Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund 2026

The Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund was established in 2012, with generous support from The ALBORADA Trust. The Fund supports pairs of researchers (post-doctoral level and above) from the University of Cambridge (or an affiliated institution such as the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, NIAB and British Antarctic Survey) and African institutions, across all disciplines, to initiate and/or strengthen research collaborations. To date, 392 awards have been made, to enable Cambridge researchers to engage with African colleagues from 38 African countries. Some awardees have been able to use the preliminary results from their seed fund / research collaboration to apply for and win significant funding (e.g. Royal Society/Leverhulme Awards, Global Challenges Research Fund, etc.).

The Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund competitively awards grants of between £1,000 and £25,000, for:

• research costs (such as reagents, fieldwork and equipment)

• conducting research training activities in Africa (e.g. setting up courses/workshops).

Please read carefully the guidelines including eligibility criteria, before applying.

Should you be successful, there are Terms & Conditions in receiving a Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund award. The the types of award letters that would need to be signed by the Cambridge and African PI are shown here.

Particularly note that the ALBORADA Research Fund cannot pay for overheads, PI salaries, administration costs, bench fees or for researchers to attend conferences.