The Challenges Group are seeking innovative technology organisations and in-country partners to collaborate with on Energy Catalyst Round 11 applications.

The Challenges Group have successfully collaborated with innovators in a commercial advisory capacity across several rounds of competitive Energy Catalyst funding to create new or improved clean energy access in sub-Saharan Africa. In the past3 years, we have played a leading role in helping innovators secure ~£2m from this funding stream.

For Energy Catalyst Round 11, we are seeking both innovative organisations with solutions to scale, and in-country partners with tangible and specific innovation challenges, to co-develop winning concepts that help create an inclusive energy transition.

Energy Catalyst Funding Competition – Scope

Projects must aim to catalyse access to affordable, clean energy services for poor households, enterprises and social institutions in official development assistance (ODA) eligible countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the Indo-Pacific region, or South Asia. It must do this by supporting the development, testing or scale up of innovative technologies or business models.

A clear social or economic benefit in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia or the Indo-Pacific Region is required. This can include:

• Creating new energy access in unserved regions
• Improving existing access to provide a more reliable service

‍Funding stages

Organisations will apply for an anticipated share (to be confirmed shortly) of up to £7 million in total across the3 stages:

• Early Stage* – providing funding for feasibility studies projects, run between 3-12 months and have total project costs between £50,000 and £300,000
• Mid Stage* – providing funding for industrial research projects run between 6-24 months and have total project costs between £50,000 and £1.5m
• Late Stage* – providing funding for experimental development projects run between 6-36 months and have total project costs between£50,000 and £5m
• ‍* These figures are based on Energy Catalyst Round 10 and are provided as an indication of what we anticipate for Round 11, though final details may differ.

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Timeline

• 5 January2026 – Competition opens
• 25 March 2026 (11:00amUK) – Competition closes
• 18 May 2026 – Applicants notified
• 19 May 2026 – Successful applicant briefing
• 1 August2026 – Project start from

How We Collaborate

The Challenges Group is keen to engage with organisations through two routes as part of Energy Catalyst Round 11:

• Innovator-led proposals – We welcome approaches from both UK and globally-based technology innovators who already have a concept or solution aligned to the Energy Catalyst remit. We can provide IUK-appropriate project scoping, application development and commercial advisory support, as well as help identify and connect with suitable in-country partners.
• Challenge-led consortium building – In parallel, we are actively engaging with partners in ODA-eligible countries – including corporates, SMEs, utilities, and institutions – to define high-priority innovation challenges linked to the clean energy transition. These challenges will form the basis for building new, “demand-led” consortium bids, bringing together UK and in-country actors to co-develop impactful, locally appropriate solutions.

About The Challenges Group

The Challenges Group is a family of companies committed to creating a more prosperous world. We believe SMEs and in situ development are the growth engine of an economy, and that being resilient is vital in order to grow sustainably.

Challenges has been operating globally for 26 years, from South America to Far East Asia. Since 1999, we’ve operated in more than 80 countries, supporting more than 5,000 impact ventures and enterprises and tens of thousands of people. Each year we partner with hundreds of companies across East, West and Southern Africa and the UK, where we have established offices and full-time teams in Ghana, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania and Scotland.

We offer a range of operational, implementation and advisory services. These include: business development, modelling and acceleration, market and value chain assessments, commercial linkages, field trialling and prototype testing, investment readiness, recruitment, joint ventures, and project management. Our lean approach means we can tailor a cost-effective and flexible solution to any venture.

We also support long-term commercial developments in both rural and urban rural communities, forging strategic linkages and growing small and medium enterprises (SMEs). And thanks to our extensive network of SMEs and expertise, we are in a prime position to support larger companies within urban centres, such as manufacturers, banks and insurers, to design new products focused upon the needs of SMEs.

The Challenges Group has a long list of currentclients and an even longer list of successes. We’ve both lead and worked within several Innovate UK consortiums(including on biogas, solar, clean cookstove and hydro projects), as well as with governments, businesses, NGOs and other agencies, both in the public and privatesector. We have an unrivalled network of consultants, experts and partners.

Interested in finding out more about the Energy Catalyst Programme

Email: Ross Isdale, Business Development Manager, Challenges Catalyst.

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