Green Transition Food Processing Africa

Proposals should:

• promote start-ups and other innovative SMEs by providing a space for mentoring and accelerating innovative business concepts, including social innovation and upscaling in view of African or European food business entrepreneurs with special consideration of diversity involving women, young entrepreneurs and the diaspora using cascading funding opportunities;
• lead to healthy, safe and nutritious food. New processing opportunities should increase biodiversity with increased market opportunities for underutilized crops. They should link to other projects of the AU-EU Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture Priority (FNSSA) in particular the CEA-First coordination and support action and the International Research Consortium. It should build on results of previous projects including linkages to projects funded under the AU-EU priority on “Climate Change and Sustainable Energy (CCSE)”.

Proposals must follow the multi-actor approach, by combining researchers, food processors (including the informal sector), farmers, NGOs and other food systems actors.

Proposals are encouraged to work together with the Joint Research Centre via the European Commission’s Knowledge Centre on Global Food and Nutrition Security to leverage its knowledge base on relevant topics (e.g. on nutrition and the use and potentials of neglected and underutilised crops) and to expand the reach and dissemination of the project's results.

Proposals may involve financial support to third parties e.g. to academic researchers, start-ups, SMEs and other multidisciplinary actors, to, for instance, develop, test or validate approaches.

When relevant, proposals should take into account the activities of NDICI[[Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument.]] funded Regional Centres of Excellence related to green transition.