Impact Funding Resources
Are you a Start-up looking to scale up your digital innovation project in the energy sector in Africa?
The 2025 Digital Energy Challenge for Start-ups will reward 3 to 4 Start-ups that are developing digital innovative projects aimed at accelerating access to energy, boosting the energy transition and improving the operational efficieny of players in the energy access and grid services in Africa.
The 2025 Digital Energy Challenge for Start-ups will reward 3 to 4 Start-ups that are developing digital innovative projects aimed at accelerating access to energy, boosting the energy transition and improving the operational efficieny of players in the energy access and grid services in Africa.
Start Date10 Mar 2025 End Date16 May 2025 Funding AmountUpto EUR 150k Funding Resource TypeGrant
Funding ProviderAgence Française de Développement in Eastern Africa
Grant
Agence Française de Développement in Eastern Africa
The 2025 Digital Energy Challenge for Start-ups will reward 3 to 4 Start-ups that are developing digital innovative projects aimed at accelerating access to energy, boosting the energy transition and improving the operational efficieny of players in the energy access and grid services in Africa.
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).
The Start-up must meet the following criteria:
• Created less than 10 years ago
• Be in the pre-seed/early-stage financing phase i.e. less than €1M funding raised
• Annual turnover of less than €1M
• Employ between 1 and 99 people full-time.
NGOs can apply under the Start-up category if the project meets one of the additional following criteria:
• The project is set up as a company as a branch of the NGO
• The project has a dedicated team and business plan, and clearly targets business sustainability/profitability (e.g. plans to spin off as an independent entity).
Finally the Start-up’s project must adhere to one of the three above-mentioned themes and be:
• Digital i.e. based on a telecom, computer or cloud-based technology
• Innovative, either intrinsically or compared to the local market
• Local i.e. headquartered or with project management activities in the country of the project
The three themes for the 2025 call for projects are:
• Universal electricity access and mini-grids
• Efficient grid management
• Resilience and decarbonation of power systems
