South Africa

The AEDIB Joint Innovation Facility (JIF) 2026 is a strategic Africa–Europe funding mechanism designed to scale digitally enabled, commercially viable innovations through strong cross-border partnerships.

Implemented under the Africa–Europe Digital Innovation Bridge (AEDIB) and aligned with the EU Global Gateway Africa–Europe Investment Package, JIF supports African-led consortia that are ready to expand established digital solutions across markets between Africa and Europe while embedding measurable climate-positive impact.

The National Cleantech Innovation Challenge (NCIC) – Eastern Cape Waste-to-Value Challenge seeks innovative, technically viable solutions that convert low-value waste streams into high-value products with proven market demand and job creation potential.

EUROGIA2030 Call 30 is now open for international collaborative research and development (R&D) projects focused on low-carbon technologies and climate innovation. This call forms part of the Eureka Clusters framework and supports transnational projects aimed at accelerating the development and commercialisation of sustainable energy and environmental solutions.

The CELTIC-NEXT Spring Call 2026 is part of the Eureka Network Cluster programme supporting collaborative, market-driven R&D projects in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). CELTIC-NEXT is dedicated to advancing next-generation communications for a secure, trusted, and sustainable digital society.

The Spring 2026 call is open from 1 December 2025 to 24 April 2026, inviting international consortia to submit ambitious R&D proposals across a broad ICT spectrum, including:

Eurostars is an international funding instrument supporting innovative SMEs and their partners to collaborate on market-driven R&D and innovation projects. The programme is part of the European Partnership on Innovative SMEs and is co-funded by the European Union through Horizon Europe.

The March 2026 call invites international consortia to submit collaborative R&D projects aimed at developing new products, processes, or services with strong commercial potential.

The Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation (DRK Foundation) provides early-stage capital and intensive capacity-building support to bold social enterprises tackling the world’s most pressing social and environmental challenges.

DRK funds mission-driven organisations that serve vulnerable, marginalized, or underserved communities through scalable, systems-oriented solutions. The Foundation invests in entrepreneurs building innovative models that can grow exponentially and directly impact at least 10,000 lives within five years with ambitions to reach far beyond that.

The National Cleantech Innovation Challenge (NCIC) Gauteng – Smart Mobility Cleantech Challenge 2026 is a flagship initiative under South Africa’s Just Transition to the Future programme. Hosted by the Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct, this challenge seeks scalable, post-proof-of-concept digital cleantech solutions to address Gauteng’s growing urban mobility crisis.

The Nkulo Community Partnership Trust has issued a Call for Proposals inviting impactful, community-centred projects that create sustainable social and economic value in communities connected to Thungela operations and designated labour-sending areas.

The Trust seeks to partner with organisations delivering measurable, long-term outcomes in areas that strengthen local resilience, economic participation and community wellbeing.

This call prioritises initiatives that:

The Genomics in Context Awards 2026 support transdisciplinary research teams working at the intersection of genomics, humanities, social sciences and bioethics. These awards are designed to catalyse bold, discovery-led research agendas that integrate diverse disciplinary expertise and wider societal stakeholders from the earliest stages of research design.

IBM has opened applications for the IBM Impact Accelerator - Education and Workforce Development Cohort 2026, a global, two-year collaborative programme designed to support organizations developing practical, human-centered solutions that expand access to education and workforce opportunities.

The programme invites proposals focused on strengthening learning systems, improving career navigation pathways, and building resilient workforce ecosystems. While AI-driven solutions are strongly encouraged, the core selection criterion remains measurable community impact.