Context
Africa's digital economy holds vast potential for climate-friendly innovation, yet structural challenges persist. While climate-tech startups are on the rise, they are constrained by inadequate infrastructure, gender disparities, and limited financing. Women account for only 30% of the tech workforce in Africa, and in 2023 African startups receive just 1% of global venture capital investment. These realities, combined with weak connections between research and entrepreneurship, risk reinforcing Africa’s role as a consumer—not producer—of technology.
SPARK directly addresses these challenges by building on the vision and foundations laid by initiatives such as the African-European Digital Innovation Bridge, which has promoted transcontinental collaboration, strengthened digital ecosystems, and supported the development of Digital Innovation Hubs. SPARK advances these priorities by expanding the focus to include climate-resilient innovation, gender responsive and science-commercialization linkages.
Objective
Africa's technology sector is able to implement climate-friendly, gender-equitable and research-based innovations more efficiently.
Approach
SPARK adopts a systems-based approach to accelerate climate tech and research based innovations, gender responsiveness and inclusive digital development by:
• Bridging research and entrepreneurship: Strengthening the capacities of African researchers and institutions to translate scientific outputs into commercially viable solutions
• Empowering innovation hubs: Supporting Pan-African and regional innovation intermediaries, particularly those led by women, to deliver targeted startup support
• Facilitating access to capital: Co-developing blended and alternative financing instruments suited for climate-tech startups in Africa. Setting up a grant financing aimed at collaboration projects and startups to unlock further investment
• Building partnerships: Facilitating multi stakeholder collaboration approach between both African and European