Powering the Future: Applications Open for the 2025 Digital Energy Challenge

Are you a younger innovator, tech entrepreneur, or part of a start-up reworking lives via vitality options? Do you’ve gotten a imaginative and prescient to enhance vitality entry, increase renewable vitality integration, or improve vitality operator efficiency in Africa? The 2025 Digital Energy Challenge is your alternative to make a tangible affect—and it’s formally open for functions!

Driving Innovation in Energy Access

Launched in 2020 and backed by the European Union, AFD (Agence Française de Développement), and ADEME, the Digital Energy Challenge is an annual initiative that champions forward-thinking digital options for the vitality sector in Africa. To date, greater than 30 transformative tasks—each by start-ups and vitality utilities—have obtained funding and assist via this problem.

In 2025, the Challenge returns underneath the Digital and Green Innovation Action (DGI), a collaborative effort by the European Union, Germany, France, Belgium, Estonia, and the Netherlands. Together, this #TeamEurope initiative is paving the approach for a sustainable, inclusive, and digitally pushed vitality transition.

Check out the 2024 Digital Energy Challenge here and the 11 successful tasks here.

Why It Matters

Over 600 million individuals in Africa—significantly in sub-Saharan areas—nonetheless lack entry to electrical energy. This problem goals to vary that. By leveraging cutting-edge expertise and revolutionary enterprise fashions, the Digital Energy Challenge contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goal 7: making certain entry to inexpensive, dependable, sustainable, and trendy vitality for all.

Whether it’s off-grid photo voltaic methods for distant communities, digital instruments to watch vitality utilization, or platforms that join customers to wash energy—this problem helps the concepts which are reshaping Africa’s vitality panorama.

What’s New in 2025?

This 12 months’s version will award three to 4 start-up tasks and one expertise supplier, every having access to a bunch of sources together with:

• Grant funding for buying tools, software program, coaching, and recruitment

• Technical help tailor-made to your mission’s wants—from mission administration to strategic assist

• Participation in a high-level bootcamp, bringing collectively trade consultants, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders

• Amplified visibility by way of social media and AFD’s communications platforms

A complete of €1 million in assist is accessible to assist these pioneering tasks scale and succeed.

Who Can Apply?

The 2025 Call for Projects targets tasks for implementation in Africa and owned by:

Start-ups in the pre-seed part or with early-stage actions. NGOs can apply underneath the Start-up class (see more details on the eligibility criteria for Start-ups).

Innovative technology or service providers who’ve already developed a digital answer to be examined (see more details on the eligibility criteria for technology providers)

Key Dates to Remember

• March 10, 2025: Call for Projects opens

• May 16, 2025 (23:59 CET): Submission deadline

• Autumn 2025: Winners introduced and invited to bootcamp

Missed the webinars? Don’t fear—You can now watch the accessible replays:

Click here to obtain the displays used throughout the webinars.

What actions are included?

Projects should have a core component of digital expertise (telecom, laptop or cloud-based). They have to be revolutionary, both intrinsically or in relation to the native market or nation.

For the Start-ups Challenge solely, tasks have to be native with mission administration actions in the nation the place the mission is predicated.

For the Start-ups Challenge, the mission scope should adress one in every of three themes:

• Universal electrical energy entry and mini-grids
• Efficient grid administration
• Resilience and decarbonization of energy methods

For the Partnership Challenge the mission should assist one or a number of of the six modules of a rural electrification programme, managed by Senelec, the main vitality provider in Senegal. More element here.

Ready to Apply?

This is your likelihood to scale your thought, obtain worldwide recognition, and be part of Africa’s clear vitality future. Whether you’re a tech-savvy drawback solver or a mission-driven entrepreneur, the Digital Energy Challenge is right here to energy your potential.

Apply to the Start-ups Call for Projects
Apply to the Partnership Call for Projects
Download the Challenge Brochure

For extra data or to affix the Challenge mailing record, contact the organizers: contact@afddigitalenergychallenge.com.

Let your innovation gentle up lives—submit your mission earlier than May 16, 2025!

For extra alternatives, please go to our web site.

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