About the opportunity
What this programme is offering
The DIV Fund (Development Innovation Ventures) is accepting applications on a rolling basis throughout the year for innovative solutions that can meaningfully and cost-effectively improve the lives of people living in poverty in low- and middle-income countries.
The Fund supports innovations across sectors, including new technologies, services, policies, programmes, business models, delivery approaches, and cost-effective adaptations of existing solutions.
💵 Funding Available
The DIV Fund has three funding stages:
🟢 Stage 1 — Piloting
Up to US$200,000
For promising innovations that are already post-prototype and ready to be tested in a real-world setting.
Stage 1 funding can support activities such as:
Pilot implementation
Testing user demand
Testing different delivery models
Market or user testing
Measuring early social outcomes
Understanding implementation costs
Refining the innovation before rigorous testing or scale
You do not need rigorous causal evidence at this stage, but you need a strong theory of change and a clear plan for learning from the pilot.
🟡 Stage 2 — Testing & Positioning for Scale
Up to US$500,000
Most Stage 2 grants will be below $500,000, although exceptionally strong proposals may receive up to US$750,000.
Stage 2 is intended for innovations that have already completed successful pilot testing and are ready to rigorously establish their impact, market viability, cost-effectiveness, and pathway to scale.
Activities may include:
Rigorous impact evaluations
Market validation
Testing alternative implementation models
Expanding operations to prepare for scale
Testing cost-effectiveness
Building partnerships necessary for wider adoption
🔵 Stage 3 — Transitioning to Scale
Up to US$1.5 million
Stage 3 supports innovations that have already demonstrated strong evidence of impact and cost-effectiveness, or have demonstrated commercial viability.
Funding can support:
Expansion into new locations
Scaling proven interventions
Adaptation to new contexts
Technical assistance for public-sector scale-up
Further testing of generalizability
Building systems required for sustainable expansion
The goal is for the innovation to reach widespread, financially sustainable scale.
🌍 Where Can Projects Be Implemented?
The DIV Fund supports innovations addressing challenges in low-income, lower-middle-income and upper-middle-income countries, according to World Bank classifications.
This makes the opportunity relevant to organizations developing and implementing solutions in Uganda and other eligible African countries.
The Fund explicitly welcomes applications from locally led and global organizations.
🏢 Who Can Apply?
Eligible applicants can include:
Nonprofit organizations
Social enterprises
Startups and businesses
Universities
Research institutions
Technical assistance providers supporting government innovation
Partnerships and consortia involving different types of organizations
Individuals without a legally incorporated entity are not eligible to receive funding directly.
💡 What Kind of Innovation Does DIV Fund?
DIV takes a broad view of innovation.
An innovation could be:
A new technology
A new service
A new business model
A policy innovation
A social or behavioral intervention
A new way of delivering an existing solution
A new financing mechanism
A cost-effective adaptation of an existing approach
A new approach to collecting evidence
A solution that improves uptake of an already proven intervention
How to apply