By George Munene
The United Kingdom’s innovation agency, Innovate UK, has set up a Sh380.4 million (£2.5m) African agriculture knowledge transfer partnerships: 2023 to 2024, round 1 funding competition between UK institutions and a knowledge base and business partner registered in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya or South Africa.
Each application must be led by a UK registered knowledge base, working with an African business partner and African knowledge base.
The competition which closes on 22 March 2023 at 11:00am UK time, is sorely meant for projects in:
- primary crop and livestock production, including aquaculture
- non-food uses of crops, excluding ornamentals
- challenges in food processing, distribution or storage, and value addition, such as through a change in the physical state or form of the product
- improving the availability and accessibility of safe, healthy and nutritious foods
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UK registered higher or further education institutions, RTOs or Catapults, can partner with African business or not for profit organisations within the agriculture value chain as well as an African knowledge base partner, i.e, registered higher education or further education institution from the same country as the African business partner and apply for a share of the prize money from the African agriculture Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP).
The ‘UK knowledge base’ will bring new skills and the latest academic thinking into the African business or not for profit organisation ‘business partner’ to deliver a specific, strategic innovation project.
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The project’s total costs must not exceed Sh38M (£250,000) and must be split equally between the UK and the African knowledge base partners at 19M (£125,000) each.
The business partner will be responsible for their own costs and cannot be in the public sector. The project must be between 18 to 24 months.