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 2026 Western Cape Economy Innovation Awards are now open for nominations, celebrating innovations that strengthen the Western Cape economy and create jobs across the private sector, academia, non-profits and the public sector.

Africa: The Big Deal, in partnership with FMO Ventures, has launched the “Data for Founders” initiative to support 100 early‑stage start‑ups across Africa with free access to high‑quality fundraising data and expertise. The programme gives selected ventures two years of free access to Africa: The Big Deal’s comprehensive funding deals database (4,200+ deals worth over USD 20 billion, covering all transactions above USD 100,000 across equity, debt, grants and exits), alongside practical guidance on using data to design a data‑driven fundraising strategy.

The Climate Finance Accelerator South Africa (CFA‑SA) is accepting applications for its 2026 cohort, offering intensive, tailored support to help South African low‑carbon projects become more bankable and investor‑ready.

The Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), South Africa, and BioCubaFarma (BCF), Cuba, have extended their joint Expression of Interest (EOI): South Africa–Cuba Biotechnology Collaboration to Friday, 27 February 2026. This EOI seeks South African partners to collaborate with Cuban institutions on technology transfer, joint development, and joint ventures for innovative biotech products, with a strong focus on therapies for neurodegenerative and chronic diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Dementia, lung cancer, and Alzheimer’s Disease.

The Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), South Africa, and BioCubaFarma (BCF), Cuba, invite South African biotechnology companies, research institutions, universities, and healthcare innovators to express interest in collaborative R&D, technology transfer, and joint ventures for innovative biotech products.

INTA’s 2026 Open Innovation Challenge (OIC) is a global pitch competition for start-ups and scale-ups from any country, held at the INTA 2026 Annual Meeting at ExCeL London, offering visibility, expert feedback, and access to the international IP and branding community.

Opportunity overview

The CPAM Industry Led R&D Projects call funds collaborative additive manufacturing projects between South African industry and research partners, with grants of R500,000–R800,000 per project per year and compulsory co‑investment from industry.​

Opportunity overview

The AGRO-WELL Open Call – Topic A provides up to €37,500 per project to demonstrate and validate smart farming solutions using AI, robotics or augmented reality (AR) that improve working conditions and support more sustainable, data‑driven agriculture on commercial farms.​

Opportunity overview