Deadline: 3 September 2017
Applications are open for the Mobile for Development (M4D) Utilities Innovation Fund with an aim to test and scale the use of mobile to improve or increase access to energy, water and sanitation services.
To date, M4D Utilities estimates the trials have impacted over 2.5 million direct beneficiaries in underserved populations around the world. The grants awarded since 2013 have led to an additional $174 million raised by grantees from the private sector, showcasing the proof of concept for mobile-enabled utility services.
Objectives
The objective of the Innovation Fund is to extract insights from the trial and scaling of these innovative models to inform three key questions for growing the sector:
- How can mobile support utility services?
- For a mobile-enabled solution to be adopted at scale, what building blocks are needed?
- What are the social and commercial impacts of delivering community services to underserved mobile subscribers?
Types of Grants
- Seed Grant
- Support the trial of products/services that use mobile to enable sustainable access to energy, water or sanitation.
- Up to GBP 150,000 in funding, 33% of total project cost matched by grantee
- Market Validation Grant
- support partnerships with mobile network operators OR utility service providers to support scaling or replication of an existing service that increases or improves access to sustainable energy, water and sanitation services to underserved customers. The service will already have demonstrated early success and have active users in at least one market.
- Up to GBP 300,000 in funding, 100% of total project cost matched by grantee
Eligibility Criteria
- The Innovation Fund is open to:
- Mobile operators
- Technology solutions providers
- Energy, water, or sanitation services providers, including:
- Decentralised service providers
- Urban and peri-urban utilities, and
- NGOs trialling business model approaches
- who propose to implement innovative products or services that include the use of one or more mobile channels as a significant element of the delivery model.
- Strong preference will be given to applicants that are NOT implementing pay-as-you-go energy services in East Africa.
How to Apply
Interested applicants must apply online via given website.
Eligible Countries:
- Sub -Sahara Africa: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo DR, Congo-Brazzaville, Cote d Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Reunion, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Western Sahara, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
- Asia: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Cyprus, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen.
For more information, please visit M4D Utilities Innovation Fund.