STREAMING EU AFRICA has launched an Open Call for Knowledge Transfer, offering €25,000 per grant for 11 projects to develop interactive digital training courses that convert research and innovation into operational tools for sustainable food systems across Africa and Europe.
The deadline is 2 March 2026.
Funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme (Grant No. 101182256), STREAMING is a four-year, multidisciplinary and transnational initiative designed to build fair, healthy, and environmentally sustainable food systems by linking basic research with real-world implementation.
The Open Call seeks research institutions, universities, NGOs, industry partners, vocational institutions, business schools and innovation hubs to design practice-oriented digital courses that connect researchers with farmers, producers, start-ups and public health actors.
The objective is to build digital training that strengthens sustainable food trade systems while accelerating entrepreneurship.
In Africa, where agriculture employs a majority of the workforce and food insecurity remains persistent despite innovation growth, knowledge gaps are often as limiting as capital gaps. Bridging that divide particularly through scalable digital training, positions the initiative squarely within the continent’s expanding agri-tech and food innovation ecosystem.
Courses must be interactive and practice-driven, translating scientific insight into commercial and operational application.
The call focuses on eight innovation domains:
- Traceability in the food supply chain
- Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of food products
- Nutritional requirements
- Reducing micronutrient deficiencies
- Food waste reduction
- Sustainable farming systems
- Food safety
- Scaling innovations in food supply chains
This week, STREAMING is highlighting three core areas: nutritional requirements, reducing micronutrient deficiencies and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of food products.
The thematic focus reflects global shifts in food policy and climate accountability. As African agribusiness increasingly integrates into export markets, traceability, LCA compliance and nutritional transparency are becoming commercial requirements rather than optional standards.
At the same time, micronutrient deficiencies remain a widespread public health concern across parts of sub-Saharan Africa, directly affecting productivity, health outcomes and economic growth.
By embedding these issues into entrepreneurship training, STREAMING is positioning food innovation not just as agricultural reform, but as enterprise development.
A defining feature of the call is its gender mandate.
“Female researchers are highly encouraged to apply,” the programme states. Courses “should adequately target women farmers, entrepreneurs, processors, and or innovators.”
At least 60% of the total funding will support African Third Parties, with special encouragement for women-led organisations and female innovators.
This emphasis is commercially significant. Across Africa, women dominate segments of agricultural production and informal food trade, yet face disproportionate barriers to capital, training and formal market access. Targeted digital capacity-building could unlock latent productivity and scale.
Eligibility is broad. Applicants may come from any country, not only STREAMING partner nations, and may apply individually or as part of consortia spanning Africa and Europe.
Eligible Third Parties include:
- Research institutions and universities
- NGOs and industry partners
- Innovation hubs, business schools and vocational colleges
- Cross-continental consortia
Applicants are required to submit a formal proposal package, including:
- The official Open Call for Proposals notice
- The Knowledge Transfer Call text
- A completed proposal template (submitted as PDF)
- A mandatory Declaration of Honour confirming eligibility and compliance
- A Consortium Agreement (for consortium applications)
- A Declaration on double funding, signed at submission and project completion
The Open Call Kit provides all documentation necessary to guide applicants through the process, from understanding objectives to fulfilling formal submission requirements. Organisers advise applicants to review all materials carefully before submission.
Africa’s food import bill continues to strain foreign exchange reserves in multiple economies, even as innovation hubs and agri-startups expand across markets such as Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and Rwanda. Digital agriculture platforms, food traceability systems and climate-smart farming models are gaining traction but scaling remains uneven.
Funded under Horizon Europe, one of the world’s largest public research programmes, STREAMING integrates European scientific capacity with African entrepreneurial ecosystems.
If executed effectively, the initiative will not only transfer knowledge, but it will also formalise it, digitise it and embed it within the next generation of African food entrepreneurs. The deadline is set. The opportunity is defined. For Africa’s food innovators, particularly women, this call is a direct invitation to build the future of sustainable food systems.
Apply here: https://streamingproject.eu/open-calls
