Funding Opportunities - October 3, 2025

For Grant Seekers and Fundraising Dispatch Subscribers

Your weekly one-stop-shop for calls for proposals, requests for applications, and other programs published by funders like GIZ, Gates Foundation, Norad, and many more.

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See below for the newest social impact funding opportunities in Africa and around the world.

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AfNet Flexible Grant. African Women for Change Network (AfNet).
• Designed to support initiatives led by women leaders and organizations dedicated to creating positive change in their communities.
• Fostering leadership, advocacy, and sustainable development.
• Nonprofits, Grassroots Organizations, Community-Based Organizations, Individual Leaders and Social Enterprises.
• Africa.
• Up to $5k grant.
• Deadline TBD.

D-Prize Challenge. D-Prize.
• New organizations distributing proven poverty solutions, all aiming to scale.
• Social impact organizations, for-profit ventures, NGOs, and charities.
• Low-or-middle income countries.
• Up to $20k grants.
• The Global Competition launches in the Fall of 2025. Sign up for our email list and be the first to know the day we launch!

Third Call of the Regional Fund: Strengthening Women’s and Feminist Organizations. UN Women.
• Promote gender-responsive environmental and/or climate actions, or actions to prevent and respond to violence against women.
• NGOs, civil society organizations operating for at least 3 years.
• Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Up to $20k funding.
• October 5, 2025.

Sustainable Laboratories Grant. Royal Society of Chemistry.
• Activities that: 1) Advance understanding of environmentally sustainable laboratory practice, 2) Increase the take-up of environmentally sustainable laboratory practices in the chemical sciences and 3) Facilitate sharing of good practices.
• Open to everyone regardless of career stage, job role, sector, or location.
• The lead applicant must be an RSC member.
• All countries.
• Up to £10k grants.
• October 6, 2025.

Sparks of Regeneration. Unearthodox.
• Solutions that can bring regeneration to life in areas such as nature conservation, climate, food systems, well-being, education, governance, and beyond.
• Idea should already be in motion.
• Both non-profit and for-profit models. Both individuals and organisations.
• Not in a country where international sanctions restrict fund transfer.
• Up to ~$12,533 grant (CHF 10k) alongside an 8-month incubation journey.
• October 9, 2025.

think-cell Global Case Competition 2nd edition. think-cell.
• Invites top students to engage in a business case challenge, offering opportunities to test data storytelling skills and fast-track the interview process for an internship with think-cell.
• Team of 3 to 5 students, currently enrolled in a higher education institution
• All countries.
• Up to $3k grand prize.
• October 12, 2025.

WUN Research Development Fund 2025. Worldwide Universities Network (WUN).
• Supporting research that addresses sustainable development, research projects on problems of global significance.
• Researchers across all career stages, projects led by early career researchers especially encouraged.
• WUN member universities.
• Up to £10k grants.
• October 17, 2025.

Call 4 Startup 2025 - Innovation For Real Impact in Supervision and Monitoring. RINA.
• Innovative solutions that can: 1) Operate effectively in complex and hostile environments, 2) Enable continuous monitoring and predictive maintenance, 3) Improve operational autonomy, data efficiency, and operator safety and 4) Integrate into digital workflows and comply with cybersecurity and interoperability standards.
• Early-stage and scale-up startups, and innovative SMEs.
• All countries.
• €20k guaranteed minimum prize. (cash + services).
• October 17, 2025.

4YFN Awards 2026. 4YFN.
• Most innovative digital startups.
• Solutions that have already achieved market launch and are commercially available.
• Early-stage ventures, founded September 2018 and onwards. (No more than seven (7) years of existence).
• Based in eligible countries, according to the US, UK, Swiss and EU trade sanctions list.
• €20k cash prize.
• October 22, 2025.

Open Grants Call. Commonwealth Foundation.
• Facilitate constructive engagement between civil society and decision-makers.
• Funding priorities: 1) Health Justice, 2) Freedom of Expression, 3) Climate Justice.
• A minimum of three years’ demonstrable experience working on participatory governance and advocacy within the area/theme(s) of the proposed project.
• Not-for-profit civil society organisation (CSO). Organisations that have been registered and operating for less than three years are not eligible.
• Commonwealth Foundation Member States.
• Up to £60k grants.
• October 23, 2025.

Call for Proposal: AFR100 Land Accelerator Africa Project. African Union Development Agency (AUDA).
• Entrepreneurs who effectively tackle land degradation while promoting sustainable and profitable agricultural practices.
• Emphasis on women and youth empowerment.
• Africa.
• $5k Innovation Grants.
• October 30, 2025.

Maruti Suzuki Mobility Challenge 4.0. T-Hub.
• Develop an agentic AI solution that autonomously optimizes digital marketing costs for Maruti Suzuki’s digital assets.
• Demonstrate proven experience in agentic AI, Insights & Analysis, Generative Engine Optimization, Adtech Automation, Media Planning & Cost Optimization, and Data Enrichment.
• Established startups that have reached a mature stage and are ready to deploy their solution(s).
• All countries.
• Up to ~$5,636 reward (₹500k) alongside an opportunity to co-create and Industry Mentorship.
• October 31, 2025.

Grants for Foundational Learning and Education Policy Researchers. Education Sub Saharan Africa (ESSA).
• Researchers with local solutions that can transform classrooms and shape national education systems.
• Lead applicant must have a PhD. Collaborators must have at least a Master’s degree to be eligible.
• Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, Zambia.
• Up to $15k grants.
• October 31, 2025.

216 Capital Venture Accelerator. 216 Capital.
• Designed to help pre-seed tech companies achieve their number one goal: investment readiness.
• Companies that have secured first clients or early traction.
• Pre-seed stage tech company. Product developed at a functional prototype/MVP stage or beyond.
• Tunisia.
• €50k in initial funding, with the possibility of larger follow-on investments for the most promising projects.
• October 31, 2025.

Shell GameChanger Sustainability Call For Solutions 2025. Shell.
• Foster collaboration between start-ups with early stage (energy-related) technologies and solutions, and experts within Shell, working on unproven early-stage ideas.
• Cutting-edge digital solutions that may address specific challenges in the following two globally relevant topics: 1) Ecological cycle and 2) Circularity.
• Open to registered start-ups with at least two team members and solutions with Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 2-5.
• All countries.
• Up to $50k per winner.
• November 4, 2025.

Build Your AgriCanvas, Build Your Future. Agri-Business Facility for Africa.
• Young and emerging agripreneurs to transform their ideas into investment-ready, climate-smart ventures.
• Working in one or more of the following value chains: cocoa, maize, cashew, or livestock (cattle, sheep, goats).
• Member state of the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS).
• €2k funding alongside a laptop, tablet, or software and incubation support.
• November 7, 2025.

AGNES-BAYER Research Grant. African-German Network of Excellence in Science (AGNES).
• Enables doctoral students to undertake outstanding research activities in Biodiversity conservation and sustainable agriculture.
• Must be officially registered for a Doctoral degree at a university/tertiary institute.
• PhD students.
• Sub-Sahara Africa.
• Up to €7k grant.
• November 9, 2025.

Seed Grants program. Wild Animal Initiative.
• Early career researchers (postdocs and PhD students) pursuing a long-term research career in wild animal welfare, or established researchers who seek to expand their research portfolio to include wild animal welfare.
• Must be led by a principal investigator who is affiliated with a university or other research institution.
• All countries, except those subject to sanctions by the US.
• Up to $10k grant for up to 2 years.
• EOI deadline: November 14, 2025.

Discovery Grants Program. Wild Animal Initiative.
• Early career researchers (postdocs and PhD students) pursuing a long-term research career in wild animal welfare, or established researchers who seek to expand their research portfolio to include wild animal welfare.
• Must be led by a principal investigator who is affiliated with a university or other research institution.
• All countries, except those subject to sanctions by the US.
• Up to $50k grant for up to 3 years.
• EOI deadline: November 14, 2025.

Transition Assistance Fund. Marine Stewardship Council.
• Fisheries verified as improving towards MSC certification in the MSC Improvement Program.
• Must support the implementation of one or more actions in the fishery Improvement Action Plan(s).
• All countries.
• Up to £50k funding over a period of up to 2 years.
• December 1, 2025.

Science and Research Fund: Harvest Strategies/Harvest Control Rules. Marine Stewardship Council.
• Proposals that deliver research in harvest strategies and/or harvest control rules which is essential for maintaining MSC certification. (Particularly interested in those that apply existing tools such as MERA).
• Academic institutions, governmental and NGOs, independent researchers and MSC certified fisheries.
• All countries.
• Up to $50k over a period of up to 2 years.
• December 1, 2025.

Startupbootcamp Accelerator Program. Startupbootcamp.
• Intense 3-month accelerator program designed to drive the transition to regenerative agriculture and resilience of the food sector by fostering disruptive innovations on a global scale.
• Early-stage, pre-Series A venture. Proven technology with signs of market validation.
• All countries.
• €25k cash investment to cover program expenses plus an exclusive startup deal kit valued at over €100k, packed with premium partner offers.
• December 7, 2025.

Conservation Grant. Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation.
• Projects with the potential to make significant contributions to the preservation and conservation of South American viceregal art.
• Proposed project must include a preservation/conservation professional who would either work individually or lead an interdisciplinary team.
• Conservators, curators, or other stakeholders working in museums or academic institutions.
• All countries. (Latin America strongly encouraged to apply).
• Up to $50k grant.
• December 15, 2025.

Melvin Yahr Parkinson’s Disease Clinical Research Award. Parkinson’s Foundation.
• To prepare young neurologists specializing in Parkinson’s disease for a career in clinical research.
• Should hold an MD degree; be specialized in one of these fields: neurology, psychiatry, physical medicine and rehabilitation, or related fields; be either less than 35 years old or 5 years out of the residency program (which one best applies).
• Early-stage investigators based at universities, research hospitals, or non-profit research institutions.
• All countries. (Under-represented countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America are particularly encouraged to apply) .
• Up to $50k for 1-year.
• January 12, 2026.

Grants above $100k

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