Fundraising Dispatch + KCV: Grants 101
Interested in finding grants to support your work and add to your impact?
You’re in the right place.
There are thousands of grants programs available for impact-focused organizations in Africa! Fundraising Dispatch curates opportunities and sends them direct to your inbox every week (here). We also provide guides and resources dedicated to growing your business, training your team, and making fundraising easier (here).
Grants open now!
Here’s a list of a sample of curated opportunities for you.
Under $100k
Awesome Foundation $1k.
Beyond Boundaries Program $7k.
Start-up Idea Competition. $5k.
Climate Intervention Environmental Impact Fund Grant. $75k.
Over $100k
Relief & Resilience: WFP Innovation Challenge $100k.
O’Shaughnessy Fellowships & Grants $100k.
Sabeeka Bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa Global Award for Women’s Empowerment $100K
DeveloPPP Ideas Ventures €100k.
Livelihood Impact Fund $250k.
DRK Foundation $300k.
Mass Challenge Accelerator 2026 $1.25m.
Energy catalyst round 11 – mid stage £1.5m.
DeveloPPP Classic Ventures €2m.
Capacity Building in the field of Youth in Sub-Saharan Africa €4m
See short summaries below! Highlighting each opportunity’s:
Funding Goals, Grant Type, Geography, Sector, Eligibility, Deadline, etc
Hundreds more on our weekly newsletter & list of rolling opportunities
Grants and Grant Writing 101:
As part of KCV’s programming and partnership with Fundraising Dispatch, you’ll have access to this high-level guide on raising grants for impact in Africa.
Here’s what you’ll find here:
Is your work eligible for impact grants?
What you need to know about grants
What you (most likely) won’t get grant funding for
What you need before you start applying
Is the juice worth the squeeze?
Where and how to start looking for grants
How to (quickly) assess your availability for any RFP or grant program
Tips: Writing a winning application
Tips: Catering your application to what the funder wants to hear
Other resources for fundraising
Summaries of the grants mentioned above (that you can apply for today!)
How to leverage Fundraising Dispatch and/or Grant & Co
Make sure you’re on the list to get new grants in your inbox every week and other powerful resources like this one.
Is your work eligible for grants?
It starts with your business and your business model
You have a legally registered entity in good standing and compliance
You do something that Western Governments/Donors consider to be a public good
Low income healthcare, micro/SME loans, humanitarian aid, renewable energy, job creation, environmental conservation, sustainable agriculture, food security, education, transition lab research to the field, ambulance/fire response, potable water, etc
Your leadership identifies as (and/or your work predominantly impacts) members of historically marginalized groups
The public good must be more cost-effective than “state-of-the-art”
And if you have an “innovation” (technical or not) or need funding for R&D or a pilot.... will your proposed work or innovation ultimately lead to a public benefit?
i.e. Social Impact
What you need to know about grants
Grant Funders don’t give money. They buy impact.
Non-dilutive capital
Specific alignment criteria
Project-based and restricted
Time-bound and mapped to specific activities, outputs, or outcomes
Some opportunities are very specific about what they will and wont fund
Tied to performance (often, contractually)
Not quick cash, free-money, or an instant lifeline
General rule of thumb is that you need at least a year of runway
Most grants require you to kick the project off with your own money and get paid back a reimbursement after you meet a milestone and report on your work.
And can often be in the form of TA - “technical assistance”
You don’t get cash, but you get things paid for (consultants, studies, etc)
A “good” time line you can expect
Writing the application
2-6 weeks
Reviewing, Double-Checking Documentation + Submitting
1-2 weeks
Hearing back from the grantor after submitting
3-6 months
Due Diligence
3-6 months
Legal/Signing
3-6 months
Cash in the bank
3-6 months
Can be longer depending on terms of first milestone, reimbursement, etc
We are over the moon ecstatic if there’s cash in the bank 6 months after submitting. It usually takes a year. Sometimes more.
See our list of 180+ funding programs actively accepting applications
What you (most likely) won’t get grant funding for
Quick cash needs (see above timeline)
General operating expenses, core commercial activities, or “Business as Usual“
You need grant funding because you have a project you want to carry out that will further social impact
Said project is not under your standard operational model because it would sacrifice profit
Additionality: Grantors will ask: “Does this company need our charitable dollars to do this project, or would it happen commercially anyway?”
Things that have residual value or easy to steal
Cars, construction (very easy to steal bags of cement, timber, etc), computers, land, large processing equipment
Overhead (Salaries), CapEx, Debt servicing, etc
One-Off Projects
Even R&D and Pilots have to link to the long term - systemic change
Is your business scalable? Is your work catalytic i.e. can your project be replicated in other settings?
You project needs to “have a life” beyond the grant
Anything related to gambling, tobacco, or alcohol
Complexity: the harder it is to tell your story, the harder it will be to get grant funding
If your business relies exclusively on grant funding (that’s why NGOs exist)
Your best funder will always be your customer
Are you pre-revenue, pre-evidence, pre-validation, and pre-operational?
Good luck :(
What you need before you start applying
Work, social impact mission, and general alignment with all of the above
A formally registered operational entity
Alignment with a grant program’s geography, registration, sector and other eligibility requirements
A specific grant-fundable project
Data Room
Standard investment readiness documents
Company Registration Information
Business Plan
Audited Financial Accounts
Budget & Financial Model
Pitch Deck
Some kind of social impact assessment (w/ baseline data and formal beneficiary tracking)
Advanced investment readiness documents
Feedback from customers, previous funders, etc
Capitalization Table, Shareholder agreement
Org Chart, Board of directors/advisors, LinkedIn CV of executives
Grant funding expanded documentation
Articles supporting your work / theory of change
Project Quotes
Photos and Videos / Testimonials
Relevant Licenses
Thought pieces you / your org has written
Employee manual, company policies
The last thing you want (speaking from experience) is to submit an application, not hear anything for 3 months, and get an email from the grantor saying:
We love the work you do and want to invite you to the second round of the funding application. You have 7 days to give us these 11 documents.
And 4 of them need to be notarized.
What a grantor may require when you win
Matching funding
Cash (from the organization), In-Kind, or External Investment
Consortiums
NGOs, Academia, Governments, etc
Strict compliance
Vendors, proof of origin, invoicing, etc
Time-sheets, receipts, etc
Mile-stone based funding
Paid out in tranches
Third-party audits/evaluations
Public sharing of learnings
Or even the direct IP developed as a result of funding
What a grantor will ask you for when you win
Proof that the money will only be used for the approved purposes and that your organization checks all of the legal boxes
Sign a grant agreement/contract
Regular progress reports/calls
Often in their strict format
Financials/record keeping
They may even want a separate bank account for grant project activities
Proof of compliance(s) and lots of paperwork
Evidence of impact
Managing a grant can be a full time job in of itself
Founders should be focusing on day-to-day organic growth of their business
Not cumbersome reporting to make a funder happy
That’s why groups like Grant & Co exist
Want some support in writing your grant applications?
If you’re generating $100k+ in ARR and have the budget to treat grants like a marketing expense in your business (i.e. pre-payment + success fee)…
So is the juice worth the squeeze?
Grants aren’t a “crapshoot”. The wrong Grants for you are.
Just like advertising isn’t a “crapshoot”. The wrong advertising for your business is.
If you find yourself retrofitting your mission to meet the requirements of a grant...
... it’s likely not the right fit for you.
But Grants also aren’t free money.
Just like Sales at your company don’t come free either.
The truth is more subtle.
There are many dimensions of whether a grant is worthwhile.
Does your company fit the RFP? Sector? Company Size? Registration Requirements?
Does your company fit with the funder? Does your company fit with the funder’s funder? Does your project fit the (often unwritten) goals of the funder?
What are the chances of winning? Is the prize worth the effort? Are there legal fees?
Once you win, will there be so much bureaucracy and reporting requirements that, at the end of the day, you wish you had never applied and accepted in the first place?
Whether to apply for a grant seems like more art than science.
See our full article here:
Fundraising Dispatch gives you the resources you need to make it worth it.
Where and how to start looking for grants
1. Your network
Who do you know that has raised grant funding? (Preferably in your geography/sector). Ask them:
How did you get it?
Would you be open to connecting me with your contacts?
What corporates/large multinationals do you work with (or can work with)?
Can you get in touch with their CSR / Sustainability Teams?
If you have a contact at a foundation or have worked alongside one as a partner before, you are far more likely to be considered for funding.
Even when responding to formal RFPs and calls for applications… it really is who you know.
2. Local Governments / Organizations / Embassies
Leverage groups that understand your local context
Connect with local business support organizations like Incubators/Accelerators, Chambers of Commerce, World Trade Centers, etc
Find out what national, regional, and local government-run/supported funding programs are available. Research, email, call, and show up in person to get the info (and contacts) you need
3. NGOs (both local and international) and Academia
Especially if they work in your sector or your missions overlap
Establish relationships and find opportunities to partner
You never know when a non-profit or university might need a private-sector sub-grantee or on-the-ground implementation partner!
4. Your Visibility
Let funders find you
5. FundraisingDispatch.com
Get newly published RFPs and grant opportunities direct to your inbox. Leverage curated lists of rolling/recurring opportunities.
Don’t spend your time:
Endlessly scanning platforms where the majority of grants listed are for organizations (usually nonprofits) in the USA, UK, and Europe
Following 50+ LinkedIn accounts
Registering for databases that almost exclusively highlight fellowships, trophies, pitch competitions, and promises to win cloud credits (i.e. ignore programs with no direct monetary or educational value)
See a curated sample of grants below
And subscribe to premium to get access to our database:
Grants Searchable, sortable, and filterable by:
Deadline | Funding Amount | Type of Funding | Geography | Sector | Eligibility
Reactive vs. Proactive
So based on the summary above we can effectively summarize ways that for-profit social enterprises can actually get grant funding into two paths/strategies.
Being Reactive
The more straightforward path.
A funder publishes an RFP or call for applications
You learn about it on FundraisingDispatch.com
You carefully assess its eligibility requirements, look through the FAQs, and otherwise read the fine print and determine that you are indeed eligible
You decide to apply on your own (leveraging our guides and tips/tricks to writing a winning application) or work with an expert like Grant & Co
You wait months for news and cross your fingers
Being Proactive
Requires patience and consistency.
You actively post on LinkedIn, write reports/blogs, have a consistent funder update newsletter, and otherwise publish your findings - all to increase your visibility and help funders come to you
You meet funders (or potential NGO or other project partners) where they are: their offices, conferences, networking events, pitch competitions, etc
You cold email or send LinkedIn requests to make new connections
And you build relationships. You play the long game.
How to (quickly) assess your availability for any RFP or grant program
RFPs can be 70 pages long. There’s nothing worse than getting your CEO, CFO, Sustainability Officer, and Grant Writer all making moves on an application, spending 30 hours on a first draft; and then discovering that the grant is only for nonprofits or your business is otherwise not eligible.
Here are the 10 steps that we at Fundraising Dispatch use each and every day to make sure a new RFP is worth our and our entrepreneurs’ attention, saving us 90%+ of our time seeing if a grant is worth pursuing.
Do a Quick Scan of the Grant’s Focus and Funding Amount
Check the Applicant “Type” Requirements
Check Application Deadlines and Cycles
Verify Industry or Sector Limitations
Confirm Geographic Eligibility
Assess Company Size and Revenue Requirements
Look for Targeted Demographic or Ownership Requirements
Examine Project-Specific Requirements
Deep Dive into the Financial and Organizational Requirements
Double Check the FAQs
Hint: “CTRL + F” is going to be your best friend
See the full guide here:
Tips: Writing a winning application
When you’ve found a grant that you think your organization checks the boxes for…
Double check.
Then. It’s time to start writing.
Our full guide coming soon!
Tips: Catering your application to what the funder wants to hear
We dive into this with a case study, here:
In short:
Read between the lines
What problem is the funder trying to solve?
How does your proposed solution solve that problem? And how can it scale.
Look deeper into previous winners
What do they have in common?
Does the funder lean towards funding African nationals?
If 90% of previous winners are nonprofits and think tanks (although they say that for profit companies are eligible)… is it really worth your time to fill out the application?
Understand the funder’s priorities
Example: Gates Foundation
Probably the largest philanthropic funder in the world. They have/had grant programs in financial inclusion. They have/had grant programs in renewable energy. They have/had grant programs in agriculture.
But where does most of their funding focus? (80-85%).
Healthcare.
And from those healthcare grants, probably 80% of those have had a focus in maternal/new born care. So Gates cares about healthy moms and babies.
If your AgTech, Solar company, MFI or otherwise, will apply for a Gates grant… you have to highlight how your work positively impacts moms and babies.
Example: DeveloPPP (from GIZ)
They fund impact. They fund capacity building. They fund innovative business models with the potential to scale. They fund market development.
But they really want to fund increased business and development between Germany and Africa. Does your organization have the potential to do business with German companies? Do you have existing German partners?
Relate how can you use their funding to do business in Germany or help/inspire German companies do business in your country and you’ll have a much higher chance of winning.
Fundraising Dispatch’s other fundraising resources
All designed to help make fundraising easier for mission driven organizations in Africa.
🌍 Weekly alerts on new social impact grants in Africa and beyond (here)
👨💻 A searchable and filterable database/calendar on these and rolling grants (here)
💸 Your best funder is a new customer: leveraging LeadGen & Outbound Sales to scale (here)
⏰ A Guide to Reviewing Grants and RFPs; key strategies to save 90% of your time spent seeing if your business is eligible for any grant (here)
🤝 The best Investment Conferences in Africa, how you can get in for free, and how to set up 20+ in person meetings (here)
👻 What to do when a funder ghosts you (here)
🔊 How to prepare for your pitch (here) and knock it out of the park (here)
With much more to come!
Summaries of the grants mentioned above (that you can apply for today!)
A curated sample of open opportunities for you. (With more here and here).
Under $100k
Awesome Foundation Micro Grants. Awesome Foundation.
• Awesome project on wide range of areas including arts, technology, community development, and more.
• Individuals, groups, and organizations working anywhere in the world.
• $1k.
• Applications accepted on a rolling basis.
Beyond Boundaries Program. Bridge for Billions and TMF Group.
• Designed for early-stage social ventures committed to creating positive change, particularly in the areas of health, poverty, climate, and education.
• Early-stage social ventures.
• EMEA Region (Africa, Middle East, India, UK).
• Up to €6k Seed Funding.
• January 29, 2026.
Start-up Idea Competition. Science Park Graz.
• 1) Energy & Environment, 2) Mobility, 3) Health & Life Sciences and 4) Digital Economy & ICT.
• Startups.
• All countries.
• Up to €4k cash prize.
• January 31, 2026.
Climate Intervention Environmental Impact Fund Grant. Climate Intervention Environmental Impact Fund (CIEIF).
• Supports: 1) EIA (environmental impact assessments), 2) predictive impact modeling, and 3) engagement efforts with potentially impacted stakeholders; for innovative climate intervention technologies that are on the verge of field testing.
• All countries.
• $75k grant.
• March 15, 2026.
Over $100k
Relief & Resilience: WFP Innovation Challenge. World Food Programme.
• Social innovations that address key challenges in the fight against hunger. Interested in solutions for humanitarian assistance and supply chain resilience.
• Start-up, NGO, academic institution or government agency.
• All countries.
• Up to $100k in equity-free funding, alongside mentorship.
• Deadline To be Determined.
Developpp from GIZ & BMZ (Germany). Have quarterly calls for proposals for the two opportunities below.
Ideas Ventures for Start-Ups. € 100K (plus potential for top-up funding). Registered and active in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria Rwanda, South Africa, or Tanzania OR plan to register before the start of funding. The company is innovative, impact is measurable and contributes to reaching the SDGs by increasing local income, saving natural resources, improving access to resources and services, and creating decent jobs.
Takes place twice a year (Due June 30th and December 30th).
At least 1 annual financial statement.
Viable business plan and a financial plan;
The company should not have acquired more than a maximum of EUR 2 million in funding to date.
The company must receive matching funds equaling the amount of the grant financing in the form of cash injection from other investors.
Matching funds can be considered if received up to 6 months prior to the application and still available for the develoPPP Ventures investment. T
Classic Ventures for Companies. Up to €2m. 50% Co-financing required. Due 30th of (due March 30 and October 30); Over 60 developing and emerging countries around the globe (see: develoPPP Classic country list).
Supported projects can be located in very different sectors and thematic areas:
the training of local experts
piloting of innovative technologies and demonstration plants
sustainable expansion of supply chains
improvement of environmental and social standards.
What all develoPPP Classic projects have in common is that they combine a long-term business interest with a sustainable developmental benefit.
have at least eight employees
have an annual turnover of at least 800,000 euros
have at least two audited annual financial statements
have a positive net income as well as sufficient equity capital and liquidity to ensure your company’s contribution
Livelihood Impact Fund.
• Target interventions with the potential to have 5x increase in participants’ earnings for every dollar spent in 5 years.
• Agriculture: smallholder farmers productivity and regenerative agriculture; Entrepreneurship: micro, small & medium enterprise development, business growth programs; Workforce Development: employability training programs across industries.
• Invest in African-led organizations with budgets between $150k and $1m.
• Provide three-years of unrestricted funding combined with capacity building support to help organizations move to the next stage of their growth.
• Grant sizes range from $100k to $250k per year depending on annual budget sizes (usually no more than 30% of annual budget).
• Rolling applications.
DRK Foundation Grant Program. Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation.
• Early-stage social impact organizations (post-pilot and pre-scale) solving the world’s biggest social and environmental problems using bold, scalable approaches.
• Independent nonprofit or mission-driven for-profit entities.
• Africa, Europe, India, and the United States. Latin America and Israel will be considered in select situations.
• Up to $300k in either unrestricted grant funding or investment capital over a three-year period.
• Applications accepted on a rolling basis.
Capacity Building in the field of Youth in Sub-Saharan Africa. European Commission. • 1) Supporting international cooperation in the field of youth and non-formal learning, as a driver of sustainable socio-economic development and well-being among youth organisations and young people and, 2) promoting the mobility of young people to encourage their active participation in society as well as to help them acquire and develop competences for life and for their professional future.
• Any public or private body active in the fields of education, training, youth and sport.
• Member States of the European Union (EU), Third countries associated to the Programme, and third countries not associated to the programme in Region 9 (Sub Saharan Africa). See here for full country list.
• Up to €4m grants.
• February 26, 2026.
Accelerator 2026. MassChallenge.
• Startups whose solution will add value to society (eg, Millions of Tones CO2 eq. removed/avoided, lives saved). Startups from any industry, in addition of 3 “Sustainability & Impact Tracks” in Agtech & Foodtech, Materials & Industry, and Healthtech.
• Early-stage startups.
• All countries.
• Up to ~$1,247,182 (CHF 1M) in non-dilutive cash prizes. An additional cash prize of ~$124,605 (CHF 100k) for Food and Climate focused startups.
• March 4, 2026.
Princess Sabeeka Bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa Global Award for Women’s Empowerment.
• 1) Promote women’s empowerment and equality between men and women, 2) Encourage innovative approaches and solutions to achieve women’s empowerment in policy and programming, and to provide a global space to celebrate these achievements and 3) Foster creative and inclusive thinking by communities to collaborate to achieve women’s empowerment.
• Civil society, Public sector, Private sector and individuals.
• All countries.
• A total of 4 awards available, each worth $100k.
• March 20, 2026.
Energy catalyst round 11 – early stage. GOV.UK.
Energy catalyst round 11 – mid stage. GOV.UK.
• To accelerate the innovations needed to create new or improved clean energy access.
• Your project must last between 3 and 12 months.
• Include a UK registered administrative lead and involve at least one SME.
• Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, the Indo-Pacific region and Latin America.
• Up to £300k grants. Up to £1.5m grants.
• March 25, 2026.
O’Shaughnessy Fellowships & Grants. O’Shaughnessy Ventures.
• If you’re working on something that can radically transform the world. Quantum computing, Documentary filmmaking, Endangered language preservation, Prosthetic engineering, e.t.c.
• Aimed primarily at individuals - researchers, builders and creatives.
• All countries.
• 10 winners for $100k Fellowship program and up to 20 winners of $10k Grants.
• April 30, 2026.
And so many more via links below:
Weekly Newsletters: https://www.fundraisingdispatch.com/s/grant-newsletter
Are you ready to pursue grants?
Stay tuned for more on KCV’s partnership with Fundraising Dispatch (Mark and your other program managers will share more soon!)
Fundraising Dispatch (this platform): Subscribe for new grants, access our database, and get exclusive access to other powerful resources like this Grants 101 guide
Grant & Co (our partners supporting fundraising directly): Learn more and get in touch with Daniel@thegrant.co if you’d like to chat more about supporting your grant writing (or connecting with relevant investors)