Up to €50,000 per project to support innovative solutions addressing key food system challenges.
FCI4Africa, a Horizon Europe-funded project working to enhance fairness, resilience, and inclusivity in food systems across Africa, has officially launched its first Open Call (OC1). With a total budget of €400,000, the initiative will fund eight sub-projects, each eligible for up to €50,000.
The Open Call aims to support research and technology stakeholders in developing and testing innovative solutions that contribute to fairer and more sustainable food value chains across the continent.
Through Open Call 1, FCI4Africa invites applicants to contribute to one of two key objectives:
- Objective 1: To test, validate, and enhance the existing business concepts and tools of the project, including those already developed within the Use Cases.
- Objective 2: To develop ideas and tools that address specific challenges of FCI4Africa.
All selected projects are expected to generate valuable datasets that will support the refinement of FCI4Africa tools, methodologies, and business concepts.
Funding and timeline
The Open Call has a total budget of €400,000 and will support eight selected sub-projects, each receiving up to €50,000 in funding. The call officially launches on April 7, 2026, with a submission deadline of June 30, 2026, at 17:00 CEST (Brussels time).
Selected projects will run from November 2026 to October 2027 and will follow a structured three-phase process, including a design phase focused on developing an activity plan, a development phase dedicated to demonstrating results, and a final validation phase centred on dissemination activities and lessons learned.
Phase 1 – Design November 2026-January 2027 Duration: 3 months Deliverable: Activity plan
| Phase 2 – Development February 2027-July 2027 Duration: 6 months Deliverable: Results demonstration | Phase 3 – Validation August 2027-October 2027 Duration: 3 months Deliverable: Report on dissemination activities & lessons learned |
Who can apply?
The call is open to single applicants only (no consortia allowed). Eligible applicants include:
- Universities and research institutes
- Technology providers and R&D SMEs
- Innovation-driven start-ups
- Industry actors developing new technologies
- Other multidisciplinary stakeholders
How to apply
- Applications must be submitted online via the Open Call platform: fund
- All proposals must be submitted in English before the deadline on June 30, 2026, at 17:00 CEST (Brussels time).
- By applying to the FCI4Africa Open Call 1, applicants automatically accept the terms and conditions described in the Open Call 1 kit.
For questions or clarifications, please contact: fci4africa@opencalls.fund
Learn more at: https://fci4africa.eu/
At a glance – Key facts and figures | |
Instrument | Horizon Europe |
EC Funding | € 4.499.353,24 |
Duration | 4 years, 2024 – 2028 |
Consortium | A total of 14 partners from 7 countries |
Project Coordinator | Shiferaw Feleke International Institute of Tropical Agriculture Plot No 25 Mikocheni Light Industrial Area, Mwenge Coca-Cola Road, Mikocheni B Dar es Salaam, Tanzania |
Communication Manager | Thanos Arampatzis reframe.food L.Sofou 20, 57001 Thermi, Thessaloniki, Greece |
Disclaimer
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or Research Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
