Big win for African researchers as AU launches Sh7bn grant

The African Union Commission (AUC) has launched a landmark US$50 million (approximately 7 billion) initiative to fund transformative policy research across the continent.

AUC is working in partnership with the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) and the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD),

Dubbed the African Think Tank Project, the five-year program is supported by the World Bank and aims to strengthen Africa’s policy research ecosystem.

It will provide funding to African think tanks, research institutions, and policy centers to drive evidence-based policymaking on priority themes.

Target themes include economic transformation, governance, climate change, regional trade, food security, digitalisation and human capital.

“This is not just a project,” AUC Deputy Chairperson Ambassador Selma Haddadi said during the launch in Addis Ababa.

“It is a long-term asset for building Africa’s capacity to define, assess, and advance its own development priorities.”

Haddadi underscored the alignment of the initiative with Africa’s Agenda 2063, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and World Bank strategies.

She called on African Union Member States to create enabling environments for policy research, including long-term funding and stronger links between data producers and decision-makers.

The initiative invites African policy institutions to submit high-quality proposals focused on at least four of the six regional priority themes identified under the project.

Proposals are expected to generate locally relevant, evidence-based analysis and offer actionable recommendations.

Abdrahmane Dicko, ACBF’s Director of Programs and Impact, described the grant opportunity as a moment for Africa’s think tanks to take the lead in shaping solutions to the continent’s most pressing challenges.

“We gather not just as institutions, but as architects of Africa’s renaissance,” Dicko said, encouraging broad participation from the continent’s policy community.

The World Bank’s Lead Economist Samer Al-Samarrai stressed the importance of investing in think tanks, noting that even modest funding in policy research can lead to transformative reforms.

“African think tanks are central to the success of regional integration and inclusive economic growth,” he said.

Africa continues to grapple with complex, cross-border challenges that require coordinated and informed policy responses.

From climate change and trade integration to food sovereignty and digital transformation, the need for African-led, data-driven solutions has never been more urgent.

Faten Aggad, Deputy Chief of Staff at the AUC, called on consortia to submit proposals that reflect the depth and complexity of Africa’s policy landscape.

“It is a structural response to a systemic need to elevate African-generated and African-owned evidence as a cornerstone of policymaking,” Aggad said.

The African Think Tank Project is focused on building sustainable policymaking platforms and promoting collaboration among African research and policy institutions.

It seeks to cement the role of local think tanks as key actors in shaping the continent’s future through homegrown solutions.