Digital Energy Challenge 2024 for African Start-Ups (70,000€ Prize)

The Digital Energy Facility launched the Digital Energy Challenge in 2021 for a four-year term, with an annual call for projects.  The purpose of the Challenge is to support the development of innovative solutions likely to promote better access to energy, facilitate the integration of renewable energies and improve the performance of energy operators.

Requirements

The 2024 Call for Projects targets projects based in Africa and owned by:

• Start-ups in the pre-seed phase or with early-stage activities. NGOs can apply under the Start-up category (see more details on the eligibility criteria for Start-ups).
• Public utilities (public power utilities and public Independent System Operators, private companies under a public service concession, power pools, regional organisations, energy regulators, rural electrification authorities) in partnership with technology/service providers (see more details on the eligibility criteria for Utilities).

Eligible countries

Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo Democratic Republic, Congo Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Benefits for challenge winners

Each year the Challenge will award 2 to 3 utility and technology/service provider partnership projects and 5 to 8 start-up projects. An annual budget of €1.8 M will enable grant-based funding, technical assistance and strategic guidance. 

Challenge winners can benefit from:

• A financial contribution in the form of a grant for equipment and software purchases, training, recruitment costs for start-ups, and product/service purchase costs linked to technology/service providers for utilities
• Technical assistance for all utilities and certain start-ups on a case-by-case basis, such as project management support, strategic and technical expertise, and accounting/reporting assistance
• A bootcamp run by cross-sectorial experts to support project implementation, foster synergies between project winners and share best practices
• Increased visibility for the project through widespread social media communication campaigns piloted by AFD during the selection phase, award ceremony, bootcamp and for a period of time after these events 

Timeline

• 4^th March 2024: Launch of the Call for Projects
• 19^th March 2024: Information webinar 
• 15^th May 2024 – 23h59 CET: Deadline for submission of applications
• Autumn 2024: Notification of award winners and bootcamp

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the French Agency for Development (AFD) Digital Energy Challenge