Applications have opened for the third edition of the Smart Africa & FAO Innovate Africa Challenge 2026, with this year’s programme focused on moving innovative ideas from development into practical implementation.

The challenge is being organised by Smart Africa in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) under the theme “From Ideation to Deployment.”

The programme is targeting proven and scalable Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions capable of tackling agricultural and climate-related challenges across Africa.

A major focus of the 2026 edition is Climate-Smart Agriculture, with the initiative seeking innovations that can progress beyond pilot projects, reach real-world deployment and generate measurable benefits for farmers.

eligibility requirements for applicants

To participate, applicants must meet several requirements.

Applicants must:

• Be a legally incorporated or registered for-profit business.
• Operate in one of the 39 eligible Smart Africa member countries.
• Have been operational for at least six months.
• Have an AI-enabled solution.
• Address a climate-related challenge.
• Be willing to deploy the solution in at least one designated focus country.

The eligible countries include Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Senegal, Cameroon, Malawi and the Democratic Republic of Congo, among others.

focus areas for the 2026 challenge

The challenge is open to solutions working across a broad range of technology, agriculture, climate and sustainability areas.

These include:

• Climate-Smart Agriculture
• Artificial Intelligence
• Agritech
• Climate Action
• Food Systems
• Disaster Preparedness
• Natural Resource Management
• Energy Efficiency
• Waste Management
• Digital Agriculture

winning solution to receive $50,000 service contract

The winning solution will receive a USD 50,000 service contract to support its implementation and deployment.

Participants will also have access to a series of development and scaling opportunities throughout the programme.

The opportunities include:

• Top 16: Virtual onboarding bootcamp and proposal development support.
• Top 8: Three-month incubation programme with AI and climate experts.
• Top 5: Opportunity to participate in an in-person pitch.
• Access to expert guidance and support for scaling AI-powered climate solutions.

The programme is designed to provide participating businesses with support as they develop and scale AI-powered responses to agricultural and climate challenges.

application deadline is August 31, 2026

Businesses interested in participating in the third edition of the Smart Africa & FAO Innovate Africa Challenge have until 31 August 2026 to submit their applications.

Interested applicants can access the official programme information and application details through the Smart Africa website.

Source: msmeafrica