The Team Europe Data Governance in Africa Initiative and the Digital and Green Innovation Action (DGI) support data-driven and digital innovations in public service, academia, civic engagement and social enterprises. The initiatives gathered innovators in Kampala to shape the future of a sustainable and digital world.

A week of reflection, strategy, and shared energyFrom 7 to 11 April 2025, the Enabel Innovation Hub hosted a five-day bootcamp that brought together 21 forward-thinking innovation teams from across Africa. These teams are tackling real-world challenges—from plastic waste and child malnutrition to digital education and clean air—with creative, tech-powered solutions. Throughout the bootcamp, innovators from the Digital and Green Innovation Action and Data Governance in Africa initiatives worked side-by-side to design and scale better solutions. The bootcamp offered a mix of practical exercises, field visits, expert-led sessions and peer reflection, giving participants the time and space to step back and reassess the long-term vision of their scaling pathways. 
“This wasn’t just a training—it was a shift in how we think about growth,” - said one of the participants. Over the five days, participants explored key themes such as, 

• How to plan for scale and long-term impact
• Building partnerships that last
• Finding sustainable financing pathways
• A fresh approach to innovation using behavioural science, guided by experts from Brink 

These sessions were built around real-world problem-solving, peer exchange, and actionable insights, creating a collective momentum towards solving our current pressing problems. Axelle Callewier, Knowledge Management Officer at Enabel’s Innovation Hub, explained this best as “The energy in the room was undeniable - it’s incredibly rewarding to feel the collective momentum within this dynamic group of innovators.” 

Looking ahead This bootcamp in Kampala catalysed collaboration, strategic thinking, and inspiration. As the projects and their implementing partners continue to support innovation across Africa and the world, boot camps like these are critical in nourishing the social innovation ecosystem and scaling solutions that truly matter. More on the Digital and Green Innovation Action. The Digital and Green Innovation (DGI) project is a Team Europe initiative uniting the European Union, Germany, France, Belgium, Estonia and the Netherlands. The Digital and Green Innovation Action (DGI) is designed to accelerate digital and green innovation in Africa, Asia and Latin America. It offers tailored support to innovators, facilitates stakeholder events, and organises targeted finance matchmaking to foster collaboration and investment.   

More on the Data Governance in Africa Initiative 
The Team Europe Data Governance in Africa Initiative is implemented with the financial support of the European Union and Belgium, Estonia, Finland, France and Germany as part of the EU Global Gateway Strategy. It supports the African Union (AU) and its Member States in creating human-centric, development-focused data policies at all levels, aiming to harmonize regulations, enable cross-border data flows, and promote investment in secure and sustainable data infrastructure to support a single digital market in Africa.

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