Use Case 3 attracted the highest level of interest, being selected by 54% of all applicants, closely followed by Use Case 2 (52%). Use Case 1 was addressed by 44% of proposals, while Use Case 4 was selected by 35%.

The submissions also demonstrate considerable cross-thematic engagement. While 122 proposals (44%) focused on one Use Case, 98 (36%) addressed two Use Cases, 31 (11%) covered three, and 25 proposals (9%) proposed activities spanning all four FS4Africa Use Cases.

This distribution highlights the potential of the Innovation Hubs to provide support that extends across individual food safety challenges, strengthening knowledge exchange and capacity building within the wider FS4Africa ecosystem.

Connecting Innovation Hubs with Open Call 1 Sub-projects

A central objective of Open Call 2 is to connect Innovation Hubs with the innovative food safety solutions supported through FS4Africa Open Call 1, providing targeted training, mentoring and capacity-building activities that can contribute to their further development and uptake.

Interest was distributed across the full portfolio of the 10 Open Call 1 sub-projects, demonstrating the potential for the selected Innovation Hubs to create new connections across the FS4Africa innovation ecosystem.

The most frequently selected OC1 sub-project was Omena-Safe, identified by 92 proposals (33%), followed by SokoSafe with 84 (30%), Yuca-CHV with 78 (28%), Farmsured–Foodsured with 77 (28%), and AQUA-SAFE with 74 (27%).

The results demonstrate broad interest across the entire portfolio of OC1 food safety innovations and provide a strong basis for establishing connections between innovators and Innovation Hubs, facilitating access to relevant expertise, training, mentoring and innovation-support services.

Strengthening the FS4Africa Innovation Ecosystem

The strong response to FS4Africa Open Call 2 reflects more than high participation. It demonstrates the willingness of Innovation Hubs and innovation-support actors to contribute their expertise and capacities to the food safety solutions and challenges already being addressed within FS4Africa.

Through targeted training, mentoring, capacity building and knowledge exchange, the selected Innovation Hubs will complement the technical innovation generated within FS4Africa, support the development of the Open Call 1 sub-projects and strengthen the capacities of actors working to address food safety challenges across Africa.

Building Capacity for Safer Food Systems Across Africa

The strong response to the FS4Africa Open Call 2 reflects a growing network of innovation-support actors ready to contribute to the transformation of food safety systems across Africa. Its wide geographical reach, strong alignment with the FS4Africa Use Cases and extensive interest in the Open Call 1 sub-projects demonstrate the potential to connect food safety innovation with the expertise, networks and support structures needed for its development and uptake.

As the selected Innovation Hubs start turning their proposed activities into action, they will help strengthen the capacities of FS4Africa innovators through training, mentoring and knowledge exchange, while fostering new connections across the project’s innovation ecosystem. In doing so, Open Call 2 will contribute to building safer, more resilient and innovation-driven food systems, particularly within Africa’s informal sector.