Deadline: 30-Jun-21
icipe under its European Union, ACP Innovation Funded project on “Accelerating inclusive green growth through agri-based digital innovation in West Africa” (AGriDI) is inviting proposals on innovative digital solutions that promote adoption of digital technologies for improved agricultural productivity for farmers and agroprocessors in West Africa.
The ‘Accelerating inclusive green growth through agri-based digital innovation in West Africa (AGriDI)’ intervention supports innovations to address key challenges related to climate change, sustainable use, and management of biodiversity3 as well as responsible production and consumption among farming communities in West Africa.
The project will contribute to implementation of ECOWAS and national policies and strategies related to Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) and ICT as well as the African Union’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA) 2024. Outputs support rollout of the Africa Continental Free Trade area.
AGriDI aims at strengthening innovation systems and fostering adoption of agri-based digital technologies in West Africa. Digital technologies offer potential to make it easier and more efficient for farmers and small business owners, especially women and youth, to produce and market their goods and services, leading to greater profits.
Objectives
AGriDI has three main objectives:
- Increased uptake of agri-based digital technologies by farmers and SMEs, especially women and youth in West Africa;
- Strengthened linkages between research communities, industry and policy actors in digital innovations in the region and
- A strengthened policy environment for scaling agri-business digital innovations in the region.
Nature of grants
AGriDI will provide competitive grants to enhance the capacities of key stakeholders in diverse areas of digital technologies and agro-ecological4 systems, and strengthen synergies with the private sector, civil society, and other community-based organisations. The grants support the development of tangible digital solutions that address real challenges for farmers and agribusinesses, especially among women and youth, thereby increasing opportunities for jobs and income in the region
Grant Categories
Grants are awarded under three categories:
- Category 1- To support co-development and adaptation of digital innovations to enhance agricultural Productivity.
- Category 2- To support digital innovative solutions to establish market linkages for farmer’s produce
- Category 3- To support development of policies to support digital innovations
Funding Information
- Grant Size per project: EUR 150,000 – 300,000
Target groups
The target groups for this call are:
- Scientists and researchers in universities and research institutes
- Agri-business owners and proprietors of legally incorporated small and medium enterprises.
- Innovators in tech hubs, innovation labs, and university technology transfer offices.
- Policy makers in national government ministries, departments, and agencies responsible for creating enabling policy environment to promote digital innovations, including those responsible for rural development, gender and social inclusion.
- Farmers in legally registered groups and cooperatives5 based in the eligible countries. The call encourages participation of women and youth.
Eligible Countries
Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for funding, the applicant must:
- Be a legal entity established at least since 2017 in one of the eligible countries in the ECOWAS region of West Africa;
- Have directly implemented research and innovation projects with the following characteristics;
- at least two grants for research and innovation activities, for an amount of
- over EUR 75,000 each during the last two years (2018-2020) and
- be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the activities
- being proposed for funding.
- Be directly responsible for the preparation, management and implementation of the proposal including joint activities with beneficiaries.
- Applicants may also include other legally established organisations or individuals and list them as ‘collaborators’ in the proposal. The role and contribution of collaborators should be clearly described in the proposal. Collaborators will not directly receive funds from the grant except for travel related costs. If awarded, the applicant will have fiduciary responsibility for the Project.
- Submit a maximum of one proposal per grant category but will not be awarded more than one grant in total.
- Organizations and individuals (scientists, researchers, entrepreneurs, policy actors, among others) from organisations in other parts of Africa and globally may also participate in the call. However, they can ONLY participate as ‘collaborators’ in a project. A collaborator brings a specific skill or expertise to implement specific activities in a project. Collaborators should be described in the proposal, and their role and contribution to the project should be clearly articulated.
For more information, visit https://www.rsif-paset.org/funding-opportunity/agridi-grants-for-digital-innovations-in-west-africa/