DIV Fund Grants

The DIV Fund is a nonprofit grantmaker for evidence based innovations that can measurably improve lives in low and middle income countries. It was founded in 2026 by the leadership team behind the former USAID Development Innovation Ventures programme, and launched with about US$48 million from two private donors after USAID and its DIV programme were shut down in 2025. Grants come in three tiers, calibrated to how much evidence an innovation already has, from a first real world pilot through to national scale.

What you get:

• Stage 1 Pilot grants of up to US$200,000
• Stage 2 Test and Position for Scale grants of up to US$500,000, or up to US$750,000 in especially compelling cases
• Stage 3 Scale grants of up to US$1.5 million
• Award periods of up to five years, structured as milestone based grants
• Diligence support and technical input from the DIV Fund team

What you'll do:

• Test a post prototype innovation in a real world pilot, or run rigorous evaluation of an innovation already in the field
• Build evidence on user demand, feasibility, impact and cost effectiveness
• Work through the DIV Fund's application review, diligence and expert decision panel
• Position an innovation to reach at least one million people at scale, through government adoption, philanthropy or the market

• Applicant must be a legally incorporated entity; the fund does not accept applications from individuals
• Government agencies cannot apply directly
• Innovations must address challenges in low, lower middle or upper middle income countries as classified by the World Bank
• Innovations must be at least at prototype stage; pre prototype ideas are not funded
• Not funded: basic scientific research, immobile physical infrastructure such as schools and power plants, standalone monitoring or evaluation platforms, intermediaries such as incubators and accelerators, and innovations that primarily target high income beneficiaries