Digital Energy Challenge – Annual Call for Projects

The Digital Energy Facility launched the Digital Energy Challenge in 2021, for a duration of four years, with an annual Call for Projects.

The objective of the Challenge is to support the development of innovative solutions for energy access, the integration of renewable energy and public utility performance improvement.
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 the Digital Energy Facility, a programme co-financed by the European Union, with the participation of ADEME, to support the digitization and modernization of the energy sector.

Benefits

Each year the Challenge will award 2 to 3 utility and technology/service provider partnership projects and 5 to 8 start-up projects. An annual budget from the European Union of €2 M will enable grant-based funding, technical assistance and strategic guidance. Challenge winners can benefit from:

• A financial contribution in the form of a grant for equipment and software purchases, training, recruitment costs for start-ups, and product/service purchase costs linked to technology/service providers for utilities.
• Technical assistance for all utilities and certain start-ups on a case-by-case basis, such as project management support, strategic and technical expertise and accounting/reporting assistance.
• A boot camp run by a cross-sectorial selection of experts to support project implementation, foster synergies between project winners and share best practices.
• Increased visibility for the project through widespread social media communication campaigns piloted by AFD during the selection phase, award ceremony, bootcamp and for a period of time after these events.

Activities included

Projects must have a core element of digital technology (telecom, computer or cloud-based). They must be innovative, either intrinsically or in relation to the local market or country. Finally, projects must be local with project management activities in the country where the project is based.

For the two categories, Start-ups and Utilities, the project scope must address one of three themes:

Eligibility criteria

The Call for Projects is open to start-ups and utilities.

The start-up must meet the following criteria:

• Created less than 10 years ago
• Be in the pre-seed/early-stage financing phase i.e. less than €1M funding raised
• Annual turnover of less than €1M
• Employ between 1 and 99 people full-time.

NGOs can apply under the Start-up category if the project meets one of the additional following criteria:

• The project is set up as a company as a branch of the NGO
• The project has a dedicated team and business plan, and clearly targets business sustainability/profitability (e.g. plans to spin off as an independent entity).

Finally, the start-up’s project must meet one of the three above-mentioned themes and be:

• Digital i.e. based on a telecom, computer or cloud-based technology
• Innovative, either intrinsically or compared to the local market
• Local i.e. headquartered or with project management activities in the country of the project