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About the 2026 FNF Afri GreenPitch Challenge

Westerwelle Startup Haus Mombasa and GreenCape, in partnership with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF), invite innovators and entrepreneurs with economically viable green economy solutions to enter the 2026 FNF Afri GreenPitch Challenge. This exciting Afri edition expands the original GreenPitch Challenge, running annually since 2017 in South Africa, into Southern and East Africa.

Enter your pre-growth (registered, trading and sales-generating – looking for funding) green business solution to stand a chance of pitching to a panel of esteemed judges and investors at "shark tank-style” networking events, to be hosted in Kenya (Nairobi) and South Africa (Cape Town) in September 2026.

Entry requirements

Sectors

Your green economy solution should be placed in one of the following green economy sectors: Circular economy and waste, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, sustainable mobility, water and wastewater.

Business phase

Your green economy solution needs to be in at least the pre-growth (registered, trading and sales-generating – looking for funding) phase.

Geographic location

Your business can be based within the following countries:

Botswana
eSwatini
Kenya
Lesotho
Namibia
South Africa
Tanzania

KEY EVENT DATES

Entries open: 29 May 2026

Entries close: 30 June 2026

Finalists announced: 15 July 2026

Pitch prep workshop: 5 August 2026 (Cape Town, hybrid)

Pitching event (Southern Africa): 3 September 2026

Pitching event (East Africa): 25 September 2026

Who should enter?

Innovators and entrepreneurs with economically viable green economy business solutions in the following sectors: Circular economy and waste, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, sustainable mobility, water and wastewater.

The business idea has to be pre-growth (registered and trading, with sales - looking for series A funding).

Why enter?

GreenCape and Westerwelle Startup Haus Mombasa, supported by FNF Africa, offer their support to innovators and entrepreneurs in the green economy landscape. The winner and finalists of the 2026 FNF Afri GreenPitch Challenge will be awarded a range of cash and in-kind prizes to the value of ~$20 000 (Southern Africa).

Circular Economy

Energy

Sustainable Agriculture

Water

Competition prizes

The winner and finalists of the 2026 FNF Afri GreenPitch Challenge will be awarded a range of cash and in-kind prizes to the value of ~$20 000. These will include but are not limited to:

Cash prize (Winner)
A full-day workshop to all finalists on investment strategies hosted by RMB Ventures (All finalists).
Mentoring support
Access to a network of potential funders to accelerate your business idea.
More to follow ...

2026 FNF GreenPitch Challenge prize sponsors

Watch highlights from the 2025 FNF GreenPitch Challenge:

Watch highlights from the 2024 FNF GreenPitch Challenge:

Building green investment pipeline through early stage green SMME support initiatives:

A series of case studies showcasing FNF GreenPitch Challenge green SMMEs.

Read the following case studies on GreenPitch Challenge alumni:

BioAge (Sustainable agriculture solution)

STROOM (Electric mobility solution)

Terms and conditions apply. See here