Travel Grants for Climate-Smart Agriculture Partnerships: UK-Brazil-Africa

A consortium of a maximum of two partners (a UK and either a Brazilian, Ghanaian or Nigerian partner) can apply for up to £20,000 for travel to build new relationships between organisations to accelerate the testing and development of technologies and/or practices that promote climate-smart agriculture for sustainable food production systems in Ghana and Nigeria.

Innovate UK Climate-Smart Agriculture Partnership: UK-Brazil-Africa brings together innovative people and organisations to promote climate-smart agriculture in Africa.

Travel Grants support travel to build relationships between businesses, or collaborations between public and private organisations in the UK, Brazil, Ghana and/or Nigeria. Successful applicants will receive a grant of up to £20,000 to travel to meet with potential collaborators and develop plans for future innovation projects.

In this competition, up to £400,000 of total funding (up to £20,000 per project) is available for Travel Grants.

Travel must be completed between the 1 August 2025 and end on the 31st January 2026.

What is a Travel Grant?

The aim of the Travel Grants is to explore and build new collaborations between businesses, or between public and private organisations across the UK, Brazil, Ghana and Nigeria to accelerate the testing and development of technologies and practices that promote climate-smart agriculture for sustainable food production systems in Ghana and Nigeria.

The Travel Grants are for innovators who do not yet have trilateral partners and need to undertake further explorative discussions to gather necessary information ahead of building a future innovation funding application.

Travel Grant applications must show how the travel will be used to strengthen partnerships and increase engagement between research institutions and the private sector across the UK, Brazil and Africa.Two partners should apply for a travel grant, one from the UK and one from another country (Brazil, Ghana or Nigeria) to meet with other potential collaborators in a third country to explore opportunities for future R&D collaboration.

For example, an application could include a UK partner and a Brazilian partner travelling to meet with potential collaborators in Africa (Ghana and/or Nigeria) to explore how an idea or technology could be applied. Alternatively, a UK and a Ghanaian partner could travel to Brazil to understand how a problem shared between Ghana and Brazil is being addressed in Brazil and to meet with potential Brazilian collaborators.

Travel Grants will cover the costs of travel and subsistence of two named partners. This could include covering the costs of:

• in-country visits to exchange ideas with potential partners around a particular innovation or challenge
• demonstrations of innovative solutions to potential in-country partners
• exploring the options and requirements for adaptation of a technology to a new market with in-country partners
• developing project ideas and proof of market or concept work

The individual potential collaborators that the two partner applicants intend to visit do not need to have been confirmed at the time of application to apply for this competition, but a strategy to identify and meet with these should be outlined.

Following the Travel Grant, trilateral consortia may be able to apply for future innovation funding to work on the opportunities with partners identified during their Travel Grant.

Who can apply for a Travel Grant?

To lead a Travel Grant application your organisation must be a UK-registered business of any size, academic institution, research and technology organisation (RTO), charity or not for profit.

Projects can have a maximum of two partners: the UK-registered lead, and one partner organisation from either Brazil, Ghana or Nigeria.

If successful, all partners will be required to complete due diligence checks, these will include answering the Simplified UKRI due diligence questionnaire and providing an ‘Income and Expenditure statement’ and a ‘Cash Flow statement’.

Are you aware we are currently running a trilateral Innovation Award competition?

If you have a fully formed innovation project idea, please consider applying for an Innovation Award (these also close on 7 May 2025). Please note that costs for travel can be covered in the Innovation Award application, and there is no need to apply for an additional Travel Grant for the same project.

Further Information

• Download the Travel Grants for Climate-Smart Agriculture Partnerships: UK- Brazil-Africa Competition Brief.
• Click here to set up a 1-1 call with Innovate UK Business Connect to discuss your idea or ask any questions.
• Email any questions to agripartnership@iukbc.org.uk.

How to apply

Please read the privacy notice before applying.

The link to apply for this funding opportunity will be added to this webpage over the next few weeks before this competition opens for applications on the 3 March 2025. Once this competition is live you will be able to apply via GoodGrants.

Applications must be submitted by 11am BST on the 7 May 2024.