KijaniSpace Space-IoT Innovation Programme

The KijaniSpace Space-IoT Innovation Programme supports up to five East African SMEs and start-ups to improve an existing agriculture-related product, service or application using Copernicus Earth Observation data, Internet of Things tools and other Space-IoT Box resources. The programme focuses on climate-smart crop farming, fish farming and related applications in the Great Lake Victoria Basin. What selected teams receive • Up to €5,000 for eligible costs linked directly to the approved innovation experiment. • Access to Space-IoT Box resources, datasets, tools and documentation. • Technical training in Copernicus, Earth Observation and IoT resources. • Business development support, mentoring and pitch preparation. • Product and market validation with users and customers. • An in-person final showcase in Kenya. The grant is paid in two stages: 20% as pre-financing and the remaining eligible amount after the final report and deliverables are approved. Funding may cover approved testing, product improvements, new Copernicus or IoT-enabled features, data collection, user validation, technical documentation and participation in programme activities. Costs must follow the sub-grant agreement. Programme and selection process Applicants propose an experiment that explains the climate-smart agriculture challenge, how Copernicus and Space-IoT resources will improve the existing solution, the planned outputs, the value to users in the target countries and a realistic budget. Proposals first receive completeness and eligibility checks, then three evaluators score excellence, impact and implementation. Tied scores are resolved through a consensus meeting, and all applicants are informed of the outcome. Training and business development support are scheduled for January to February 2027, experiment implementation and validation continue into May 2027, and the final showcase and reporting close by June 2027. Deadline note KijaniSpace's LinkedIn announcement states 16 October 2026 at 16:00 East Africa Time, while the official programme webpage currently displays 16 November 2026 and also contains a January 2027 call timeline. Tech Kaizen lists 16 October 2026 at 16:00 EAT as the safer deadline. Applicants should submit by that earlier time and check the organiser's page for any correction. How to apply Use the official proposal template, prepare the proposal in English as a PDF and submit it through the online form linked from the KijaniSpace programme page. Email applications are not accepted.

Applicants must: • Be a legally established single organisation operating in Kenya, Uganda or Tanzania. • Be an SME or start-up with an existing agriculture-related product, service or application. • Propose an improvement connected to crop farming, fish farming or another climate-smart agriculture use case. • Use Copernicus together with Earth Observation, IoT or other Space-IoT Box-supported resources. • Submit only one proposal. A team member may not participate in more than one funded proposal. • Submit the provided proposal template in English as a PDF through the official online form. The programme does not accept consortium applications or ideas without an existing solution. Funding is restricted to eligible, approved experiment costs and is not paid entirely in advance.