AUDA-NEPAD’s Home Grown Solutions Accelerator 2026 for African Healthcare & Cimate Ventures

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Applications are open for AUDA-NEPAD’s Home Grown Solutions Accelerator 2026. The AUDA-NEPAD Home Grown Solutions (HGS) Accelerator sixth cohort is now open for applications. They are looking for growth and mature stage African businesses across 2 verticals:⁣ 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 and 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬.

The Home Grown Solutions (HGS) Accelerator is an initiative of the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the official development assistance agency of the Government of Japan. The Accelerator operates in line with the African Union’s Energize Africa Initiative and Agenda 2063 aspirations.

AUDA-NEPAD’s Home Grown Solutions Accelerator Focus Areas

The accelerator is focused on supporting African Home Grown Solutions across 2 sectors:

1. Healthcare ventures strengthening Africa’s health systems across any healthcare subsectors increasing resilience including:

Diagnostics & Medical Devices
Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare Products
Digital Health & Health Technology
Maternal, Newborn & Child Health
Disease Prevention & Management
Health Workforce & Training
Health Supply Chain & Logistics

2. Climate-focused ventures driving climate resilience across 4 sub-sectors:

Energy & Power – Ventures focused on increasing access to and use of clean and affordable energy across Africa including.
- Decentralized energy systems such as off-grid solar, mini-grids, battery storage and green hydrogen
- Innovative access and use models such as pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) clean energy solutions and waste-based clean cooking technologies
Mobility & Transport – Ventures providing sustainable mobility and transport solutions across Africa including:
- Low-carbon vehicles and electrification solutions e.g., e-mobility, two-wheelers and fleet electric vehicles
- Efficient logistics and transport services including last-mile delivery, low-carbon logistics and green port solutions
Waste & Circular Economy – Ventures that develop solutions that reduce waste and promote circular economy principles across Africa including:
- Waste reduction through resource efficiency and packaging optimization, recycling and re-use
- Repurposing solutions including e-waste and marine plastics recycling and responsible disposal of hazardous waste
Nature-Based Solutions – Ventures developing solutions that protect, restore and sustainably manage Africa’s natural ecosystems including:
- Habitat protection and preservation
- Anti-poaching and sustainable tourism initiatives
- Restoration and rehabilitation efforts e.g., wetland restoration, coral gardening, forest ecosystem rehabilitation and nature-based carbon removal solutions

Benefits

We will work shoulder-to-shoulder with your team to design and deliver a customized, four-month acceleration programme in 2026, to support your venture’s specific growth needs across three key areas:

Context specific advisory
Investment readiness support
Matching to strategic partners

⁣⁣Eligibility Criteria for AUDA-NEPAD’s Home Grown Solutions Accelerator

They have 3 application criteria per sector that you will have to meet to be considered for our 2026 cohort:

Healthcare venture eligibility criteria:

You can be described as a Home Grown Solution, meaning you must …

Operate mainly or solely in Africa (preference for companies operating across countries)
Employ mostly local staff in the markets in which you are active
Have strong African representation in your leadership

You are a growth or mature stage venture, meaning you must …

Be registered as a for-profit entity
Express ambition and potential to scale beyond your current size
Demonstrate clear market traction and sizable customer base
Growth stage: You have identified a strong product-market fit in your core offering / have proven the core concept of your venture, and are in the process of scaling and growing your venture
Mature stage: You have successfully proven that your core offering is viable at scale, ideally across multiple markets

You strengthen Africa’s health system, for example …

You manufacture medical consumables or devices on the continent
You provide healthcare services to patients, be it diagnostic, treatment or otherwise
You provide technology solutions to strengthen health access or delivery

Climate-focused venture eligibility criteria:

You can be described as a Home Grown Solution, meaning you must …

Operate mainly or solely in Africa (preference for companies operating across countries)
Employ mostly local staff in the markets in which you are active
Have strong African representation in your leadership

You are an early, growth or mature stage venture, meaning you must …

Be registered as a for-profit entity
Express ambition and potential to scale beyond your current size
Demonstrate clear market traction and sizable customer base
Early stage: You are still proving product-market fit and/or viability of your core offering
Growth stage: You have identified a strong product-market fit in your core offering / have proven the core concept of your venture, and are in the process of scaling and growing your venture
Mature stage: You have successfully proven that your core offering is viable at scale, ideally across multiple markets

You strengthen Africa’s climate resilience in the focus sub-sectors, for example …

You manufacture or distribute clean energy products or services
You provide sustainable mobility or transport solutions
You manage waste or develop circular economy solutions
You develop or implement nature-based solutions

How To Apply for AUDA-NEPAD’s Home Grown Solutions Accelerator

You can apply for the Accelerator using the form below.
After the submission deadline, shortlisted companies will be asked to provide references of investors and customers and additional high-level information on their finances up to March/April 2026.

If you are a healthcare venture apply here

If you are a climate venture apply here

Click Here for more details

Application Deadline: 19th of May 2026