ADDIS ABABA — The African Union Commission has opened applications for Cohort 2 of the Enterprise Africa Network Fellowship Programme for 2026–2027, continuing efforts to strengthen entrepreneurship and business development across the continent.
The fellowship is an African Union Commission startup-acceleration initiative designed to support African entrepreneurs and emerging enterprises by helping them develop stronger, more competitive, and scalable businesses.
The programme comes as the African Union works to deepen economic integration through initiatives such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). While AfCFTA is designed to expand trade among African countries, achieving its broader goals will also depend on Africa’s ability to produce more of the goods and services traded within the continental market.
Supporting African entrepreneurs could therefore play an important role in creating regional production networks and value chains. Stronger businesses can help African countries move beyond exporting mainly raw materials and importing finished products by increasing local manufacturing, processing, innovation, and service delivery.
The Enterprise Africa Network Fellowship also reflects a broader effort to connect young entrepreneurs and businesses with opportunities created by Africa’s growing integrated market. With AfCFTA bringing together economies across the continent, African enterprises have the potential to expand beyond national borders and reach customers in multiple countries.
For the African Union, entrepreneurship is increasingly connected to the larger goals of Agenda 2063, including job creation, industrialization, economic transformation, and greater intra-African trade.
The opening of applications for the 2026–2027 Enterprise Africa Fellowship highlights an important part of the integration process: Africa’s common market will ultimately depend not only on agreements between governments, but also on African businesses capable of producing, competing, investing, and trading across borders.
Why it matters: If initiatives such as Enterprise Africa help create stronger African-owned companies, they could contribute to making AfCFTA more than a trade-liberalization agreement—helping build interconnected African industries and regional value chains that keep more production, investment, and employment within the continent.