Opportunity Title: DIV Fund Grants: Up to $200,000, $500,000 or $1.5 Million for Evidence-Backed Innovations

The DIV Fund is not for ideas on paper. It backs innovations that have already been tested with real users and could reach over a million people cost-effectively.

What it offers

• Stage 1, Pilot: up to US$200,000 to test demand, feasibility and promise.
• Stage 2, Test and position for scale: up to US$500,000; most awards are lower, and exceptional cases may reach US$750,000.
• Stage 3, Scale: up to US$1.5 million for validated innovations.

Grants are milestone-based, can run up to five years, and are grants only, with no debt or equity. General operating support is not offered.

Who can apply

Nonprofits, social enterprises, startups, private firms, universities, research institutions, technical assistance providers and consortia working in low-, lower-middle- and upper-middle-income countries can apply. Individuals without a legal entity and government agencies cannot receive funding directly.

The Fund does not support pre-prototype ideas, incubators, accelerators, boot camps or projects with limited ability to scale.

Status and deadline

Open, with rolling applications and no fixed deadline. Expert panels meet several times a year, and the whole process usually takes several months. Applications go through the online form, after reading the Request for Proposals.

How to strengthen your application

• Choose the stage that matches your evidence, not your ambition.
• Build a credible theory of change and show real-world testing.
• Compare cost per outcome against existing alternatives.
• Name your path to scale: government, commercial or a hybrid.
• Consider a research partner to design rigorous evidence.
• Write in your own voice. DIV says it may decline proposals that appear primarily AI-generated.

Apply / Official Programme Page: https://www.div.fund/apply/form