The BioInnovation Academy is a comprehensive training programme that aims at strengthening African capacities to promote biodiversity-based value chains for the benefit of people and nature. Developed by the BMZ-funded BioInnovation Africa (BIA) project and officially launched in October 2025, it addresses a wide variety of actors involved in and/or benefiting from biotrade.
The Academy covers three thematic pillars – Environment; Economics, business and governance; Social aspects – and consists of six modules, which are further subdivided into 26 learning units. All materials are available in English and French. Thanks to its modular structure, the programme is highly flexible, allowing participants to select topics and modules according to their individual needs and interests. Trainers can also adapt modules to suit the requirements of specific audiences.
From the outset, GeoMedia contributed significantly to the development of this programme, including leading the team of subject-matter and didactical experts, conceptualising, designing and writing training modules, conducting pilot trainings, and supporting development of the online version of the programme.
A key feature of the BioInnovation Academy is that all modules and materials can be used for physical trainings and are also available online on the free GIZ-managed atingi learning platform. The online version is targeted both at interested learners and at trainers looking to implement their own courses on some or all topics of the modules. For learners, it includes interactive versions of all training materials with the technical content. Trainers can find additional resources for all modules, such as didactical guidance, methodological instructions, handouts, exercises and presentation templates. The platform also enables peer exchanges and discussions, so that the materials can be further developed in future.
From spring 2025 onwards, a series of physical Training-of-Trainer (ToT) workshops were held in BIA partner countries – partly in cooperation with regional organisations, to promote further dissemination. These ToTs introduced over 100 trainers to the application of the materials in their own courses and training sessions, while also enabling them to network with each other. With accompanied pilot trainings – e.g. for IP&LC, academics, regulators and business leaders in biotrade – a further 500 people are expected to be reached by the end of the BIA project in April 2026.
You can access the BioInnovation Academy by clicking on the images below.
English version
French version
