The Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) announced that 14 research projects from 4 countries have received funding worth nearly three billion CFA francs. These include countries such as Benin, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Togo.

14 projets de chercheurs ont été financés par le Fonds Afrique-Caraïbes Pacifique (ACP) et l' Union européenne, lors du programme “exploitation of the results of research and innovation in West Africa” (VariWA). This is reported by the West Africa Director of AUF, the structure responsible for implementing the project, Ouidad Tebbaa. According to him, this initiative aims to “ensure the training of aactors in research and innovation, the establishment of mechanisms to support valuation and the promotion of networking between the various actors in the ecosystem”.

In Senegal, four research projects have been set up, including a project on traditional medicine (Gaston Berger University of Saint-Louis) and a project on seeds (Agricultural Research Institute, ISRA). The programme carried out by the AUF, in partnership with the scientific research agencies of the four beneficiary countries, should contribute to the creation of an encouraging environment for research and technology transfer and innovation.