Scaling Digital and Climate-Positive Innovation Across Africa and Europe: The Joint Innovation Facility (JIF) 2026 Call Is Now Open 

The Africa–Europe Digital Innovation Bridge (AEDIB), implemented under the EU’s Global Gateway Africa–Europe Investment Package, has launched the 2026 Joint Innovation Facility (JIF) – a unique opportunity for African and European innovators to scale high potential, digitally enabled solutions across borders.

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), and jointly implemented by the Finnish Institute of Public Management (HAUS) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), leveraging their combined experience in international cooperation, innovation support and strengthening innovation ecosystems.

As a coimplementing partner, HAUS is proud to support this strategic effort to strengthen digital innovation ecosystems, promote  climate-positive growth, advance gender-responsive innovation, and deepen Africa–Europe collaboration.

A Funding Mechanism Built for Scale 

The Joint Innovation Facility provides catalytic funding to market‑ready, revenue‑generating innovations seeking to scale.  This includes ventures aiming to expand into new Africa–Europe markets or to enhance the digital components of established solutions, enabling stronger crossborder growth pathways. 

Its design builds on lessons learned during a successful pilot phase in 2025, with a sharpened focus on: 

• Digital innovation at the core – including a dedicated track for high-quality, applied AI 
• Climate-positive impact – measurable contributions to mitigation, adaptation, or resilience 
• Cross-border collaboration – partnerships between African private sector or ESOs/ISOs and EU-based entities 
• Scaling what already works – solutions with demonstrated product-market fit and high growth potential 

Selected ventures receive €100,000–€200,000 in nondilutive catalytic capital, complemented by tailored support through the JIF Project Venture Studio: needs-based curated expert technical assistance, investment readiness tools, and ecosystem connections across Africa and Europe. 

Who Should Apply? 

The JIF 2026 call targets Africa–Europe consortia that bring together the right mix of local leadership, digital expertise, and commercial readiness. Eligible teams include: 

• African private-sector ventures or ESOs/ISOs (lead partners) with at least 3 years of operation
• European partners registered in EU Member States
• Teams scaling solutions with measurable climate-positive outcomes
• Ventures integrating digital technology or applied AI as a central driver of impact and scalability

The lead partner must be based in one of AEDIB’s 14 African priority countries:
Benin, DRC, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, or Zambia. 

Why This Matters 

JIF is more than a funding call. It is a strategic bridge between African and European innovation ecosystems — enabling collaboration, learning, and joint development of technologies that shape both the digital and green transitions. By supporting solutions that are commercially viable and climate-positive, JIF contributes directly to shared global development priorities and the ambitions of Agenda 2063. 

Applications Now Open 

The call is open until 30 April 2026, and applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. 

🔗 Apply here: https://jif.grantplatform.com/
🔗 Full call information: https://bit.ly/JIF2026 

HAUS encourages eligible consortia, digital innovators, and ecosystem partners to take part in this opportunity to shape the future of Africa–Europe collaboration and scale innovation with real impact.

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