D-Prize Challenge 2025 For Social Entrepreneurs (Up to $20,000 Grant)

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Do you dream of starting an organisation to fight poverty? The first D-Prize Global Competition of 2025 is now open and seeking bold social entrepreneurs like you! D-Prize awards up to $20,000 to winning teams to launch nonprofits or social ventures that can scale proven poverty interventions, reaching thousands or even millions of people.

They believe the world needs more social impact organizations, and we seed for-profit ventures, NGOs, and charities. They support organizations in any low-or-middle income country where extreme poverty still exists. D-Prize believe social impact organizations are uniquely positioned to distribute an existing product or service known to improve lives where need still exists.

The seed support is meant to be the launching point for your organization that grows to large-scale. Submit your concept to our twice-annual competition. If selected, you will receive seed support to launch.

D-Prize Challenge Categories

Health

Self-Injectable Contraceptive Challenge: Can you distribute a self-injectable contraceptive, Sayana® Press, to underserved women through a private health network?
Download the Self-Injectable Contraceptive Challenge
Oxygen Challenge:Can you develop a team of technicians to service and repair existing oxygen concentrators to improve access to medical oxygen?
Download the Oxygen Challenge
Patient Identification Challenge: Can you develop a way to identify patients needing treatment for either obstetric fistula, cervical cancer, club foot, or cataracts, then connect them with existing treatment services in your area?
Download the Patient Identification Challenge
Maternal Health Challenge: Can you train birth attendants to administer misoprostol to prevent maternal deaths from postpartum hemorrhaging?
Download the Maternal Health Challenge
Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission Challenge: Can you counsel and motivate HIV-positive pregnant women to adhere to their ART regimen, and thus prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission?
Download the PMTCT Challenge
Child Immunization Challenge: Can you direct caregivers to bring their infants to health facilities for routine immunizations that would otherwise not occur?
Download the Immunizations Challenge
Sugar Daddy Awareness Challenge: Can you teach “sugar daddy awareness” to 8th grade classes to reduce unwanted teen pregnancies and HIV infections?
Download the Sugar Daddy Awareness Challenge

Water

Clean Access to water Challenge: Can you sell ceramic water filters to people in areas without access to clean water?
Download the Clean Access to Water Challenge

AGRICULTURE

Quality Inputs Challenge: Can you provide smallholder farmers high-quality inputs and training proven to increase their harvests?
Download the Quality Inputs Challenge
Post-Harvest Support Challenge: Can you provide smallholder farmers post-harvest loans and storage technology proven to increase their incomes?
Download the Post-Harvest Support Challenge
Propose Your Own Agriculture Challenge: D-Prize is specifically interested in distributing proven agriculture interventions to smallholder farmers. If you know of a highly-effective intervention that is backed by credible evidence, we want to hear what it is and see your plan to increase its distribution.
Download the Custom Agriculture Challenge
Propose Your Own Livestock Challenge: D-Prize is interested in distributing proven livestock interventions to smallholder farmers. If you know of a highly-effective intervention backed by credible evidence, we want to hear what it is and see your plan to increase its distribution.
Download the Custom Livestock Challenge

Livelihoods

Reading Glasses Challenge: Can you distribute non-prescription reading/ working glasses to those in need?
Download the Reading Glasses Challenge
Poverty Graduation Challenge: Can you provide business coaching, capital, and social support to lift people out of ultra poverty?
Download the Poverty Graduation Challenge
Propose Your Own Financial Inclusion Challenge: D-Prize is specifically interested in distributing proven financial inclusion interventions to those in need. If you know of a highly-effective intervention backed by credible evidence, we want to hear what it is and see your plan to increase its distribution.
Download the Custom Financial Inclusion Challenge

ENERGY

Solar Lamp Challenge: Can you sell pico solar lamps to rural or slum-dwelling households without regular access to electricity?
Download the Solar Lamp Challenge

Public Services

Government Transparency Challenge: Can you monitor and report data to reduce corruption and improve public service?
Download the Government Transparency Challenge
Road Safety Challenge: Can you reduce road fatalities by mobilizing the public with a proven public transportation safety campaign?
Download the Road Safety Challenge

Education

Teaching at the Right Level Challenge: Can you improve foundational literacy and numeracy in resource-limited classrooms by implementing the proven Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) program?
Download the Teaching at the Right Level Challenge
ConnectEd Phone-based Tutoring Challenge:Can you improve foundational literacy and numeracy in underserved primary school learners by distributing the proven ConnectEd phone based intervention?
Download the ConnectEd Challenge

Custom

Propose your own challenge: D-Prize is specifically interested in distributing proven poverty interventions to those in need. If you know of a highly-effective intervention that is backed by credible evidence, we want to hear what it is and see your plan to increase its distribution.
Download the Custom Challenge

Eligibility Criteria

D-Prize is for new organizations. Most of the awardees are first-time entrepreneurs. Most have not yet launched their organization, nor have they raised other funding. D-Prize especially encourage those from low-and-middle income countries to apply.
They will consider applications from existing organizations only if your core focus is distributing an existing and evidence-based poverty intervention. D-Prize typically will not support organizations with more than 18 months of full time operations or that have raised more than $30,000 USD in outside funding.

Evaluation Process

Round 1: Submit your two-page concept note and resume(s). We receive 3000+ submissions per competition.
Round 2: Top 5% of entrepreneurs are invited to answer short written questions. You will have two weeks to draft and submit.
Final round : Top entrepreneurs have phone and email interviews. The top 1% receive up to $20,000 to launch.
Award & Launch: Spend the next few months piloting your idea and building an organization that soon grows to a large scale.