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The 2023 Call for Projects will open on 1st March 2023. If you wish to be added to our mailing list for the next edition, please contact us. The Challenge runs from 2021 to 2024 and is part of the Digital Energy Facility program. Discover the 2022 edition here and the winning projects here. The three themes for the 2022 call for projects are:
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 This call for projects is carried out with the support of the European Union
KEY DATES : 1st March 2023 - Opening of the Call for Projects |
The 2022 Challenge for Utilities is open to projects owned by African public power utilities (including public Independent System Operators, power pools, regional organisations, energy regulators and rural electrification authorities) in a partnership with an innovative technology/service provider. Candidates can request support to identify a partner when downloading the application pack.
For every annual Call for Projects, 2 to 3 winning utility partnerships will each benefit from:
The project owner must be an African public power utility or organisation. This definition includes public ISO (Independent System Operators), power pools, regional organisations, energy regulators and rural electrification authorities.
The project owner must be in a partnership with a technology/service provider which must meet the following criteria:
The collaborative project must have digital technology as a core element (telecom, computer or cloud-based technology); be innovative either intrinsically or in relation to the local market/country; and be local i.e. have project management activities in the country where the project is based.
Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo Democratic Republic, Congo Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Universal electricity access through mini-grids. Digital innovations in the field of mini-grids to maximize their efficiency and impact:energy management systems for the optimal use of clean and renewable energy,storage systems and algorithms minimizing the use of fossil fuel generators, tools to facilitate interconnections with the main grid and with other mini-grids, systems and algorithms for building-up nanogrids, geospatial data analytics for power demand evaluation and/or credit risk assessment.
Efficient grid management. All ancillary services ensuring a proper operation of the power grid, with a focus on: information availability and communication systems, streamlining Business-As-Usual grid operational management practices. 
Sustainable and cost-effective power systems. Digital-based solutions enabling the development of a greener, more flexible and cost-effective power infrastructure (both generation units and grid): additional renewables capacity, grid stability and flexibility, reduction of losses, increased power availability and service quality.