WASCAL’s Innovative Ideas Competition for Sustainable Energy (WISE) (Up to €20,000 Grants per project)

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Applications are open for WASCAL’s Innovative Ideas Competition for Sustainable Energy (WISE). Entrepreneurs, innovators and start-ups across West Africa now have a chance to secure funding for research or project ideas in renewables and green hydrogen through WASCAL’s “WISE” call. This initiative aims to accelerate energy access, climate resilience and livelihood improvement in the region.

To further increase the socioeconomic, environmental and scientific impacts in West Africa, WASCAL Renewable Energy and Green Hydrogen Coordination aims to catalyse innovation in renewable energy and green hydrogen technologies through a competitive platform that brings together academics, researchers, entrepreneurs, and policymakers from across West Africa. Therefore, WASCAL Renewable Energy and Green Hydrogen Coordination elaborated an initiative named WASCAL’s Innovative Ideas Competition for Sustainable Energy, “WISE”. This initiative serves as an opportunity for individuals and groups of people to showcase their projects and research ideas related to renewable energy and green hydrogen, contributing to the advancement of energy access and usage, climate change adaptation, and economic development growth in the region.

With the financial support of the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR), WASCAL seeks to identify and support groundbreaking short-term projects and development & research ideas that demonstrate the potential of renewable energy and green hydrogen to address the region’s energy challenges while promoting sustainable development.

WASCAL’s WISE Program Objectives

Overall objective: This call aims to foster and support the implementation of innovative projects and development & research ideas regarding renewable energy (RE) and green hydrogen (GH2) in West Africa.

Specific Objectives

Contribute to the electricity access by the development of innovative ideas in the RE and GH2 Sector
Contribute to the development in rural and peri-urban areas through the integration of renewable energy and green hydrogen systems
Develop innovative solutions for addressing renewable energy and green hydrogen issues
Develop innovative solutions/approaches for renewable energy and green hydrogen integration in our communities
Impact positively the livelihood of the communities.

Proposal Requirements

The project ideas/initiatives should be focused on the development of renewable energy and green hydrogen with possible links to the following non-exhaustive thematics:

Renewable energy solutions
Green Hydrogen technologies
Green mobility
Energy access and services through renewables
Biomass/waste recovery and energy
Energy-Water-Food Nexus Solutions
Productive uses of renewable energy in rural areas
Thematic Trainings/ Conferences/Workshops/ Raising awareness
Energy efficiency solutions
Women’s and girls’ empowerment in the renewable energies sector
Renewable energy in Socio-economic development and increasing the added value in rural areas
Innovative business plan models for energy technologies and services

The focus in the proposals can be on developing a product or process, a service, a business model, or a scientific study etc.

WASCAL’s WISE Program Grant Details

The maximum amount of grant allocated for each project is 20 000€ and the duration should not exceed 15 months
The categories of expenses considered as eligible and non-eligible are indicated below. Note that the eligible expenses must be based on real costs, based on supporting documents. Expenses that do not appear realistic may be rejected.
It is, therefore, in the applicant’s interest to provide a realistic and cost-effective budget in Euros based on the currency exchange rates at the time of proposal submission.

Eligible Expenses

Eligible expenses concern the Direct costs, namely the Project Implementation Costs:

Operational expenses like supplies, utilities, and rents.
- Travel and transportation costs
- Procurement of goods and services necessary for project implementation.
- Training and capacity-building activities directly linked to the project.

They must also be reasonable, justified, and compliant with sound financial management principles. They must be directly verifiable and traceable to the activities being implemented.

Eligibility Criteria for WASCAL’s WISE Program

This call is addressed to:

Young West Africans. Any individual or group of young people (Students, academics, practitioners, scientists, technologists, entrepreneurs, associations…) from a West African country (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo). Having a bank account is necessary.
Associations/organisations, being legally registered in a West African Country and having a local bank account in the name of the association/organisation.

How to Apply for WASCAL’s WISE Program

Applicants must complete the application form.
Supporting Documents:
The submission package is composed of:
- The filed and signed application form
- Endorsement letter from the institution/organization of the applicant
- CV of the applicants
- Certificate of registration for the associations and organizations.
Proposal Submission: The proposal should be a full version. It should be sent via email to: application.wise@wascal.org. Submission of documents must be in PDF format. WISE proposals and related document are required to be in English or French. Submissions must be received by 11:59 pm (GMT+00), 31^th December 2025.

No exceptions will be made to the deadline or document formats. Incomplete applications and applications submitted after the deadline will be automatically rejected.

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Application Deadline: 31^th December 2025