The French Agency for Development (AFD) Digital Energy Challenge 2024

Deadline: 15th of May, 2024

SteamoMarch 18, 2024

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The Digital Energy Facility announced the Digital Energy Challenge in 2021 for a four-year period, with an annual request for ideas. The Challenge’s goal is to encourage the development of innovative solutions that will increase energy access, enable renewable energy integration, and improve energy operator performance.

Benefits:

Each year the Challenge will award 2 to 3 utility and technology/service provider partnership projects and 5 to 8 start-up projects. An annual budget of €1.8 M will enable grant-based funding, technical assistance and strategic guidance.

Challenge winners can benefit from:

A financial contribution in the form of a grant for equipment and software purchases, training, recruitment costs for start-ups, and product/service purchase costs linked to technology/service providers for utilities
Technical assistance for all utilities and certain start-ups on a case-by-case basis, such as project management support, strategic and technical expertise, and accounting/reporting assistance
A bootcamp run by cross-sectorial experts to support project implementation, foster synergies between project winners and share best practices
Increased visibility for the project through widespread social media communication campaigns piloted by AFD during the selection phase, award ceremony, bootcamp and for a period of time after these events

Eligibility:

The 2024 Call for Projects targets projects based in Africa and owned by:

Start-ups in the pre-seed phase or with early-stage activities. NGOs can apply under the Start-up category.
Public utilities (public power utilities and public Independent System Operators, private companies under a public service concession, power pools, regional organisations, energy regulators, rural electrification authorities) in partnership with technology/service providers

Eligible countries:

Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo Democratic Republic, Congo Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.