Introduction and Background

I’m thrilled to share an exciting new research funding opportunityfrom the African Engineering and Technology Network (Afretec) focused on driving inclusive digital transformation across Africa.

Afretec, an initiative spearheaded by Carnegie Mellon University Africa, just announced a call for proposals for collaborative seed grants up to $50,000 to support pioneering research related to digital technologies.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicant teams must consist of Principal Investigator (PI) researchers from at least two Afretec member universities namely The American University in Cairo, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Lagos, University of Nairobi, University of Rwanda and the University of Witwatersrand.

• Additional PIs from non-Afretec African universities are eligible to be part of the application team and receive funding under this seed grant. Additional institutions that are not African universities can be engaged but cannot receive any resources through the seed grant.

• A researcher can serve as a lead PI for their university on only one Inclusive Digital Transformation Research Grant Seed Grant proposal. A person can be a PI or co-PI on only one active Afretec-funded research grant or seed grant at a time.

Grant details

Dates and Details
Start Date	June 1, 2024
Award Period	up to 12 months
Disciplines	Multi-institution collaborative Engineering and Technology research projects related to the inclusive digital transformation of Africa
Maximum Award	$50,000
Estimated Awards	It is expected that a total of 11 grants; up to 3 grants will be awarded per research cluster and up to 3 in other research areas depending on the quality of submissions and availability of funds.
Submission Deadline	Friday, January 26, 2024 at 17:00 Central African Time
Submission Procedure	Proposals are to be submitted via this submission portal by the above Submission Deadline.