​Other service activities

EIC Pathfinder Open is a Horizon Europe call under the European Innovation Council (EIC) that funds early‑stage, science‑towards‑technology research aimed at radically new future technologies capable of creating new markets, addressing major societal needs and tackling global challenges. The call is designed for interdisciplinary consortia with ambitious long‑term technology visions, where achieving a proof of principle requires tackling fundamental scientific unknowns and accepting high levels of technical and scientific risk.​

The Spaza Shop Support Fund, supported by the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) and administered through the National Empowerment Fund (NEF) and partners, is designed to support township and rural community convenience shops, including spaza shops, with both financial and non‑financial assistance.

The Allan Gray Makers StartUp Academy 2026 is an 8‑month, full‑time incubation programme focused on developing bricklaying, carpentry, electrical and plumbing tradespeople into successful business owners. The Academy offers structured entrepreneurship training, mentoring and practical business support to help aspiring and early‑stage artisan entrepreneurs formalise, launch and grow their own technical enterprises.​

The programme targets three stages of technical entrepreneurs:​

The Xiamen BRICS Cross‑Border Innovation Accelerator Program 2026 is a flagship international acceleration initiative hosted in Xiamen, China, designed to help high‑potential overseas and China‑based innovation companies enter, validate and scale in the Chinese market.

The National Cleantech Innovation Challenge (NCIC) 2026 is a national programme led by the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) in partnership with NGIN, regional hubs and Start‑Up Culture to accelerate South Africa’s transition to a low‑carbon, climate‑resilient and inclusive economy.

The INCiTiS‑FOOD project (Integrated and Circular Technologies for Sustainable City‑Region Food Systems in Africa) has launched Open Call 2 for Independent Innovators (IIs) to support start‑ups and SMEs working on sustainable urban and peri‑urban food production.

The STREAMING Open Call for Knowledge Transfer is a Horizon Europe‑funded scheme that provides up to €25,000 per grant to develop interactive digital learning courses on sustainable food systems and food trade, with a total budget of €275,000 for 11 grants. The call supports content that translates cutting‑edge research into practical digital training for farmers, food producers and processors, startups, students and other stakeholders, covering the entire food supply chain from sustainable farming to waste reduction and food safety.