Water and Energy for Food: A Grand Challenge for Development - Regional Innovation Hubs | WE4F 7200AA20R00004

Opportunity Information: Apply for WE4F 7200AA20R00004

Water and Energy for Food (WE4F): A Grand Challenge for Development is a USAID-led challenge fund, run in partnership with Sweden (through Sida) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, focused on scaling practical innovations at the intersection of food, water, and energy. The core aim is to grow and spread solutions that make agricultural and food value chains more sustainable by improving water and energy efficiency and strengthening climate-resilient agriculture in developing countries and emerging markets. A consistent priority running through the opportunity is impact for people who are typically left out of major innovation pipelines, especially poor communities and women, and alignment with broader Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The opportunity is specifically seeking one organization or a consortium of organizations to operate WE4F Regional Innovation Hubs. These hubs are meant to take the program's overall global framework and turn it into regionally grounded calls for innovations and locally appropriate support packages. In other words, the hubs are not just administrative pass-through entities; they are expected to adapt WE4F guidelines to real market conditions in their regions, identify what kinds of technologies or business models are most needed, and then run processes that attract, select, and support innovators who can deliver measurable improvements across the food-water-energy nexus.

A major feature of the hub model is that support is both financial and non-financial. The hubs are expected to function as a combined financial brokering and technical assistance unit, helping innovators access funding while also providing hands-on support that can include business development, technical refinement, partnerships, and pathways to scale. Beyond supporting applicants who respond to formal calls, the hubs are also responsible for actively identifying promising new innovators and offering relevant assistance to both newer entrants and more established innovators throughout the selection process and after it, indicating an emphasis on sustained scaling rather than one-time awards.

The program design also highlights the importance of building feedback loops between on-the-ground implementation and higher-level decision-making. That means the hubs are expected to generate learning from local conditions and new evidence, then help connect those insights to national and international policy discussions and program decisions. Alongside this, the opportunity stresses capacity development and knowledge management, plus the smart use of financial and non-financial instruments to help create an enabling environment in partner countries. Taken together, this signals that the hubs should strengthen not only individual innovations, but also the broader ecosystem that allows those innovations to survive, scale, and influence practice and policy.

Applicants are instructed to follow region-specific guidance contained in addenda, with at least two regional scopes explicitly referenced: Addendum 1 for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and Addendum 2 for South and Southeast Asia. The funding opportunity is listed as discretionary and categorized under science, technology, and other research and development, with eligibility described as unrestricted, meaning a wide range of applicant types can apply as long as they can meet the program requirements and manage a hub role effectively.

Key opportunity details from the posting include the funding opportunity number WE4F 7200AA20R00004, an award ceiling of $15,000,000, and an original closing date of 2019-12-11 (with a creation date of 2019-11-19). The issuing agency is USAID, with CFDA number 98.001. Overall, this solicitation is centered on building regional platforms that can find high-potential water and energy innovations for agriculture, support them with the right mix of capital and expertise, and help push them into broader adoption with lasting benefits for efficiency, resilience, and inclusive development.

• The USAID in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Water and Energy for Food: A Grand Challenge for Development - Regional Innovation Hubs" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 98.001.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2019-11-19.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2019-12-11. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $15,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

Apply for WE4F 7200AA20R00004

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: