The AEDIB Joint Innovation Facility (JIF) 2026 For Digital & Climate Projects (Up To EUR 200,000 Non-dilutive Funding)

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Applications are open for The AEDIB Joint Innovation Facility (JIF) 2026. The Joint Innovation Facility (JIF) is an Africa–Europe funding and collaboration mechanism designed to scale digitally enabled and commercially viable innovations through strong cross-border partnerships. Supported solutions embed climate-positive impacts while driving digital transformation and market expansion. JIF supports digital solutions that are ready to grow across markets between Africa and Europe.

Building on a successful pilot phase in 2025, the main JIF 2026 call focuses on cross-border cooperation projects between African and European actors that scale existing revenue-generating solutions. The objective is to further develop their digital components and enable cross-border market expansion. The facility targets innovations where digital technologies – such as advanced data solutions or artificial intelligence – are central to the product, service, or business model rather than an add-on. All supported projects must be climate-positive, meaning they generate a measurable positive contribution to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and/or resilience or present a credible pathway to doing so through project design and implementation. A core priority of JIF is to support AI applications that go beyond generic or experimental use.

There are two tracks to choose from: an open track and an AI focus track. In each track the lead partner could either be a for-profit entity, an Entrepreneurship Support Organisation (ESO) or an Innovation Support Organisation (ISO) including Innovation Hubs.

JIF is implemented under the Africa-Europe Digital Innovation Bridge (AEDIB) and part of the EU’s Global Gateway Africa–Europe Investment Package. It 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 Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Finnish Institute of Public Management (HAUS), leveraging their combined experience in international cooperation, innovation support and strengthening innovation ecosystems.

Joint Innovation Facility (JIF) Focus Areas

All JIF-supported ventures focus on digital innovation and cross-border scaling while embedding measurable climate-positive impact.

Digital innovation focus

JIF supports innovations across a wide range of sectors, provided that:

Digital technologies are central to the solution’s functionality, scalability, and impact; and
The innovation is commercially viable and ready to scale across borders.

A dedicated AI Focus Track supports high-quality, applied AI solutions with a clear sectoral use case, where AI is essential to achieving the project’s objectives and impact.

Climate-positive impact

All proposed solutions must demonstrate a measurable, positive impact in at least one of the following areas or present a credible pathway to doing so through project design and implementation:

Climate mitigation (e.g. reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving resource efficiency)
Climate adaptation and resilience (e.g. strengthening resilience of systems, communities, or ecosystems to climate impacts)

Why join Joint Innovation Facility (JIF) ?

Despite the growing number of innovative digital and climate solutions across Africa and Europe, many ventures struggle to scale beyond their initial markets or to form strong, value-driven cross-border partnerships.

The Joint Innovation Facility addresses this gap by supporting partnership-led scaling and by connecting innovation ecosystems across regions.

JIF drives systemic change by:

Strengthening African-led partnerships
African organisations lead innovation consortia, ensuring local ownership, relevance, and long-term impact.
Enabling cross-border scaling through digital innovation
Supporting solutions where digital technologies — including applied, sector-specific AI — are central to growth, efficiency, and market expansion.
Advancing climate-positive solutions
Backing projects that demonstrate climate-positive impact, generate a measurable positive contribution to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and/or resilience or present a credible pathway to doing so through project design and implementation.
Scaling what already works
Focusing on established, revenue-generating solutions that are ready to grow across borders and be replicated in new contexts.

Benefits

Selected projects will benefit from non-dilutive funding and tailored support to accelerate cross-border scaling.

Non-dilutive funding of EUR 100,000 or EUR 200,000, provided through a milestone-based grant structure to support digital development and market expansion
Tailored support through the JIF venture Studio, including expert mentorship, technical advisory, investment readiness support, and peer learning across Africa and Europe
Increased visibility and strategic positioning within the Africa–Europe digital transformation transition agenda, in line with EU–Africa partnership goals and Agenda 2063

Eligibility Criteria

They are inviting joint project proposals from innovation consortia that:

Consist of at least two partners forming a cross-border consortium, collaborating between Africa and Europe and are led by an African partner;
Scale digitally enabled innovations, where digital technologies are central to the solution’s functionality, impact, and growth potential. This includes a dedicated focus on high-quality, applied AI solutions that go beyond generic or experimental use;
Build on established, revenue-generating products or services, with a clear pathway for cross-border market expansion, replication, or localisation;
Present a climate-positive impact, contributing to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and/or resilience or presenting a pathway to doing so through project design and implementation;
Are commercially viable and grounded in local context, while showing strong potential for regional or international scaling;
Are led by committed and capable teams, with the technical, operational, and organisational capacity required to deliver results and achieve scale;
Demonstrate strong representation of women in leadership and/or founding roles across the consortium as well as within the project implementation team;
Require strategic, non-dilutive funding to accelerate their next phase of growth and market expansion.

Eligible African lead partners must be based in one of the 14 AEDIB priority countries:

Benin, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
European partners must be based in one of the 27 EU Member States.

Who can apply for Joint Innovation Facility (JIF)?

JIF supports joint collaboration ventures implemented by cross-border consortia and led by an African partner.

Eligible consortia may include the following types of organisations:

For-profit companies (small and growing businesses or larger companies) with an established, revenue-generating solution
Entrepreneurship Support Organisations (ESOs) and Innovation Support Organisations (ISOs), including innovation hubs
Applied research organisations, such as universities, research centres, or research institutes
Non-profit organisations, where relevant to the innovation and partnership logic

Consortia must consist of at least two partners collaborating across borders (Africa–Europe). The lead partner must be an African for-profit entity or an African ESO/ISO, based in one of the JIF priority countries.

How To Apply for Joint Innovation Facility (JIF)

Applications to the Joint Innovation Facility follow a two-stage selection process and are submitted online.

Stage 1: Pre-screening

Interested consortia are invited to complete a pre-screening application via the online platform.

At this stage, applicants will be asked to:

Present their project idea and consortium setup
Demonstrate compliance with the eligibility criteria
Provide high-level information on commercial viability, operational capacity, and climate-positive impact

Only applicants who successfully pass the pre-screening stage will be invited to submit a full grant proposal.

Stage 2: Full grant proposal

Shortlisted consortia will be invited to submit a full grant proposal, aligned with the eligibility and selection criteria outlined in the call documentation.

The final selection will assess: