KijaniSpace (GreenSpace in Swahili) is a highly innovative initiative built on the foundation of previous successful AU-EU collaborations and partnerships in the fields of space, IoT, climate and agriculture. The vision of the project is to extend the use of Copernicus Earth observation data for the application of climate-smart agriculture in Africa to regional research and innovation development. To enhance the use of Copernicus data by local African stakeholders, we have proposed several practical but innovative approaches. First of all, Copernicus data should be integrated into the local IoT dataset to enhance the local context, users and market needs of the application. Therefore, the project proposed to develop a Space-IoT Solution Box (called KijaniBox, GreenBox in Swahili ) that integrates the existing platform, tools and dataset for simplified local availability and accessibility. Using the KijaniBox EO and IoT resources, the project will launch two programs, one called Training Program for skills development and creation of minimum viable products and another Innovation Program for SMS innovation experiments. In addition, the project will conduct the pilot demonstration of two agricultural applications (crop farming and fish farming). Finally, the project will engage the various local and international stakeholders and actors with a multi-stakeholder approach to co-create innovation and collaboration environments. KijaniBox is a highly innovation-oriented consortium composed of thirteen (13) companies, six European and seven African partners from seven (7) different countries. The concept of the KijaniSpace project is being piloted in the Great Lake Victoria basin region. The ultimate aim of KijaniSpace is to pave the way for long-term sustainable economic growth and green job creation in Africa and Europe through Copernius and IoT.

KijaniBox is a highly innovative project that will accelerate the African green transition and provide energy access for small businesses along the food supply chain. The target is to leverage the organic waste and transform them into green energy for cooling and refrigeration applications in order to prevent food losses and sanitary risks. The project aims to demonstrate the concept in 3 pilot sites in partnership with local waste management companies, food value chain actors and cold supply chain industries. In order to implement the concept, the project proposes highly innovative approaches called “Green Transition Enablers”. These are i) KijaniBox System itself, a small-scale, off-grid, industrial-grade waste to cooling system ii) Application Solution Boxes (ASB), application specific KijaniBox solution for three use cases iii) Co-creation Factory, enabling the local manufacturing capabilities for cost-effective solution, and finally iv) Business-in-a-Box, a comprehensive toolkit for entrepreneurs and stakeholders business support in order to ensure successful take-up and commercialization of the solution. KijaniBox is a highly innovative driven consortium composed of fourteen (14) entities, 7 European and 7 African partners, coming from 6 different countries. The ultimate target of KijaniBox is to pave the way for long-term sustainable economic growth and job creation opportunities in Africa and Europe.