The African Union Development Agency, widely known as AUDA-NEPAD, has officially opened applications for the 2026 edition of its Home Grown Solutions (HGS) Accelerator, a pan-African initiative designed to support innovative African startups tackling healthcare and climate challenges across the continent. The program, supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), marks a major expansion for the accelerator as it broadens its focus beyond healthcare for the first time to include climate resilience ventures.
Applications for the 2026 cohort opened on April 24, 2026, with the deadline set for May 19, 2026. The four-month accelerator program is expected to run between June and September 2026.
According to AUDA-NEPAD, the accelerator operates under the African Union’s Agenda 2063 framework and aligns with the Energize Africa Initiative, both of which aim to strengthen sustainable development and African-led innovation.
The Home Grown Solutions Accelerator was initially launched in response to weaknesses exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The program was designed to strengthen Africa’s health systems by supporting local private-sector solutions capable of addressing gaps in healthcare manufacturing, diagnostics, digital health, and medical logistics.
Since its pilot phase in 2021 and continental expansion in 2022, the accelerator has supported 46 healthcare ventures operating across 36 African countries. According to AUDA-NEPAD, participating companies have collectively raised more than $82 million in additional funding, created over 6,000 jobs, and delivered healthcare services to approximately 48 million patients across Africa.
In 2026, AUDA-NEPAD expanded the initiative to include climate-focused ventures due to what the organization described as the “growing need for climate action in Africa.”
The accelerator now supports startups operating in two primary sectors: healthcare and climate resilience. Healthcare ventures eligible for the program include businesses working in diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, digital health, maternal healthcare, disease prevention, healthcare logistics, and workforce training.
For climate-focused startups, the accelerator targets four key subsectors: clean energy, sustainable mobility, waste and circular economy solutions, and nature-based environmental protection initiatives. Examples include off-grid solar systems, green transportation, recycling technologies, e-waste management, forest restoration, and carbon removal projects.
AUDA-NEPAD described the initiative as one focused on “Home Grown Solutions,” meaning the accelerator prioritizes ventures that are African-led, employ local talent, and operate primarily within African markets.
The organization stated:
“Operate mainly or solely in Africa.”
Eligible startups must also demonstrate strong market traction, growth potential, and ambition to scale across multiple African countries. Healthcare startups must generally be at growth or mature stages, while climate ventures may apply from early-stage through mature-stage development.
Selected ventures will receive a customized four-month acceleration package tailored to their business needs. According to the program description, support areas include strategic advisory services, investment-readiness preparation, partnership development, and access to mentors and investors.
One of the major attractions of the accelerator is its focus on long-term scalability rather than short-term startup exposure. AUDA-NEPAD says participating ventures work directly with experts to strengthen operations, fundraising capabilities, regional expansion strategies, and market positioning.
The accelerator’s broader developmental impact has also drawn attention from regional economic organizations and financial institutions. An African Development Bank project document connected to the initiative noted that the accelerator aims to strengthen AUDA-NEPAD’s institutional capacity while helping African SMEs compete more effectively within regional healthcare and climate ecosystems.
The same report projected that the initiative could help generate new jobs, strengthen local manufacturing systems, and improve Africa’s resilience to future health and environmental shocks.
Analysts say the expansion into climate innovation reflects changing priorities across Africa’s startup ecosystem. In recent years, African entrepreneurs have increasingly developed solutions related to renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture, waste management, and green transportation as climate risks intensify across the continent.
At the same time, the accelerator’s continued healthcare focus remains highly significant for Africa’s development agenda. Many African countries still rely heavily on imported medical equipment and pharmaceutical products, creating vulnerabilities during global supply chain disruptions. Programs like the Home Grown Solutions Accelerator aim to strengthen local production and reduce dependency on external systems.
As Africa’s innovation ecosystem grows, AUDA-NEPAD’s Home Grown Solutions Accelerator is increasingly being viewed as a strategic platform for scaling African built solutions to African challenges. By combining institutional backing from the African Union with technical and investment support from international partners, the accelerator represents a broader push toward self-sustaining innovation across the continent.