WASCAL’s Innovative Ideas Competition for Sustainable Energy (WISE)
For the first time, WASCAL is launching the competition “WISE – Innovative Ideas Competition for Sustainable Energy”, aimed at promoting innovative approaches to sustainable energy in West Africa. The call runs from 1 November to 31 December 2025 and is open to young people, researchers, entrepreneurs and organisations from the West African WASCAL member states.
Objective: Innovations for a sustainable energy future in West Africa
The competition is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Spatial Planning (BMFTR) as part of German-West African cooperation. Its goal is to support new scientific, technical and social solutions to improve access to affordable, reliable and clean energy and to advance the expansion of renewable energies and green hydrogen in West Africa. With the competition, WASCAL wants to strengthen the innovative spirit of students, researchers, start-ups and non-profit organisations and thus contribute to the energy transition and sustainable development in the region.
Funding conditions
Projects may be supported with up to EUR 20,000 and should be implemented within 15 months. Eligible are, among others, projects and research ideas in the following areas:
-
Renewable energies and green hydrogen
-
Energy access and energy services in rural areas
-
Energy-water-food nexus
-
Circular economy, biomass and waste utilisation
-
Green mobility and energy efficiency
-
Training, awareness-raising and empowerment of women and girls in the energy sector
Applications can be submitted by individuals, groups or organisations from the West African member countries of WASCAL (including Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo).
Application and selection procedure
Applications must be submitted by 31 December 2025 (23:59 GMT) by e-mail to application.wise@wascal.org.
The best ideas will be selected by an independent expert jury. The selected projects will then be announced at a celebratory kick-off event and supported by WASCAL.
For further information and application documents, see the WASCAL website. www.wascal.org/wise