SMEs & deeptech companies
- Discipline
- Agriculture & Food Systems
- Region
- Africa
- Posted
- May 20, 2026
Call summary
Overview
The African Union Food and Energy Sovereignty Challenge seeks companies with rooted, scalable solutions that strengthen food and energy sovereignty across Africa. The programme is designed to connect mature ventures with policy, investment, market access, and visibility opportunities.
Who can apply
- Applicants should be African-owned registered companies.
- Eligible solutions should be at technology readiness level 6 or above and operate in food or energy sovereignty themes.
- Startups, SMEs, and deeptech companies should check the official African Union announcement for company, documentation, and country requirements.
What it supports
- Food sovereignty solutions may include production, resilience, processing, distribution, inputs, digital tools, and other agriculture or food-system innovations.
- Energy sovereignty solutions may include access, generation, efficiency, storage, productive use, and enabling technologies.
- Selected ventures may receive support through matchmaking, visibility, and scale-oriented engagement.
Funding and duration
The challenge provides scale-up support, market access, investor and government matchmaking, and African Union visibility rather than a fixed cash grant in the workbook listing.
Application deadline
Application deadline: May 25, 2026
How to apply
Use the official African Union announcement and linked application process by 25 May 2026.
Call details
About the opportunity
The African Union Food and Energy Sovereignty Challenge seeks companies with rooted, scalable solutions that strengthen food and energy sovereignty across Africa. The programme is designed to connect mature ventures with policy, investment, market access, and visibility opportunities.
African Union lists this opportunity for African startups, SMEs & deeptech companies, Agriculture & Food Systems, Africa.
This listing is written for researchers, students, universities, NGOs, research teams, policy professionals and academic institutions searching for Agriculture & Food Systems grants, fellowships, scholarships, conferences, workshops and funding opportunities in Africa contexts.
Eligibility
Applicants should be African-owned registered companies.
Eligible solutions should be at technology readiness level 6 or above and operate in food or energy sovereignty themes.
Startups, SMEs, and deeptech companies should check the official African Union announcement for company, documentation, and country requirements.
Funding and benefits
The challenge provides scale-up support, market access, investor and government matchmaking, and African Union visibility rather than a fixed cash grant in the workbook listing.
Themes and supported activities
Food sovereignty solutions may include production, resilience, processing, distribution, inputs, digital tools, and other agriculture or food-system innovations.
Energy sovereignty solutions may include access, generation, efficiency, storage, productive use, and enabling technologies.
Selected ventures may receive support through matchmaking, visibility, and scale-oriented engagement.
Deadline and timeline
Application deadline: Application deadline: May 25, 2026.
Applicants should confirm the exact deadline time, time zone, required documents, portal steps and any institutional approvals on the official call page before submitting.
How to apply
Use the official African Union announcement and linked application process by 25 May 2026.
Before applying, check eligibility rules, budgets, attachments, page limits, partner requirements, cost-share conditions and whether the opportunity uses an expression of interest, full proposal, registration or nomination stage.