Are you an aspiring entrepreneur ready to fight global poverty? The D-Prize Global Competition 2025 is now open. This is your opportunity to receive up to $20,000 USD in seed funding to launch a new social impact organization focused on expanding access to proven poverty solutions.
Whether you’re planning to start a non-profit, NGO, or social enterprise, D-Prize wants to help you take your idea from concept to launch.
D-Prize supports new entrepreneurs who can deliver proven poverty interventions where they are needed most. The competition funds organizations operating in low- and middle-income countries where extreme poverty still exists.
D-Prize believes that many life-improving products and services already exist — the challenge is distribution. If you can design a scalable, cost-effective way to distribute a proven intervention, you could win funding to launch your startup.
D-Prize awards startup grants of up to $20,000 USD to entrepreneurs who want to start a new organization that tackles poverty.
You can apply to distribute any of the following high-impact interventions:
Expand the categories below to view high-impact products and services in need of greater global distribution.
Can you provide access to Kangaroo Care (KC), a proven but underused intervention for infants born too soon or too small?
Download the Kangaroo Care Challenge
Can you distribute a self-injectable contraceptive, Sayana® Press, to underserved women through a private health network?
Download the Self-Injectable Contraceptive Challenge
Can you develop a team of technicians to service and repair existing oxygen concentrators to improve access to medical oxygen?
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
Can you train birth attendants to administer misoprostol to prevent maternal deaths from postpartum hemorrhaging?
Download the Maternal Health Challenge
Can you counsel and motivate HIV-positive pregnant women to adhere to their ART regimen, and thus prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission?
Can you direct caregivers to bring their infants to health facilities for routine immunizations that would otherwise not occur?
Download the Immunizations 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
Can you sell ceramic water filters to people in areas without access to clean water?
Download the Clean Access to Water Challenge
Can you provide smallholder farmers high-quality inputs and training proven to increase their harvests?
Download the Quality Inputs Challenge
Can you provide smallholder farmers post-harvest loans and storage technology proven to increase their incomes?
Download the Post-Harvest Support 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
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
Can you distribute non-prescription reading/ working glasses to those in need?
Download the Reading Glasses Challenge
Can you provide business coaching, capital, and social support to lift people out of ultra poverty?
Download the Poverty Graduation 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
Can you sell pico solar lamps to rural or slum-dwelling households without regular access to electricity?
Download the Solar Lamp Challenge
Can you monitor and report data to reduce corruption and improve public service?
Download the Government Transparency Challenge
Can you reduce road fatalities by mobilizing the public with a proven public transportation safety campaign?
Download the Road Safety 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
Can you improve foundational literacy and numeracy in underserved primary school learners by distributing the proven ConnectEd phone based intervention?
Download the ConnectEd 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.
D-Prize is designed for new entrepreneurs. Most winners are first-time founders who have not yet launched their organization or raised significant funding.
You are eligible if:
You plan to launch a new organization.
You are based in a low- or middle-income country.
Your organization is less than 18 months old.
You have raised less than $30,000 USD in outside funding.
Existing organizations may apply only if their core mission focuses on distributing a proven poverty solution. See who we recently seeded.
Competition Launch: 13 October 2025
Early Submission Deadline: 23 November 2025 (midnight PT)
Regular Submission Deadline: 14 December 2025 (midnight PT)
Extension Deadline: 4 January 2026 (midnight PT) — registration required. Register for an extension.
Download the Application Packet from the D-Prize website.
Select a Challenge that matches your interests or propose your own.
Submit a Two-Page Concept Note outlining your idea and include your resume(s).
Round 1: Submit your concept note and resume.
Round 2: The top 5% of applicants are invited to answer short written questions.
Final Round: Top entrepreneurs are interviewed via phone or email.
Winners: The top 1% receive up to $20,000 USD in seed funding.
Winners spend the next few months piloting their idea and building their organization for large-scale impact.
D-Prize runs its Global Competition twice per year. Sign up to receive alerts when the next round opens. D-Prize respects your privacy and does not share your data.
If you’re ready to fight poverty, empower communities, and create sustainable change, this is your moment.
Apply for the D-Prize Global Competition 2025 and launch your idea into action.
Download the Application Packet and begin your journey today.
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