Are you a Start-up looking to scale up your digital innovation project in the energy sector in Africa?
The 2025 Digital Energy Challenge for Start-ups will reward 3 to 4 Start-ups that are developing digital innovative projects aimed at accelerating access to energy, boosting the energy transition and improving the operational efficieny of players in the energy access and grid services in Africa.
Discover the 2024 edition and the winning projects here.
The aim of the Digital Energy Challenge is to support the development of innovative solutions for increased energy access, to facilitate the integration of renewable energies and to improve energy operators’ performance.
Since the launch in 2020, the Challenge, supported by the European Union, AFD and ADEME, has boosted more than 30 Start-up and Energy Utility projects. Following this success, the Challenge is being conducted for an additional year in 2025. Since 2024 the Digital Energy challenge has become a part of the Digital and Green Innovation Action. The DGI is a joint initiative by the European Union along with Germany, France, Belgium, Estonia, and the Netherlands. Working together as one under the banner of #TeamEurope, the action is dedicated to promoting a people-centered digital and green transformation, utilizing global partnerships and innovative solutions to build a more sustainable future.
The digital revolution is key to tackling energy access issues in developing countries. In Africa alone, 600 million people, 1 out of 2 people in sub-Saharan Africa, do not have access to electricity. Innovative technologies and new business models are making significant progress in energy access with on-grid and off-grid solutions in urban and rural areas.
Contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of ensuring universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy, the AFD implemented Digital Energy, a programme co-financed by the European Union, to support the digitization and modernization of the energy sector.
Check out the 2024 Digital Energy Challenge here and the 11 winning projects here.
