South Africa

Applications are open for companies in the agro-processing sector to participate in the South African Pavilion at Gulfood - the largest food and beverage trade exhibition in the Middle East. Gulfood 2026 will showcase food and beverage products from around the world. South Africa will participate in the Fine Food Pavilion, which showcases agro-processing products and services, excluding beverages and meat.

The Moonshots for Development (M4D) Open Innovation Challenge is now open for growth-stage enterprises developing innovative solutions to support smallholder farmers, rural communities, and indigenous populations.

This global initiative is powered by leading international organisations including:

The L’Oréal Green Sciences Incubator 2026 is now open for startups developing sustainable, bio-based, and green science innovations aimed at transforming the cosmetics industry. The programme is delivered in collaboration with L’Oréal Research & Innovation, Genopole, and Hello Tomorrow, providing startups with incubation, technical expertise, and potential collaboration opportunities. 

2026-Brochure-LOreal-GSI-2026

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has launched a call for applications for AgriTech startups to join the timbuktoo Pan-African Incubation Network, anchored at the timbuktoo AgriTech Hub in Ghana.

This global Grand Challenge seeks innovative solutions to significantly reduce the cost of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) used to treat Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM), particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. 

The objective is to enable more children to access life-saving treatment by improving cost-efficiency across formulation, production, and supply systems. Proposals must demonstrate a minimum 30% reduction in the ex-factory unit cost of RUTF, while maintaining nutritional quality and regulatory compliance. 

This global Grand Challenge seeks to fund breakthrough innovations that significantly reduce the cost of diagnostic and screening tools for use in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The focus is on developing scalable, high-impact technologies that can deliver diagnostic results at approximately USD 1 per test or near-zero incremental cost, while maintaining quality, speed, and usability in low-resource settings. 

This global Grand Challenges call for proposals focuses on leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to transform how individuals and institutions engage in charitable giving.

The initiative seeks innovative, AI-driven solutions that can help donors make better decisions, increase the volume and speed of giving, and strengthen the overall philanthropic ecosystem. The goal is to move donors from intent to action by improving discovery, trust, and ease of giving, particularly in areas aligned with global health and development. 

This global Grand Challenges call for proposals seeks to accelerate the development of innovative interventions targeting placental and maternal gut inflammation and oxidative stress to improve fetal growth outcomes.

Fetal Growth Restriction (FGR) remains a major contributor to neonatal mortality and long-term health complications, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. This call aims to support scalable, science-driven solutions that can generate decision-grade evidence and advance toward clinical application.

The Grand Challenges initiative has launched a global call for proposals seeking breakthrough innovations that can significantly reduce the cost of treating Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) while maintaining or improving treatment outcomes.

The GSMA Innovation Fund for Green Transition for Mobile is a global funding opportunity designed to support small and growing enterprises that are leveraging mobile and digital technologies to accelerate the green transition in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).