Apply Now: GSMA Innovation Fund for Impactful AI

Deadline Date: March 19, 2025

 Donor Name: GSMA

 Grant Size: $100,000 to $500,000

https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/connectivity-for-good/mobile-for-development/blog/announcing-the-launch-of-the-gsma-innovation-fund-for-impactful-ai

GSMA is excited to introduce the Innovation Fund for Impactful AI (“the Fund”), designed to support small and growing enterprises in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) across Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

The Fund aims to accelerate the adoption and scalability of AI-driven innovations that address critical local socio-economic and climate challenges.

The Fund seeks to bridge this gap by supporting innovative use cases, partnerships and business models that leverage AI and emerging technologies (e.g. mobile big data, IoT, remote sensing, computer vision, blockchain, and drones) alongside mobile technologies to create positive socio-economic and climate-related impacts.

Focus Areas

• The Fund is sector-agnostic, but priority will be given to applications that focus on one or more of the following:
  • Digital solutions that leverage contextual data generated by emerging technologies for training and deploying AI-driven products and services 
  • Digital solutions that leverage predictive and generative AI innovations and show promise to scale and deliver positive socio-economic and/or climate-related impacts 
  • Digital innovations across the value chain, including:
    • AI-driven innovations that directly reach low-income and vulnerable populations and aim to advance socio-economic development and climate action (e.g. HealthTech, AgriTech, ClimateTech, FinTech, EdTech) 
    • AI-driven deep-tech, ecosystem-level innovations [e.g. multimodal large language models (LLMs), edge computing, machine learning, big data] that support local and regional ecosystems for lastmile innovators to deploy AI solutions

Benefits

• Through their partnership with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), selected enterprises will receive a comprehensive support package, including:
  • Tailored venture building support to strengthen solutions and business models 
  • Facilitation of partnerships with mobile operators, public sector organisations, and other stakeholders 
  • Peer learning opportunities to exchange knowledge with other innovators 
  • Visibility and exposure through the GSMA’s global events, publications and online platforms, helping grantees connect with potential investors and partners

Funding Information

• Grant funding ranging from £100,000 to £250,000 for projects lasting 15 – 18 months.

Eligibility Criteria

• To be eligible to apply to the Fund, applicants must meet all of the following criteria:
  • Leverage digital technology, especially mobile, to deliver solutions
    • Be able to demonstrate how AI and other emerging technologies (e.g. mobile big data, IoT, remote sensing, computer vision, blockchain, drones), in conjunction with mobile technology, will be leveraged to deliver the solution described in section.
  • Entity type
    • Be a for-profit private sector small and growing enterprise in a low- or middle-income country.
    • Have active users and commercial revenue (users and revenue from any products or services) in at least one eligible country.
    • Be an existing entity registered and operating in the country of project implementation at the time of application (whether domestic or foreign-owned or a joint venture).In cases where responsibility for service delivery lies with a downstream partner rather than with the applicant (e.g. service delivery by a local government), it may be acceptable for the applicant to be registered in a country other than that of project implementation.
  • Geography
    • Propose a project that is implemented in a country/countries that is/are eligible to receive official development assistance [as per the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) classification] in the following regions: Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia and the Pacific. 
  • Current market presence
    • Have an existing entity registered and operating in the country (or countries) of project implementation.
  • Ability to receive grant funds
    • Have a bank account capable of receiving GBP payments, as all disbursements from the GSMA will be made in GBP. As a general rule, the applicant should be registered in and maintain a bank account in the country where the project will be implemented. On an exceptional basis, subject to the GSMA’s assessment of the particular case, the GSMA could send funds to the GBP account of a parent company registered in a country other than the project implementation country.

For more information, visit GSMA.