AGriDI Grants – West African Digital Agriculture Innovations Grants Application
Are you an Agriculture technology developer? Would you like to get a grant to fund your African-based Agricultural digital solution? Are you interested in grants to enhance your agro-based app to reach more audiences?
In this post, you will find a grant opportunity to help you improve your app performance and reach including the requirements and how to apply.
West African countries are facing major climate change challenges, including the sustainable use and management of biodiversity, and the responsible production and consumption of agricultural communities.
AGriDI aims at strengthening innovation systems and fostering the adoption of agri-based digital technologies in West Africa. Digital technologies offer the 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.
AGriDI will increase identification, adaptation, and use of agri-based digital technologies by farmers, SMEs especially women, and youth to enhance agricultural production and marketing through strengthened linkages between research communities, industry, and policy actors, and an improved policy environment.
The project will contribute to the 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 the rollout of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area.
AGriDI Grants Call for Proposal
ICIPE under its European Union, ACP Innovation Funded project on “Accelerating inclusive green growth through agri-based digital innovation in West Africa” (AGriDI) invites proposals on innovative digital solutions that promote adoption of digital technologies for improved agricultural productivity for farmers and agro-processors in West Africa.
Nature of AGriDI Grants
AGriDI will provide competitive grants to enhance the capacities of key stakeholders in diverse areas of digital technologies and agro-ecological systems, and strengthen synergies with the private sector, civil society, and other community-based organizations. 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.
Types of Grant Available
There are three(3) categories of grants available to apply and the option depends on your industry. See the list below to make your choice
Grants are awarded under three categories:
- Category 1– To support co-development and adaptation of digital innovations to enhance agricultural productivity. This category is available for
i. Universities or Research institutions (Target group: Scientists or researchers)
ii. Technology hubs, innovation hubs, and technology transfer offices (Target group: Innovators)
- Category 2 – To support digital innovative solutions to establish market linkages for farmer’s produce
- Legally registered private companies, especially small and medium enterprises – SMEs in ICTs, agriculture, among others (Target group: Business owners and proprietors of SMEs)
- Legally registered farmer cooperatives or farmer groups (Target group: Farmer groups)
- Category 3 – To support the development of policies to support digital innovations
Government ministries, departments, and agencies/commissions responsible for ICTs, science, technology, and innovation policy-relevant for promoting digital innovations for agriculture. (Target group: Policymakers)
Eligibility
Interested applicants are to meet these requirements to be eligible to apply for this grant;
To be eligible for funding, the applicant must:
- Be a legal entity established at least since 2017 in one of the eligible countries 6 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 organizations 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. In addition, they may not necessarily meet the eligibility criteria highlighted in section 5 (i and ii) above. 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.
Countries Eligible to Apply
Only applicants from the following countries are allowed to apply for this grant;
Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
Grant Amount
The amount available varies according to the category of application as listed above. The Grant Size per project: EUR 150,000 – 300,000.
How to Apply for AGriDI Grants
Interested and eligible candidates are to complete their application form online via the AGriDI Grants application portal here. More information regarding the grant is available here
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