The Joint Innovation Facility (JIF) is a new Africa-Europe initiative designed to accelerate the scaling of digitally enabled commercially viable innovations with strong growth- and cross-border cooperation potential between Africa and Europe. JIF supports innovation that contributes to the digital and green transition.
Launched under the Africa-Europe Digital Innovation Bridge (AEDIB) – a project under the EU’s Global Gateway Africa-Europe Investment package - JIF 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). It is jointly implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and Finnish Institute of Public Management (HAUS), leveraging their combined experience in international cooperation, innovation support and strengthening innovation ecosystems.
Who can apply for JIF funding: AfricanEuropean consortia, in which an African private sector entity leads the project, and an EU-registered partner contributes knowledge, networks or research competence. The lead partner must be registered in one of the 14 priority countries, which are: Benin, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
Projects funded support the scaling of digital and climate-positive innovations for new markets. Selected consortia will receive non-dilutive funding of EUR 100,000 or 200,000 in addition to mentoring, technical advice and networking and peer learning opportunities.