Enterprise Africa Network (EAN) Fellowship Programme Cohort 2 (2026/27) for African Entreprenuers

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Applications are open for Enterprise Africa Network (EAN) Fellowship Programme Cohort 2 (2026/27). The Enterprise Africa Network (EAN) Fellowship Programme is an AUC Startup Acceleration Initiative and the African Union’s flagship programme for the development of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Implemented by the AU Commission’s Department of Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry and Minerals (ETTIM), the programme provides Africa’s most promising entrepreneurs with structured training, expert mentorship, intellectual property support, and direct market access opportunities across the continent and beyond.

The EAN’s inaugural cohort (2024/25) trained 56 fellows from 30 African countries and produced over USD 1 million in deals and contracts. Cohort 2 (2026/27) will expand the programme to 100 fellows drawn from all 55 AU Member States, targeting USD 2 million in new attributable revenue and 500 new jobs.

Enterprise Africa Network (EAN) Fellowship Sectors

Cohort 2 covers seven sectors organised into two clusters aligned with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA):
Products Cluster (goods for intra-African trade): Manufacturing, Agro-processing, Creative Industries
Services Cluster: ICT/Digital, Fintech, Health, Logistics/Transport

Benefits

All fellows receive:

Twelve months of structured training across ten modules differentiated by sector and tier
Expert mentorship through African Union Partners
Access to the African Trade Observatory (ATO) and AfCFTA market intelligence tools; and participation in continental events.
Tier 1 and 2 fellows participate in virtual market-entry sessions across ten AfCFTA pilot countries; Tier 3 fellows participate in B2B matchmaking sessions.

Eligibility Criteria for Enterprise Africa Network (EAN) Fellowship

The EAN Fellowship is open to youth- and women-led small enterprises that are:

Registered and operating in an AU Member State
Formally registered as a business entity
Operating for at least two years
Employing a minimum of three full-time staff.
Applications are particularly encouraged from women-led enterprises and businesses from underrepresented AU regions and small island Member States.

Three Fellowship Tiers

Fellows are placed into one of three tiers based on enterprise maturity. Training, mentorship, and market access support are tailored to each tier. A minimum of 40 places (40 percent of the cohort) are reserved to ensure representation across all five AU continental regions, with at least five places for enterprises from small island Member States.

Tier	Places	Eligibility
1 – Growth	35	Operating 2-5 years; minimum 3 employees; demonstrable market traction
2 – Expansion	40	Operating 5-10 years; 10–30 employees; cross-border ambition
3 – Scale-Ready	25	Operating 10+ years, or investor-ready profile