The African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) has announced the 2026 call for its IP-based Structural Project Financing Programme, PFPSPI-2026, opening applications to projects from its 17 member states. The programme targets initiatives that can connect intellectual property tools with economic and social development, and applicants are expected to submit their files through the national liaison structures in OAPI member states. OAPI has also made available the press release, the call document, the application form and an explanatory note for preparing the submission package.
The practical point is not simply that another funding window is available. OAPI is pushing IP policy into project design, local industry development and public-interest outcomes. Applicants will need to show how patents, trade marks, industrial designs, geographical indications or collective marks can support commercialisation, branding, technology diffusion or community-level value creation. A strong application is therefore unlikely to be built on a broad development narrative alone; it should connect the IP asset, the target beneficiaries, the implementation path and measurable economic or social results.
