20 May Call for Applications: Business Innovation Programme for African Earth Observation Startups and SMEs     

The African Space Agency and the European Space Agency jointly invite applications from African Earth Observation (EO) startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for the Business Innovation Programme, the flagship support track of the Continental Innovation activity of the Africa–EU Space Partnership Programme (AESPP).

This call is open to African-registered businesses operating in the EO downstream sector. It welcomes the full spectrum of applicants, from early-stage startups to growth-stage and established SMEs developing products, services, data analytics, or applications that use EO data to serve end users in agriculture and food security, climate resilience, water security, and energy and infrastructure. The Business Innovation Programme has been designed to help African EO businesses strengthen their commercial offer, validate their solutions in the market, and grow.

Selected businesses will join a structured 12-month innovation support journey delivered by AESPP and a consortium of African and European specialists. Each selected business will receive €20,000 in milestone-based funding, dedicated mentoring tailored to its stage of development, and direct connections to a pan-African and European network of investors and industry partners. The programme will also include two in-person events bringing the cohort together with mentors, investors, and partners.

Beyond direct support to selected businesses, the Business Innovation Programme will strengthen cooperation between Africa and Europe in the space sector and support the growth of African EO enterprises as drivers of solutions to the continent’s development priorities.

To help interested businesses understand the opportunity, AESPP held an informational webinar on 11 May 2026. Watch the webinar recording.

Programme details

Title: AESPP Continental Innovation — Business Innovation Programme (Cohort 1)

Duration: 12 months of structured innovation support

Cohort size: 10 African EO downstream businesses

Support package: €20,000 in milestone-based funding; dedicated mentoring; pan-African and European network access; two in-person events

Implementation: Jointly implemented by ESA and the African Space Agency, with consortium partners GrowthAfrica, Novaspace, Planetek Italia, and Caribou

Eligibility

The programme is open to three categories of African EO downstream business:

• Startup: under 3 years in operation, pre-revenue or early revenue, TRL 4–6, with early users or pilots.
• Growth-stage SME: 3 to 7 years in operation, minimum USD 50,000 annual revenue, TRL 6–7 (market entry), with paying customers.
• Established SME: 7 or more years in operation, minimum USD 100,000 annual revenue, TRL 7–9 (growth and scale), with an established customer base.

Requirements

In addition to the tier-specific criteria above, all applicants must:

• be legally registered in a Sub-Saharan African Union Member State,
• operate in the EO downstream sector (upstream businesses are not eligible),
• be led by full-time founders, with at least 2 full-time members on the founding team,
• have at least one English-speaking team member able to engage in programme activities,
• commit a key team member to the full 12-month programme, including the two in-person events,
• comply with EU restrictive measures and ITT eligibility requirements,
• not currently benefit from a conflicting funded innovation programme from ESA or the European Commission, and address at least one of the four thematic areas: agriculture and food security, climate resilience, water security, or energy and infrastructure.

Important dates

Informational webinar: 11 May 2026 (recording available here).

Application deadline: 31 May 2026

Application details

Interested businesses should submit their applications through the official application link here. Applications must be submitted in English. Application guidance is available in English, French, and Portuguese on the application page, alongside the How to Apply guidebook and frequently asked questions. Applicants can save their progress and return to complete the form across multiple sessions; AESPP recommends allowing sufficient time, as a high-quality submission may take more than one hour.

For any questions about the application or the programme, please contact innovation@aespp.africa.

About AESPP and Continental Innovation
The AESPP is a co-owned African-European initiative funded by the European Commission under the Global Gateway strategy. Through its Continental Innovation activity, which is jointly implemented by the African Space Agency and the European Space Agency, AESPP supports African EO startups and SMEs with capacity development, innovation support, and connections to investors and partners. Find out more here.