The FoodSafety4Africa (FS4Africa) Open Call 2 is now accepting applications from eligible innovation hubs seeking funding to deliver training, mentoring and business acceleration support for food safety innovators, entrepreneurs and startups.\n<\/p>\n
The initiative has a total funding budget of \u20ac200,000, with at least five projects expected to be selected. Each successful project can receive up to \u20ac40,000 in financial support.\n<\/p>\n
About FS4Africa<\/p>\n
FS4Africa is a Horizon Europe-funded initiative focused on improving food safety systems across Africa, particularly within the informal sector. The project seeks to strengthen food safety innovation, support local market transformation and promote solutions that can contribute to food security, regional trade, health and environmental sustainability.\n<\/p>\n
The second open call is specifically targeted at innovation hubs that can provide structured training, mentoring and acceleration support to food business entrepreneurs, startups and beneficiaries of the first FS4Africa open call.\n<\/p>\n
The goal is to help innovative businesses and projects strengthen their business models, improve market readiness, develop sustainable growth strategies and scale their solutions.<\/p>\n
Why This Opportunity Matters<\/p>\n
The FS4Africa Open Call 2 offers innovation hubs an opportunity to access up to \u20ac40,000 while contributing to the development of stronger food safety innovation ecosystems.\n<\/p>\n
Beyond the funding, selected organisations will play a role in helping entrepreneurs and startups improve their business models, access markets, strengthen their investment readiness and develop solutions capable of creating wider impact across African and European food systems.\n<\/p>\n
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Funding Available<\/p>\n
The Open Call 2 has a total budget of:<\/p>\n
Total funding: \u20ac200,000
\nMaximum funding per project: \u20ac40,000
\nNumber of projects: At least 5
\nFunding mechanism: Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP)<\/p>\n
The maximum financial contribution available to an individual selected project is \u20ac40,000.\n<\/p>\n
Who Can Apply?<\/p>\n
The call is designed specifically for innovation hubs and organisations capable of delivering structured capacity-building programmes.\n<\/p>\n
Applicants must:\n<\/p>\n
Be a legal entity established in an eligible Horizon Europe country.
\nApply as a single entity.
\nSubmit only one proposal.
\nHave the capacity to design and deliver training and mentoring activities.
\nBe able to support food safety entrepreneurs, startups and innovation projects.
\nDemonstrate relevant organisational, technical and\/or business expertise.<\/p>\n
Consortium applications are not allowed. FS4Africa will accept only one entity per proposal.\n<\/p>\n
What Will Selected Organisations Do?<\/p>\n
Successful applicants will be required to develop and implement a structured programme containing at least six training and mentoring activities during the project implementation period.\n<\/p>\n
These activities must have clearly defined:\n<\/p>\n
Objectives
\nTarget beneficiaries
\nLearning outcomes
\nDelivery methods
\nFollow-up actions
\nMeasurable outputs<\/p>\n
Simple lectures without structured training, mentoring, measurable outcomes or alignment with FS4Africa objectives will not be sufficient.\n<\/p>\n
1. Support Open Call 1 Beneficiaries<\/p>\n
Applicants must provide at least two training activities supporting at least two different Open Call 1 beneficiaries.<\/p>\n
The training should respond to the specific needs of the supported projects and relevant food safety challenges.\n<\/p>\n
2. Support FS4Africa Use Cases<\/p>\n
Applicants must also deliver at least four training and mentoring activities for actors involved in one or more FS4Africa Use Cases.\n<\/p>\n
The selected Open Call 2 projects will coordinate their activities with other successful applicants to ensure that the different FS4Africa Use Cases receive balanced support and that activities do not unnecessarily overlap.\n<\/p>\n
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What Can the Training and Mentoring Cover?<\/p>\n
The programme may support areas including:<\/p>\n
Refining business value propositions
\nIdentifying target markets
\nStrengthening business models
\nDeveloping sustainable revenue streams
\nImproving financial sustainability
\nSocial innovation
\nCommunity engagement
\nGender inclusion
\nLocal ecosystem integration
\nBusiness scaling and replication
\nMarket access
\nRegulatory awareness
\nEcosystem integration
\nImpact measurement
\nInvestment readiness<\/p>\n
Training may be delivered through online courses, webinars, interactive workshops, mentoring clinics and other structured capacity-building formats.\n<\/p>\n
Programme Timeline<\/p>\n
Successful projects are expected to begin implementation in February 2027 and run for eight months, ending in September 2027.\n<\/p>\n
The implementation will take place in three phases:\n<\/p>\n
Phase 1 \u2013 Design
February 2027: 1 month
Selected organisations will develop their training activity plan.\n<\/p>\n
Phase 2 \u2013 Development
March\u2013July 2027: 5 months
Training and mentoring activities will be delivered.\n<\/p>\n
Phase 3 \u2013 Validation
August\u2013September 2027: 2 months
Projects will validate results and submit their final training activity report.<\/p>\n
Grant Payment Structure<\/p>\n
The \u20ac40,000 maximum grant is distributed in three stages:\n<\/p>\n
20% during the Design phase
\n50% during the Development phase
\n30% during the Validation phase<\/p>\n
Payments are linked to the required project deliverables.\n<\/p>\n
Important Dates<\/p>\n
Application period: 18 May \u2013 31 August 2026\n<\/p>\n
Application deadline: 31 August 2026, 17:00 CET. With the deadline approaching, eligible organisations should prepare and submit their proposals before the closing time.\n<\/p>\n
How to Apply<\/p>\n
Applications must be submitted digitally through the OpenCalls.fund platform.\n<\/p>\n
Applicants should review the official Open Call documents, including the Applicants\u2019 Guide, proposal template, budget template, Declaration of Honour, FAQs and model sub-grant agreement, before submitting their proposal.<\/p>\n