Digital Energy Challenge 2025 for Startups in Africa (€150k Grant)

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.

What are the Themes?

Universal electricity access and mini-grids

Digital innovations in the field of mini-grids to maximize their efficiency and impact.

Efficient grid management

Digital services and products ensuring a proper operation of the power grid, with a focus on: information availability and communication systems

Resilience and decarbonation of power systems

Digital-based solutions enabling the development of a greener and more resilient power infrastructure (encompassing generation systems as well as the grid)

Benefits for Challenge winners

Each winning Start-up will benefit from:

• Financial support of up to €150K including: Grant funding to contribute to costs for equipment, software, training and recruitment ; Technical assistance (awarded on a case-by-case basis), which could include project management support, strategic and technical expertise, and accounting/reporting assistance,
• A joint boot camp run by cross-sectorial experts, to support project implementation, provide sectorial insights, foster synergies between project winners and encourage best-practice sharing,
• Widespread communication campaigns piloted by AFD during the selection phase, award ceremony, bootcamp and for a period of time after these events.

Apply Now for latest monthly funding opportunities for Startups

Eligibility Criteria Startups

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.

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

Application Details

16^th May 2025 – 23h59 CET

Deadline for submission of applications

Visit the Digital Energy Challenge for Start-ups page to apply now

Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!