Collaborative R&D Funding

Introduction to Collaborative R&D Funding

Collaborative R&D (CR&D) will improve opportunities for UK-Africa partnerships and multilateral consortia to leverage innovation funding to strengthen local, national and international innovation ecosystems. Through brokerage events, R&D workshops, capacity building and funding application support, this activity will lead to increased UK-Africa collaborations established that leverage innovation funding with a focus on strengthening local, national and international innovation ecosystems.

Our ultimate objective is to bridge stronger UK-Africa innovation networks and connections, so as to enhance UK-Africa investment opportunities in Africa.

Activities include Brokerage Events, R&D Workshops, Capacity Building, and Funding Application Support.

Lead Customer Programme 

The aim of the LCP is to accelerate innovations to create or implement new or improved technologies through UK- African partnerships whilst helping meet UN Sustainable Development Goals. The LCP demonstrates the need and demand for innovation by working with applicants that have a letter of endorsement from a key end user, i.e. the Lead Customer, in the supply chain. We are seeking innovations that can move close to commercialisation.

View open opportunities here. 

View the recording and slides from the LCP briefing webinar here.

Scaling Out For Impact

The Scaling Out For Impact (SOFI 2) programme builds on the success of the first iteration of the programme that ran from 2019 to 2021. This second iteration is being delivered in partnership by Innovate UK in partnership with South Africa’s Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) with up to £500k total investment for UK/SA collaborative R&D projects to improve access to food, energy and water to have far reaching impact for communities. Read more.

Energy Catalyst

Funding opportunities for UK-Africa stakeholders include the Energy Catalyst Funding Competition for UK-based companies and research organisations that are working on innovative energy projects. The competition is run by the UK government’s innovation agency, Innovate UK, and is designed to support the development of new technologies and business models that can help to address the world’s energy challenges. Energy Catalyst events hosted by Global Alliance Africa provide a platform for businesses, academia, government and development partners to interact and network.

Net Zero Place 

The Net Zero Place programme focuses on supporting businesses in improving their net zero solutions. A core element of this involves building international collaborations between businesses that are addressing similar net zero challenges in different markets – helping each learn from one another and creating stronger and more resilient solutions together.These collaborations will practically demonstrate new ways of solving net zero challenges, and for the solutions to be deployed in reciprocal global markets – ensuring that we learn from one another and accelerate global progress to net zero.