Open Call for Grant for Circular Food MSMEs in AfriFOODlinks Hub Cities

This analysis examines an EU grant opportunity for circular food MSMEs in African cities, providing detailed categorization and key information based on the provided raw data and search results.

The grant opportunity is an open call for grants targeting micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the circular food sector in specific African cities. Eligible applicants must have participated in the AfriFOODlinks incubation and training programs. The funding is in the form of grants ranging from €1,000 to €50,000, with a total budget of €250,000 allocated across five AfriFOODlinks Hub Cities: Mbale in Uganda, Kisumu in Kenya, Cape Town in South Africa, Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, and Tunis in Tunisia.

The project focuses on enhancing the circularity of MSMEs, their internal processes, and their capabilities to meet market demands for healthy and nutritious diets. An emphasis is placed on improving food access while promoting sustainable practices through the circular economy. Funding will be awarded to individual businesses rather than requiring applicants to form consortia.

The application process will be a single-stage evaluation involving an eligibility check and a thorough review according to criteria such as impact, excellence, and implementation.

In addition, businesses majority-owned by youth or women may receive extra points, thus linking social impact with business innovation. Applications must be submitted by September 17, 2025, no later than 23:59 Brussels time, in either English or French depending on the city.

The expected duration of funding and project participation is up to 12 months, and selected grantees must submit a final report at the end of the funding period.

Overall, this grant initiative under the AfriFOODlinks project aims to support up to 75 MSMEs in enhancing their operations and fostering a transition to sustainable food systems while addressing the challenges of food access and waste reduction in urban environments.

The Open Call for Grant Financing for Circular Food MSMEs is an initiative under the AfriFOODlinks project, sponsored by the European Commission. The call focuses on 5 AfriFOODlinks Hub Cities: Mbale (Uganda), Kisumu (Kenya), Cape Town (South Africa), Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), and Tunis (Tunisia). It aims to award grants to up to 15 applicants in each city.

The grant's purpose is to provide financial support to pioneering Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in each hub city, enhancing their circularity, internal processes, and capabilities to meet market demands for healthy and nutritious diets. The grant also aims to facilitate access to other private funding through a blended finance approach, attracting private finance such as loans or equity.

Eligibility requires applicants to have attended and participated in the AfriFOODlinks incubation and training programs (WP3, T3.2) in their respective Hub City.

The opening date for the call is July 18, 2025, and the deadline for submissions is September 17, 2025, at 23:59 (Brussels time). The expected duration of participation is 12 months. The total funding available is 250,000 EUR. The project acronym is AfriFOOD-Links, and the full name of the EU-funded project is TRANSFORMING AFRICA’S URBAN FOOD ENVIRONMENTS THROUGH STRENGTHENING LINKAGES BETWEEN FOOD SYSTEMS STAKEHOLDERS IN CITIES ACROSS EUROPE AND THE CONTINENT. The grant agreement number is 101084322, and the topic is HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-14 - African food cities.

For the application process, applicants must submit a complete application form online with the required supporting documents, including a signed Declaration of Honour. During the contracting phase, grant recipients must provide bank account information and confirmation letter, along with a sub-grant agreement following the template available on the application website.

Applications must be submitted in English for Mbale, Kisumu, and Cape Town, and in French for Ouagadougou and Tunis. Submissions in other languages will be deemed ineligible. All applications must be submitted through the AfriFOODlinks website, with separate links for each city application. Applications received through other channels will be ineligible.

The evaluation process includes an eligibility check by the Selection Committee of each Hub City. Applications not meeting the eligibility criteria will be discarded. The Selection Committee comprises 3 individuals from the AfriFOODlinks Consortium responsible for implementing T3.5 in each city, with oversight from at least 3 members of the project Executive Board to ensure objectivity. Final selections will be validated and approved by the Executive Board.

The evaluation criteria are as follows:

Impact (20%, maximum score 4 points): Alignment with AfriFOODlinks' goal to increase access to healthy, safe, and nutritious food through circular business models, focusing on:

Production of healthy and nutritious foods.
Processing healthy and nutritious food products.
Trading, distribution, and marketing of healthy and nutritious foods and food products.
Reducing food waste.
Production and trading of organic inputs.

Excellence (35%, maximum score 7 points): A well-defined problem, clear market opportunity, promising circular business model with an existing customer base, and a viable product or service.

Implementation (35%, maximum score 7 points): A compelling business plan that demonstrates high potential for contributing to circular economy transitions in the food system and social benefit, with the potential to grow measured through staff or profitability within 5 years. A convincing demonstration of how the business will deploy the funds to grow their business and impact to support the applicants work and not primarily benefit the beneficiaries.

Extra points scheme: Applicants may obtain up to 2 extra points (10%) based on the following:

Applicant business is youth majority owned or has a clear benefit targeting youth (1 point).
Applicant business is women majority owned or has a clear benefit targeting women (1 point).

The grant aims to support up to 75 Circular Food MSMEs (up to 15 per Hub City) with grants ranging from 1,000 EUR to 50,000 EUR each, with a total of 50,000 EUR available per city, or 250,000 EUR for the collective grant.

The Circular Food MSME grant will enable MSMEs to develop a specific aspect of their business over up to 12 months. Grants will be released in tranches determined by the Selection Committee and outlined in the grant agreement between the grantee and the AfriFOODlinks implementing partner. Grantees must submit a final report at the end of the program, which will be assessed by a member of the AfriFOODlinks consortium allocated by the Selection Committee. The assessor may request additional information or suggest changes to ensure alignment with the agreed concept.

In summary, this open call provides financial grants to Circular Food MSMEs in five African cities to enhance their business operations, promote circular economy practices, and improve access to healthy food. The grants, ranging from 1,000 EUR to 50,000 EUR, are part of the AfriFOODlinks project and aim to support businesses that contribute to sustainable food systems. Applicants must have participated in the AfriFOODlinks incubation program and meet specific eligibility criteria. The selection process involves an evaluation of impact, excellence, and implementation, with extra points awarded for businesses majority-owned by youth or women, or those that clearly benefit these groups. The overall goal is to strengthen the food systems in these urban environments by supporting local MSMEs and fostering innovation in the circular economy.

Eligible Applicant Types: Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) that are pioneering in circular food systems are eligible. Specifically, the call targets "Circular Food MSMEs". Applicants must have attended and participated in the AfriFOODlinks incubation and training programs (WP3, T3.2) in their Hub City. There is also an extra points scheme for businesses that are youth majority owned or have a clear benefit targeting youth, and for businesses that are women majority owned or have a clear benefit targeting women.

Funding Type: Grant. This is an Open Call for Grant Financing. The grant support is envisioned to facilitate the access to other private funding by attracting private finance (loan, equity) as part of a blended finance approach.

Consortium Requirement: Single. The call is aimed at individual MSMEs, not consortia.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is limited to the five AfriFOODlinks Hub Cities: Mbale (Uganda), Kisumu (Kenya), Cape Town (South Africa), Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), and Tunis (Tunisia).

Target Sector: Agriculture/Food, Circular Economy. The program targets MSMEs in the circular food sector, specifically those involved in the production, processing, trading, distribution, and marketing of healthy and nutritious foods and food products; reducing food waste; and production and trading of organic inputs.

Mentioned Countries: Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Tunisia.

Project Stage: The project stage is not explicitly stated, but it seems to target MSMEs that already have a viable product or service and an existing customer base, suggesting a stage of development, validation, or early commercialization. The call aims to improve the MSMEs circularity, internal processes and the capabilities required to meet market demands for healthy and nutritious diets.

Funding Amount: The grants range between €1,000 and €50,000 each. A total of €50,000 is available per city, with a total of €250,000 available for the collective grant.

Application Type: Open Call.

Nature of Support: Money. Beneficiaries will receive financial support in the form of grants. The Grants will be released in tranches determined by the Selection Committee and written into the grant agreement of the grantee with the AfriFOODlinks implementing partner.

Application Stages: The application process appears to be single-stage, with an eligibility check followed by an evaluation process. The deadline model is single-stage.

Success Rates: The success rate cannot be determined from the provided information. The call aims to provide financial support to up to 75 Circular Food MSMEs (up to 15 per Hub City).

Co-funding Requirement: Co-funding is not explicitly required, but the grant support is envisioned to facilitate access to other private funding by attracting private finance (loan, equity) as part of a blended finance approach.

Summary:

The AfriFOODlinks project, sponsored by the European Commission, is launching an Open Call for Grant Financing for Circular Food MSMEs in five Hub Cities: Mbale (Uganda), Kisumu (Kenya), Cape Town (South Africa), Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), and Tunis (Tunisia). The goal is to provide financial support to up to 75 MSMEs (up to 15 in each city) with grants ranging from €1,000 to €50,000. The total funding available is €250,000, with €50,000 allocated per city. The grants aim to improve the circularity, internal processes, and capabilities of these MSMEs to meet market demands for healthy and nutritious diets.

To be eligible, applicants must be pioneering MSMEs in the circular food sector within the specified cities and must have participated in the AfriFOODlinks incubation and training programs in their respective Hub City. The application process involves submitting a complete application form online with required supporting documents, including a signed Declaration of Honour. During the contracting phase, recipients must provide bank account information, a confirmation letter, and a sub-grant agreement.

Applications must be submitted in English for Mbale, Kisumu, and Cape Town, and in French for Ouagadougou and Tunis. The submission deadline is September 17, 2025, at 23:59 (Brussels time). Applications must be submitted through the AfriFOODlinks website.

The evaluation criteria include impact (20%), excellence (35%), and implementation (35%). Extra points are awarded to businesses that are youth or women majority-owned or have a clear benefit targeting youth or women. The grants will be released in tranches, and grantees must submit a final report at the end of the program. The expected duration of participation is 12 months. The full name of the EU funded project is TRANSFORMING AFRICA’S URBAN FOOD ENVIRONMENTS THROUGH STRENGTHENING LINKAGES BETWEEN FOOD SYSTEMS STAKEHOLDERS IN CITIES ACROSS EUROPE AND THE CONTINENT. The Grant agreement number is 101084322. The topic is HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01-14 - African food cities.