SGCI Academic Symposium Showcases the Strength of Intra-Africa Collaboration

At a time when African research systems are increasingly shaping global scientific conversations, the 2025 Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) Academic Symposium held in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, offered a compelling demonstration of how SSA public research funders are driving collaboration, innovation, and impact. Co-hosted by the Research Council of Zimbabwe (RCZ), the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa and the German Research Foundation (DFG), the symposium brought together researchers from 10 countries for an intensive two-day engagement focused on enhancing research impact, strengthening ethical practice, and showcasing a new cohort of SGCI-funded bilateral research projects.

The central message that emerged throughout the symposium is that African public funders are not only investing in science, but they are also shaping a collective continental research agenda grounded in cooperation, equity, and shared purpose. The programme was structured to build researchers’ capacities while strengthening the connective tissue between African science systems.

The symposium opened with a full-day workshop dedicated to research impact and ethics. Experts guided participants through practical approaches to designing research for societal benefit, exploring how impact should be integrated throughout the research lifecycle, from conceptualisation to legacy planning. Researchers examined examples of academic, social, and economic impact and reflected on how to design pathways that engage communities, policymakers, and stakeholders from the outset. The complementary session on responsible research practices reinforced the importance of trust, transparency, fairness, and inclusivity, principles that underpin the credibility and long-term influence of African science.

These reflections set the stage for the high-energy project showcases that followed. Structured around five thematic clusters, the presentations highlighted the breadth and ambition of 25 newly funded SGCI bilateral research projects. These project teams, spanning East, West, Central, and Southern Africa, demonstrated the power of intra-Africa collaboration in addressing shared development challenges.

• In sustainable agriculture, food systems and rural livelihoods, research teams are exploring innovations such as AI-enabled cooling systems for dairy farming, cassava value chain upgrades, leather sector revitalisation, and agro-ecology initiatives for school communities.
• The AI, smart technologies and industrial innovation cluster is focusing on locally developed AI applications for manufacturing, water purification, soil testing, and supply chain optimisation.
• In health, biotechnology and medicinal innovation, researchers are investigating the therapeutic potential of African medicinal plants, biotechnological approaches to sustainable feed production, and pathways for diversified industrial utilisation.
• The sustainable mining and resource utilisation cluster is engaged in cross-country investigations into predictive mine reclamation, responsible value addition, and improved recovery of by-products in artisanal and small-scale mining.
• Climate, renewable energy and environmental sustainability teams are studying innovations in solar-powered cold rooms, circular bioenergy systems, and climate-smart agriculture suited to changing environmental conditions.

Throughout the symposium, researchers emphasised the transformative role of African public funders in enabling such partnerships. Funders not only provide financial investment but also nurture an ecosystem that supports collaboration, infrastructure sharing, and long-term scientific relationships.

The symposium concluded with a policy and practice dialogue that brought funders, researchers, and policymakers together to consider how research evidence can better influence national and regional decision-making. The discussion reaffirmed that collaborative research funding accelerates innovation, strengthens institutional capacity, and contributes to resilient knowledge systems across the continent.

Importantly, the SGCI Academic Symposium served as the formal inception meeting for all 25 newly funded bilateral projects, marking the beginning of multi-country scientific partnerships designed to deliver impact for African societies. Hosted at the same time as the 2025 Global Research Council (GRC) Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Meeting, the parallel convening was intentionally designed to connect public funders with the very researchers they support, reinforcing alignment between policy ambition and research practice and showcasing Africa’s growing leadership in shaping its own research future.