Completed Engineering Public Health & Healthcare

KTN – DFID GCRF Africa Support

Funder InnovateUK (part of UKRI)
Recipient organisation Knowledge Transfer Network Limited
Funding £9.2M
Period Jan 2019 — Mar 2025

In plain English

AI plain-English summary

A six-year UK-funded project is building stronger innovation partnerships between the UK and three African countries—Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa—to create jobs and economic growth. The project, called Global Alliance Africa, addresses a persistent gap: innovation ecosystems in these countries often lack the connections, investment, and governance structures needed to turn ideas into viable businesses. Without these links, promising startups and local solutions struggle to scale, and UK expertise remains disconnected from African markets and challenges. If successful, the project will strengthen the pipeline for investment, improve how governments support innovation, and help innovators share best practices across borders. This could mean more local jobs, better access to new technologies, and stronger supply chains in sectors such as agriculture, clean energy, and manufacturing. It also aims to make UK-Africa knowledge partnerships more coordinated and mutually beneficial. The project is not fundamental science—it is an applied programme focused on convening stakeholders, enabling collaboration, and exchanging knowledge. Its impact will be measured in partnerships formed, investments secured, and innovations brought to market.

View original technical description
Global Alliance Africa is a six-year project jointly funded by UK Aid through Innovate UK (GCRF) and FCDO. The overall objectives of Global Alliance Africa are to build stronger UK-African and Pan-African knowledge and innovation partnerships that lead to mutual socio-economic benefits for African partner countries and the UK. Our innovative project is structured around the following approaches: Convene: In helping investors, innovators and governments to connect, the Global Alliance Africa will open new doors for job creation and economic growth in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa. Collaborate: Global Alliance Africa will work closely with other initiatives from the UK Government to ensure a more aligned approach to UK support for innovation in Africa. Enable: Through collaboration and training, Global Alliance Africa will create opportunities for champions of innovation to share their work with one another. Global Alliance Africa will not only facilitate new connections but will allow them to grow organically. Exchange knowledge: By encouraging sharing and learning, we aim to showcase the latest ideas and best practice in innovation ecosystem at local, national and international stages. Project objectives will be achieved through four core interventions to drive positive change: Open Innovation, Place-Based Innovation, Innovation Governance Knowledge Exchange and Strengthening the Investment Pipeline. To find out more visit our website at: https://ktn-uk.org/programme/africa/

View the original record at the funder ↗

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Original classification

CR&D Bilateral

Plain English summaries and category classifications on this site are generated by AI and may not perfectly reflect the original research.