The European Union plans to mobilize more than CFAF 480 billion, or €735 million, for research, innovation, higher education and skills development in Africa.
The announcement was made on Monday in Dakar by Thomas Huyghebaert, Deputy Head of the European Union Delegation to Senegal, at the opening of the fourth Regional Conference of Rectors of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) in West Africa.
Under the Horizon Europe program, €650 million in funding, distributed through more than 25 calls for proposals, is expected to be deployed over the 2026-2027 period, the European official said.
The European Union also plans to launch the regional SRIA program, with a budget of €85 million, aimed at supporting higher education, research, skills and innovation across the continent.
“The first activities and calls will be launched next year,” Thomas Huyghebaert said.
This new funding is intended in particular to help better leverage research results and promote their transformation into concrete solutions in several strategic sectors, including health, agriculture, the green transition and employment.
The European official also highlighted the central role of research in the Global Gateway strategy, the European Union’s initiative aimed at supporting investment in partner countries.
“Research is not alongside Global Gateway; in fact, it is at the heart of Global Gateway,” he said.
Launched in 2021, this European strategy aims to mobilize up to €400 billion in sustainable investments worldwide by 2027.
Global Gateway notably targets five priority sectors: digital, transport, health, education and energy.
