African Union Enterprise Africa Network Fellowship Programme 2026/2027

2. Services Cluster

This cluster covers enterprises delivering services, including:

• Information and communications technology (ICT) and digital services
• Financial technology (fintech)
• Health
• Logistics and transport

A digital services company, for instance, might use the programme to assess potential customers in other African markets, refine its expansion strategy or identify opportunities for commercial partnerships.

Businesses should verify that their principal activities fit one of the programme's stated sectors before considering a future application.

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants for Cohort 2 were required to meet the programme's enterprise-level eligibility conditions. The published call focused on formally registered, operating businesses rather than unregistered ideas or pre-launch ventures.

General requirements

Applicants were expected to:

1. Operate a formally registered business in an African Union member state.
2. Have operated for at least two years.
3. Employ a minimum of three full-time staff.
4. Operate in one of the programme's seven eligible sectors.
5. Demonstrate that the business has progressed beyond the idea stage and has evidence of market activity.
6. Identify a clear business or market challenge that the fellowship could help address.
7. Provide accurate information about the enterprise, including its registration, operations, workforce and commercial activities.
8. Meet the requirements of one of the three enterprise tiers.

The programme particularly encouraged applications from women-led enterprises and businesses in underrepresented African Union regions and small island member states.

The Three EAN Fellowship Tiers

Applicants were categorised according to the maturity and growth needs of their businesses. The published allocation for the 100 fellowship places was divided across three tiers.

Tier 1: Growth

• Planned places: 35
• Business age: Approximately 2–5 years
• Workforce: At least three employees
• Business profile: An operating enterprise with demonstrable market traction

This tier is intended for businesses that have established a presence in their market and want to improve their operations, strengthen their commercial strategy and explore opportunities for further growth.

Suitable businesses might be looking to understand customer demand more accurately, improve product positioning, strengthen their intellectual property strategy or assess whether their products or services could succeed in additional African markets.

Tier 2: Expansion

• Planned places: 40
• Business age: Approximately 5–10 years
• Workforce: Generally 10–30 employees
• Business profile: An established enterprise with cross-border expansion ambitions

The Expansion tier is designed for businesses that have developed a stronger operating base and are considering growth beyond their current market.

These enterprises may need to identify suitable distributors, understand regional market requirements, assess competition in other countries or build partnerships that can support cross-border trade.

Tier 3: Scale-Ready

• Planned places: 25
• Business age: Generally 10 years or more, or an investor-ready profile
• Business profile: An enterprise preparing for more advanced growth and commercial opportunities

The Scale-Ready tier is intended for businesses with the maturity or investment readiness to pursue larger-scale opportunities. The official criteria allow for an investor-ready profile as an alternative to the ten-year operating history, so a business should consult the published call rather than relying on business age alone.

This tier places particular emphasis on business-to-business matchmaking and opportunities to build relationships that may support further commercial expansion.

The tier descriptions are intended to guide placement. Businesses should check the official call and application form for the precise requirements that apply to their circumstances.

Fellowship Benefits

The EAN Fellowship provides business-development support rather than functioning as a conventional academic scholarship. Its principal value lies in training, expert guidance, market intelligence and opportunities to develop commercial relationships.

1. Twelve months of structured business training

Selected fellows are expected to participate in a 12-month programme consisting of ten training modules. The modules are differentiated according to the enterprise's sector and growth tier, allowing the training to address the needs of businesses at different stages of development.

Depending on the enterprise's circumstances, relevant learning areas may include business strategy, market development, competitiveness and preparation for regional trade. Applicants should consult the programme's official materials for the detailed module curriculum.

2. Expert mentorship

Fellows receive mentorship through African Union partners. This provides an opportunity to receive guidance relevant to their business challenges, growth plans and commercial objectives.

Mentorship is particularly useful when a business needs to assess its readiness for expansion, clarify its target markets or develop a more structured approach to pursuing new customers and partners.

3. Access to African Trade Observatory resources

Participants gain access to the African Trade Observatory (ATO) and AfCFTA-related market intelligence tools. These resources can help businesses investigate trade patterns and identify potential market opportunities.

Market intelligence is valuable because expanding into another country involves more than finding prospective customers. Businesses need to understand demand, competitors, distribution arrangements and other factors that influence whether entering a market is commercially realistic.

4. Virtual market-entry sessions

Tier 1 and Tier 2 fellows are expected to participate in virtual market-entry sessions covering ten pilot countries associated with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

These sessions are intended to help businesses explore possible entry points into additional markets and better understand the opportunities and challenges involved in cross-border trade.

Participation does not guarantee that an enterprise will secure customers, distribution agreements or export contracts.

5. Business-to-business matchmaking

Tier 3 fellows are expected to participate in business-to-business (B2B) matchmaking sessions.

These activities are intended to facilitate connections between enterprises and potential commercial partners. Such relationships may help businesses explore distribution, supply, collaboration or other commercial arrangements, depending on their sector and needs.

6. Intellectual property support

The programme includes intellectual property support, an important consideration for businesses whose value depends on brands, product designs, creative work, technology or other protectable assets.

Understanding intellectual property can help a business consider how to protect its assets and approach commercial partnerships in a more informed way. The precise support available should be confirmed through the programme's official documentation.

7. Continental events and networking

Fellows can participate in continental events and networking activities. These opportunities may help entrepreneurs exchange experience, learn from other businesses and establish relationships across African markets.

8. Support for regional and continental expansion

By combining training, mentorship, trade intelligence and networking, the programme aims to help enterprises prepare for growth beyond their current markets.

The extent to which an enterprise benefits will depend on its readiness, the quality of its business strategy, the relevance of the opportunities identified and its ability to act on the support provided.

Important Funding Information

The published EAN Fellowship announcement describes a business acceleration programme that offers training, mentorship, intellectual property support, market intelligence and market-access activities.

It does not specify a guaranteed cash grant, personal stipend, investment award or direct funding payment for every fellow. Entrepreneurs should therefore not treat the fellowship as a cash-funding opportunity unless the African Union confirms a separate financial benefit in official programme documentation.

Application Process

Applications for Cohort 2 were submitted online. The deadline has passed, but the following outlines the published application requirements for entrepreneurs preparing for a future cohort.

Step 1: Assess the enterprise's eligibility

Confirm that the business is formally registered and operating in an African Union member state, has operated for the required period, employs the minimum number of full-time staff and works in an eligible sector.

Step 2: Identify the appropriate tier

Review the Growth, Expansion and Scale-Ready categories. Select the tier that best reflects the enterprise's operating history, workforce, market traction and growth objectives.

Step 3: Prepare business information

Applicants were asked to provide details such as:

• Business registration information
• Sector and principal business activities
• Years of operation
• Number of employees
• Countries in which the business currently trades
• Relevant revenue information
• Intellectual property status
• Information about access to formal finance

Businesses should ensure that these details are consistent with their records. The African Union warns that misrepresentation can result in immediate disqualification and permanent ineligibility for future EAN Fellowship cohorts.

Step 4: Develop the written business pitch

The application required a written pitch of up to 800 words describing the enterprise, its principal market challenge and its objectives for participating in the fellowship.

A strong pitch should explain what the business does, who its customers are, what evidence demonstrates its progress and which specific challenge it wants to address. It should also explain how the programme's resources could help the enterprise work towards a realistic business objective.

For example, rather than simply stating that a company wants to expand across Africa, an applicant could explain that it has established domestic sales, identified a potential regional customer segment and needs better market intelligence and commercial partnerships to assess expansion opportunities.

The example above is illustrative; applicants should use their own verifiable business information.

Step 5: Prepare supporting financial evidence if requested

The published call stated that shortlisted applicants could be asked to provide one supporting document demonstrating access to formal finance, such as a bank statement, mobile-money statement or equivalent evidence.

This documentation was not required at the initial application stage according to the call. Businesses should follow any instructions issued directly by the programme and avoid sending sensitive financial information through unofficial channels.

Step 6: Submit the online application

Applicants were required to complete the online form and submit it before the deadline. For future cohorts, entrepreneurs should use the official African Union announcement to find the correct application instructions and confirm the opening and closing dates.

How to Prepare a Strong EAN Fellowship Pitch

A clear pitch should be specific, evidence-based and focused on the business challenge the programme can help address.

Consider including the following:

• Business overview: Describe the product or service, target customers and problem the business addresses.
• Evidence of progress: Explain how long the enterprise has operated and provide relevant evidence of customers, sales, contracts, production or other market activity.
• Market challenge: Identify the specific obstacle limiting growth, such as insufficient market intelligence, difficulty finding distribution partners or uncertainty about entering a new country.
• Growth objective: State what the business wants to achieve and why the objective is realistic.
• Relevance of the fellowship: Explain how training, mentorship, trade intelligence or matchmaking could help address the stated challenge.
• Expected results: Identify measurable outcomes the business hopes to pursue, such as assessing a new market, developing a market-entry plan or establishing qualified commercial contacts.

Avoid unsupported claims, inflated revenue figures and generic statements about wanting to become a successful entrepreneur. The pitch should show that the applicant understands the business's present position and has a credible reason for seeking the programme's support.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is the EAN Fellowship open to applicants from all African countries?

The programme is intended for eligible enterprises operating in African Union member states. Businesses must also satisfy the registration, operating-history, staffing and sector requirements.

2. Can an individual apply with only a business idea?

The published call focused on formally registered, operating enterprises that had been active for at least two years and employed at least three full-time staff. An idea that has not yet developed into an eligible operating business would not meet these stated conditions.

3. Is the EAN Fellowship fully funded?

The programme provides business-development support, including training, mentorship, market intelligence and market-access activities. The published announcement does not establish a guaranteed cash grant or stipend for all fellows.

4. How long does the fellowship last?

The programme is designed to run for 12 months.

5. How many fellows will be selected?

The second cohort plans to select 100 enterprises across the African Union's 55 member states. The published tier allocation is 35 Growth places, 40 Expansion places and 25 Scale-Ready places.

6. Which sectors are eligible?

The seven listed sectors are manufacturing, agro-processing, creative industries, ICT/digital, fintech, health and logistics/transport.

7. Can previous EAN Fellowship graduates apply again?

No. Graduates of previous EAN Fellowship cohorts were listed among those ineligible for Cohort 2.

8. What was the application deadline?

The deadline for Cohort 2 was 30 September 2026. Applications have closed. The African Union announcement indicated that results were expected in October 2026 and the programme was scheduled to commence in November 2026.

9. Where can entrepreneurs find official updates?

The African Union Commission's official announcement is the primary source for programme information and future updates:

https://au.int/en/announcement/call-applications-enterprise-africa-network-ean-fellowship-programme-cohort-2-202627

Final Note

The Enterprise Africa Network Fellowship is designed for established African businesses that want to strengthen their operations and explore opportunities in regional and continental markets. Its combination of training, mentorship, trade intelligence and business matchmaking may be particularly relevant to enterprises that have already demonstrated market activity and are ready to plan their next stage of growth.