The FoodSafety4Africa (FS4Africa) Open Call 2 is now accepting applications from eligible innovation hubs seeking funding to deliver training, mentoring and business acceleration support for food safety innovators, entrepreneurs and startups.
The initiative has a total funding budget of €200,000, with at least five projects expected to be selected. Each successful project can receive up to €40,000 in financial support.
About FS4Africa
FS4Africa is a Horizon Europe-funded initiative focused on improving food safety systems across Africa, particularly within the informal sector. The project seeks to strengthen food safety innovation, support local market transformation and promote solutions that can contribute to food security, regional trade, health and environmental sustainability.
The second open call is specifically targeted at innovation hubs that can provide structured training, mentoring and acceleration support to food business entrepreneurs, startups and beneficiaries of the first FS4Africa open call.
The goal is to help innovative businesses and projects strengthen their business models, improve market readiness, develop sustainable growth strategies and scale their solutions.
Why This Opportunity Matters
The FS4Africa Open Call 2 offers innovation hubs an opportunity to access up to €40,000 while contributing to the development of stronger food safety innovation ecosystems.
Beyond the funding, selected organisations will play a role in helping entrepreneurs and startups improve their business models, access markets, strengthen their investment readiness and develop solutions capable of creating wider impact across African and European food systems.
Funding Available
The Open Call 2 has a total budget of:
Total funding: €200,000
Maximum funding per project: €40,000
Number of projects: At least 5
Funding mechanism: Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP)
The maximum financial contribution available to an individual selected project is €40,000.
Who Can Apply?
The call is designed specifically for innovation hubs and organisations capable of delivering structured capacity-building programmes.
Applicants must:
Be a legal entity established in an eligible Horizon Europe country.
Apply as a single entity.
Submit only one proposal.
Have the capacity to design and deliver training and mentoring activities.
Be able to support food safety entrepreneurs, startups and innovation projects.
Demonstrate relevant organisational, technical and/or business expertise.
Consortium applications are not allowed. FS4Africa will accept only one entity per proposal.
What Will Selected Organisations Do?
Successful applicants will be required to develop and implement a structured programme containing at least six training and mentoring activities during the project implementation period.
These activities must have clearly defined:
Objectives
Target beneficiaries
Learning outcomes
Delivery methods
Follow-up actions
Measurable outputs
Simple lectures without structured training, mentoring, measurable outcomes or alignment with FS4Africa objectives will not be sufficient.
1. Support Open Call 1 Beneficiaries
Applicants must provide at least two training activities supporting at least two different Open Call 1 beneficiaries.
The training should respond to the specific needs of the supported projects and relevant food safety challenges.
2. Support FS4Africa Use Cases
Applicants must also deliver at least four training and mentoring activities for actors involved in one or more FS4Africa Use Cases.
The selected Open Call 2 projects will coordinate their activities with other successful applicants to ensure that the different FS4Africa Use Cases receive balanced support and that activities do not unnecessarily overlap.
What Can the Training and Mentoring Cover?
The programme may support areas including:
Refining business value propositions
Identifying target markets
Strengthening business models
Developing sustainable revenue streams
Improving financial sustainability
Social innovation
Community engagement
Gender inclusion
Local ecosystem integration
Business scaling and replication
Market access
Regulatory awareness
Ecosystem integration
Impact measurement
Investment readiness
Training may be delivered through online courses, webinars, interactive workshops, mentoring clinics and other structured capacity-building formats.
Programme Timeline
Successful projects are expected to begin implementation in February 2027 and run for eight months, ending in September 2027.
The implementation will take place in three phases:
Phase 1 – Design
February 2027: 1 month
Selected organisations will develop their training activity plan.
Phase 2 – Development
March–July 2027: 5 months
Training and mentoring activities will be delivered.
Phase 3 – Validation
August–September 2027: 2 months
Projects will validate results and submit their final training activity report.
Grant Payment Structure
The €40,000 maximum grant is distributed in three stages:
20% during the Design phase
50% during the Development phase
30% during the Validation phase
Payments are linked to the required project deliverables.
Important Dates
Application period: 18 May – 31 August 2026
Application deadline: 31 August 2026, 17:00 CET. With the deadline approaching, eligible organisations should prepare and submit their proposals before the closing time.
How to Apply
Applications must be submitted digitally through the OpenCalls.fund platform.
Applicants should review the official Open Call documents, including the Applicants’ Guide, proposal template, budget template, Declaration of Honour, FAQs and model sub-grant agreement, before submitting their proposal.
Apply through the official FS4Africa Open Call page:
FS4Africa Open Call 2 – Official Application Page