Mandela Washington Fellowship Catalyst Grant 2025 (Up to $20,000 USD Grant)

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IREX is excited to announce the launch of the Mandela Washington Fellowship Catalyst Grant application, a unique funding opportunity for Fellowship Alumni! Through a partnership with D-Prize, a non-profit organization that works to distribute and scale proven technologies to benefit people in extreme poverty, up to two Fellowship Alumni will be selected to receive grants of up to $20,000 USD each to pilot a new initiative to catalyze change and distribute a proven poverty intervention wherever extreme poverty exists.

Eligibility Criteria for Mandela Washington Fellowship Catalyst Grant

The Mandela Washington Fellowship Catalyst Grant is open to all Fellowship Alumni from all tracks, sectors, and levels of expertise who want to launch or scale a social enterprise in communities throughout Africa.
The Mandela Washington Fellowship Catalyst Grant is intended to support Fellowship Alumni to deliver a proven poverty intervention at scale. The grant is not intended to support prototyping a promising new solution.

Mandela Washington Fellowship Catalyst Grant Challenges

Agriculture

Quality Inputs Challenge: Can you provide smallholder farmers with high-quality inputs and training proven to increase their harvests?

Education

Teaching at the Right Level Challenge: Can you teach basic reading and mathematics skills to primary school students in a resource-limited classroom?

Energy

Solar Lamp Challenge: Can you sell solar lights to rural or slum-dwelling households in need?

Health Access Challenges

Child Immunization Challenge: Can you direct 500 caregivers (parents or other guardians) to bring their infants to health facilities for routine immunizations that otherwise would not occur?

Livelihoods

Poverty Graduation Challenge: Can you provide business coaching, capital, and social support to lift people out of ultra-poverty?
Reading Glasses Challenge: Can you distribute non-prescription reading/ working glasses to those in need?

Public Services

Government Transparency Challenge: Can you improve transparency and report data on the public service performance?
Road Safety Challenge: Can you reduce road fatalities by mobilizing the public with a proven public transportation safety campaign?