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Applications are now open for the Innovate Africa Challenge 2026 (3rd Edition), an innovation challenge launched by Smart Africa in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) solutions that address Africa’s agricultural and climate challenges.
Under the theme “From Ideation to Deployment,” the challenge seeks AI-powered innovations that can improve climate-smart agriculture, enhance resilience, and deliver measurable impact for farmers across Africa.
Challenge Benefits
The winning team will receive:
- US$50,000 to support the deployment, validation, and scaling of its AI solution
- Technical support and validation in real-world farming environments
- Exposure to leading partners in agriculture and technology
- Opportunities to scale solutions across Africa
- Increased visibility within the African innovation ecosystem.
Who Can Apply?
- Startups
- AI innovators
- Technology companies
- Agritech entrepreneurs
- Researchers
- Organisations developing AI-powered agricultural solutions
- Be a legally registered for-profit entity in one of the 39 Smart Africa Alliance member countries
- Have been operational for at least six months
- Be willing to deploy their solution in at least one of the focus countries if selected
- Develop an AI-enabled solution addressing climate-smart agriculture or related climate challenges.
Focus Areas
Eligible solutions may address areas such as:
- Climate-smart agriculture
- Crop monitoring and yield prediction
- Precision farming
- Smart irrigation
- Pest and disease detection
- Water resource management
- Climate resilience
- Sustainable food systems
- Other AI-enabled agricultural innovations.
Why This Matters
Artificial intelligence has the potential to transform African agriculture by helping farmers make better decisions, improve productivity, and adapt to climate change. Through this challenge, Smart Africa and FAO aim to support practical AI solutions that can move beyond prototypes and create measurable impact in real farming communities.
Application Deadline
August 31, 2026.
How To Apply
Interested innovators can learn more and submit their applications through the official programme portal
Cashew Association Targets One Million Tonnes Annual Production, 50% Local Processing
FG Registers 500,000 MSMEs in National Database, Disburses Over N600bn
Call For Applications: Africa-Europe Innovation Platform (AEIP) Scholars Programme 2026–2027
Applications are now open for the Africa-Europe Innovation Platform (AEIP) Scholars Programme 2026–2027, a collaborative research programme designed to connect emerging scholars from Africa and Europe to develop innovative, solution-driven research and strengthen cross-continental partnerships.
The programme brings together talented researchers to co-create practical solutions to shared global challenges while promoting scientific collaboration, innovation, and knowledge exchange under the AU–EU Innovation Agenda.
Programme Benefits
Selected scholars will receive:
- Opportunities to collaborate with researchers from Africa and Europe
- Participation in interdisciplinary and cross-continental research projects
- Training in research impact and science communication
- Peer learning and international networking opportunities
- The chance to showcase research at the AEIP Stakeholder Meeting in Europe in June 2027
- Increased visibility within the Africa-Europe research and innovation ecosystem.
Who Can Apply?
- Emerging scholars and early-career researchers
- PhD candidates
- Postdoctoral researchers
- Researchers affiliated with recognised academic or research institutions in Africa or Europe.
Applicants should have existing research that aligns with innovation and addresses societal or developmental challenges relevant to the AU–EU Innovation Agenda.
Programme Focus
Participants will work in cross-continental scholar pairs to:
- Develop collaborative research outputs
- Translate academic research into practical solutions
- Strengthen Africa-Europe scientific cooperation
- Promote innovation with real-world impact
- Support solutions that benefit communities, women, youth, and institutions.
Selection Process
Applications will be assessed based on:
- Originality of the research
- Academic excellence
- Innovation potential
- Practical relevance and impact
- Alignment with the AU–EU Innovation Agenda.
Following project evaluations, the top three scholar pairs will be invited to present their work at the AEIP Stakeholder Meeting in Europe in June 2027.
Why This Matters
The AEIP Scholars Programme helps strengthen long-term research partnerships between Africa and Europe while encouraging young researchers to transform academic knowledge into practical innovations. It also provides international exposure and opportunities to contribute to solutions addressing shared global challenges.
Application Deadline
August 31, 2026.
How To Apply
Interested applicants can learn more and submit their expression of interest through the official programme page
Agriculture&Agro-Allied
The National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN) has unveiled plans to increase Nigeria’s annual cashew production from approximately 300,000 metric tonnes to one million metric tonnes over the next decade, with at least 50 percent of the harvest processed locally.
The association said the target forms part of a broader strategy to position the cashew industry as a key driver of industrial development, investment, export growth, and rural economic development.
Speaking during the inauguration of NCAN’s national and state chapter executives in Abuja, the association’s National President, Ademola Adesokan, described the production target as a practical roadmap for transforming Nigeria’s cashew value chain.
According to him, achieving the goal will depend largely on strengthening state-level structures, since cashew production, harvesting, aggregation, storage, and marketing take place within farming communities.
Adesokan said the newly inaugurated state chapters will play a critical role in improving supply chains, enhancing product quality, and ensuring a steady supply of raw cashew nuts to processors and exporters.
He added that increasing local processing to 50 percent of total production would boost value addition, create jobs, and increase earnings across the cashew value chain.
“We have set ambitious targets—growing national production of cashew from about 300,000 tonnes to one million tonnes within the next decade. With 50 percent of that volume processed right here at home, that is not a slogan; it is the roadmap with real milestones,” Adesokan said.
Representing the Minister of State for Industry, Sen. John Enoh, the Director of the Industrial Development Department at the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Lumuyiwa Jayi-Ade, said the inauguration marks a shift from policy development to implementation within the sector.
He disclosed that the ministry, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, NCAN, development partners, and other stakeholders, will begin developing implementation strategies for the Nigeria Cashew Roadmap.
The plan includes establishing a Nigerian Cashew Project Office to coordinate reforms, monitor implementation, and strengthen collaboration among industry stakeholders.
Jayi-Ade urged the newly inaugurated executives to mobilise stakeholders, improve coordination, promote transparency, and support the successful implementation of the roadmap.
Also speaking, the Director of the Commodities and Export Department, Obasi Edozie, described cashew as one of Nigeria’s most strategic non-oil export commodities, with significant potential to drive wealth creation, employment, rural development, foreign exchange earnings, and industrial growth.
He reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to supporting policies that improve productivity, product quality, traceability, local processing, and Nigeria’s competitiveness in the global cashew market.
Business
The Federal Government has registered more than 500,000 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in a national database aimed at strengthening industrial development, improving policy planning, and expanding support for businesses across Nigeria.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, disclosed this during the 17th National Council on Industry, Trade and Investment held in Enugu. She said the initiative is part of the Federal Government’s strategy to drive industrialisation, attract investment, and boost non-oil exports under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
According to Oduwole, the national MSME database will provide the government with reliable data to design targeted interventions, improve access to finance, and develop policies that better address the needs of businesses across the country.
She noted that the initiative forms part of broader efforts to build a more competitive, inclusive, and data-driven economy.
Nigeria is estimated to have more than 40 million MSMEs, many of which operate in the informal sector. Collectively, the sector contributes about 48 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and accounts for approximately 86 percent of national employment. Despite its importance, the sector continues to face an estimated N13 trillion financing gap, alongside challenges such as inflation, unreliable electricity supply, and limited access to affordable credit.
Highlighting the administration’s recent achievements, Oduwole said Nigeria has secured more than $50 billion in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) commitments, recorded $6.1 billion in non-oil exports, and disbursed over N600 billion through the Bank of Industry (BOI) to support businesses operating in key sectors of the economy.
She also revealed that nearly 300,000 Nigerians have benefited from government-backed skills development programmes designed to improve workforce capacity and enhance industrial productivity.
According to the minister, these milestones reflect progress toward the Federal Government’s goal of building a $1 trillion economy through increased production, investment, exports, and job creation.
She said the ministry will continue to prioritise the development of industrial clusters, expansion of local manufacturing, investment promotion, digital trade, and the implementation of the National Single Window to reduce the cost of doing business in Nigeria.
Oduwole further identified stronger intellectual property protection and deeper participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as key priorities for improving Nigeria’s export competitiveness and enabling local businesses to access wider African markets.
She urged agencies under the ministry to ensure that resolutions reached during the council meeting are supported by clear implementation plans, defined responsibilities, and measurable performance indicators.
Also speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Industry, Sen. John Enoh, reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to implementing the Nigeria Industrial Policy 2025, which focuses on expanding affordable industrial financing, promoting value addition, increasing manufacturing capacity, and strengthening public-private partnerships to accelerate sustainable industrial development.
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