FS4Africa Open Call 2 | €40,000 Grants for Innovation Hubs Supporting Food Safety Innovation in Africa

Applications are now open for FS4Africa Open Call 2 (OC2), an initiative funded by the European Union that aims to strengthen food safety innovation ecosystems across Africa by supporting innovation hubs that can mentor, train and accelerate food safety entrepreneurs and innovators.

Unlike traditional innovation grants that fund technology development, Open Call 2 invests in organisations capable of building entrepreneurial capacity, strengthening innovation ecosystems, and helping promising food safety solutions reach commercial and societal impact.

Selected innovation hubs will provide structured training and mentoring to beneficiaries from FS4Africa Open Call 1 while also supporting the project's four food safety use cases across Africa through business acceleration, market development and ecosystem-building activities.

Funding Information

• Programme: FS4Africa
• Funding Source: European Union
• Funding Mechanism: Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP)
• Total Open Call Budget: €200,000
• Maximum Grant per Project: €40,000
• Projects to be Funded: At least 5 innovation hubs
• Funding Rate: 100% lump-sum grant

Purpose of the Call

The call seeks innovation hubs capable of designing and delivering structured training and mentoring programmes that help food business entrepreneurs, start-ups and SMEs strengthen their business models, improve investment readiness and scale innovative food safety solutions across African and European food systems.

Rather than funding research or product development, this call focuses on strengthening innovation support services and accelerating commercially viable food safety solutions.

Who Should Apply?

The opportunity is intended for innovation hubs with demonstrated experience supporting entrepreneurship, innovation, incubation or business acceleration.

This may include:

• Innovation hubs
• Business incubators
• Business accelerators
• Entrepreneurship support organisations
• Technology transfer and innovation centres
• Innovation agencies
• Enterprise development organisations
• Universities with innovation or entrepreneurship centres

Only one legal entity may apply per proposal. Consortia are not permitted.

Required Activities

Each selected innovation hub must implement a structured programme comprising at least six training and mentoring activities, including:

Support for Open Call 1 Beneficiaries

• Deliver at least two training activities
• Support at least two different Open Call 1 sub-projects

Support for FS4Africa Use Cases

Deliver at least four additional training and mentoring activities focused on one or more FS4Africa food safety use cases in collaboration with other Open Call 2 beneficiaries.

Training activities may include:

• Interactive workshops
• Webinars
• Online courses
• Mentoring clinics
• Structured capacity-building programmes

Priority Support Areas

Successful innovation hubs should help participants:

• Refine value propositions
• Identify African and European market opportunities
• Strengthen business models
• Improve financial sustainability
• Promote social innovation and gender inclusion
• Develop investment readiness
• Improve regulatory awareness
• Strengthen ecosystem integration
• Scale and replicate innovative food safety solutions

Eligible Applicants

Applicants must:

• Be a legally registered entity established in a Horizon Europe eligible country
• Submit a single-entity application
• Participate in only one proposal
• Have a valid VAT number (or equivalent national registration where applicable)
• Demonstrate operational capacity as an innovation hub

Innovation hubs based outside Africa are eligible but must provide evidence of previous experience supporting innovation, incubation or entrepreneurship activities in at least one African country.

Implementation Timeline

Selected projects will run for eight months (February–September 2027) and will be implemented in three phases:

Phase 1 – Design

February 2027

• Develop the Training Activity Plan
• 20% payment

Phase 2 – Development

March–July 2027

• Deliver training and mentoring activities
• Submit the Training Delivery Report
• 50% payment

Phase 3 – Validation

August–September 2027

• Submit the Final Report
• 30% final payment

Countries: South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Benin, Cameroon, Austria, Italy

Why This Opportunity Matters

Africa's informal food sector plays a vital role in food security and economic development but continues to face significant food safety challenges. FS4Africa seeks to address these challenges by strengthening innovation ecosystems rather than only funding technologies.

Innovation hubs are expected to act as catalysts for entrepreneurship by helping food safety innovators improve their commercial readiness, strengthen market access, and scale solutions that contribute to safer, more sustainable food systems across Africa.

Important Dates

Applications Open: 18 May 2026

Application Deadline: 31 August 2026 (17:00 CET)

Evaluation: September–November 2026

Contracting: December 2026–January 2027

Project Start: February 2027

Project End: September 2027

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