AU Enterprise Africa Network (EAN) Fellowship Programme 2026/2027 [Cohort 2] – YOA

Deadline: September 30, 2026

Applications are invited for the AU Enterprise Africa Network (EAN) Fellowship Programme 2026/2027 [Cohort 2]. The Enterprise Africa Network (EAN) Fellowship Programme is an AUC Startup Acceleration Initiative and the African Union’s flagship programme for the event of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Implemented by the AU Commission’s Department of Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry and Minerals (ETTIM), the programme offers Africa’s most promising entrepreneurs with structured coaching, knowledgeable mentorship, mental property assist, and direct market entry alternatives throughout the continent and past.

The EAN’s inaugural cohort (2024/25) skilled 56 fellows from 30 African international locations and produced over USD 1 million in offers and contracts. Cohort 2 (2026/27) will increase the programme to 100 fellows drawn from all 55 AU Member States, concentrating on USD 2 million in new attributable income and 500 new jobs.

Fellowship Sectors

Cohort 2 covers seven sectors organised into two clusters aligned with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA):

• Products Cluster (items for intra-African commerce): Manufacturing, Agro-processing, Creative Industries
• Services Cluster: ICT/Digital, Fintech, Health, Logistics/Transport

Benefits

• All fellows obtain twelve months of structured coaching throughout ten modules differentiated by sector and tier; knowledgeable mentorship via African Union Partners, entry to the African Trade Observatory (ATO) and AfCFTA market intelligence instruments; and participation in continental occasions.
• Tier 1 and a couple of fellows take part in digital market-entry classes throughout ten AfCFTA pilot international locations; Tier 3 fellows take part in B2B matchmaking classes.

Eligibility

• Open to youth- and ladies-led small enterprises which might be: registered and working in an AU Member State;
• Formally registered as a enterprise entity;
• Operating for no less than two years; and
• Employing a minimal of three full-time workers.
• Applications are significantly inspired from girls-led enterprises and companies from underrepresented AU areas and small island Member States.

Application

The application type collects enterprise registration particulars, sector, years of operation, worker rely, international locations at present buying and selling, income vary, IP standing, and entry to formal finance, along with a written pitch of as much as 800 phrases describing the enterprise, its major market problem, and the applicant’s goal for the fellowship.

Shortlisted candidates will likely be requested to offer one supporting doc verifying finance entry (financial institution assertion, cellular cash assertion, or equal). This isn’t required at application stage.

Click here to apply

For extra info, go to AU Enterprise Africa Network (EAN) Fellowship.