Deadline Date: August 31, 2026
The Innovation Challenge is requesting applications for innovative solutions that address unmet needs in women’s health and support scalable health innovations in South Africa.
The focus areas of this challenge include women’s health, biotechnology, diagnostic screening solutions, pharmaceutical products, drug delivery solutions, innovation commercialization, entrepreneurship, scalable solutions, and locally relevant technologies that improve access to affordable and effective health solutions.
The Innovation Challenge is launched by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH through the SAVax Programme, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the European Union, in partnership with the South African Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI).
The initiative is implemented as part of the Team Europe Initiative on manufacturing and access to vaccines, medicines, and health technologies in Africa (MAV+). It aims to connect industry-defined challenges with South Africa’s innovation ecosystem, identify critical gaps, accelerate the commercialization of promising innovations, strengthen entrepreneurship, and create sustainable impact in South Africa and other low- and middle-income countries.
The Innovation Challenge consists of two streams. The Biotechnology stream seeks innovative, scalable, and locally relevant diagnostic screening solutions that contribute to reducing the burden of disease affecting women in low- and middle-income countries.
The Pharmaceutical stream seeks innovative, scalable, and locally relevant pharmaceutical products and drug delivery solutions that improve access to affordable and effective therapies for women’s health conditions in low- and middle-income countries.
One winner will be selected from each stream. Each successful applicant will receive a grant of €75,000 to support the further development, validation, and scaling of their innovation.
Eligible applicants must submit a completed application form by the stated deadline, provide required supporting documents, and be a start-up or small business registered in South Africa and compliant with applicable South African laws and regulations, or an independent research group or research group affiliated with an accredited academic or research institution.
Applicants must ensure that their proposed innovation aligns with the Biotechnology or Pharmaceutical thematic focus areas and that they own, co-own, or have the necessary rights to develop and present the proposed innovation.
Applicants must not be subsidiaries of, or have tax liability in, Germany or any European Union member state, and must declare any actual or potential conflicts of interest.
For more information, visit GIZ.
