Accelerating Digital Innovation for a Climate-Positive Future through Europe–Africa Partnerships
About the Joint Innovation Facility (JIF)
The Joint Innovation Facility (JIF) is a new Africa-Europe initiative designed to accelerate innovation, foster meaningful collaboration across ecosystems on the African continent and cross-continental with Europe to scale up transformative solutions that address shared challenges—particularly those related to the digital transformation and the green transition.
Launched under the forthcoming Africa-Europe Digital Innovation Bridge (AEDIB 2.0) – a forthcoming project under the EU’s Global Gateway Africa-Europe Investment package – JIF is co-developed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and the European Union (EU). It is jointly implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and Finnish Public Management Institute (HAUS), leveraging their combined experience in international cooperation, innovation support and experience in strengthening innovation ecosystems.
Eligible countries for JIF: The Africa partner must be from 14 Africa project priority countries which are Benin, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
Kindly note, applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Late applications will not be considered
Selected projects will benefit from:
- Non-dilutive funding of 100.000 – 250.000 EUR through a milestone-based grant structure;
- Tailored support through the JIF Project Studio, including:
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- Mentorship from seasoned experts and investors
- Access to toolkits, investment readiness support, and technical advisory
- Networking and peer learning opportunities across Africa and Europe.
- Strategic visibility, capacity strengthening, and alignment with the EU–Africa partnership goals and Agenda 2063