Any legally constituted eligible organisation can apply, including NGOs, companies, universities, research institutes and public institutions. Applicants may be based in Uganda or elsewhere, but the proposed project must be implemented in a qualifying low- or middle-income country. Individuals and multilateral organisations cannot apply. Projects must offer an innovative approach to poverty or inequality, demonstrate appropriate evidence for the requested funding stage and present a credible pathway to cost-effective scale.

The Fund for Innovation in Development finances promising innovations that can reduce poverty and inequality and demonstrate strong evidence, cost-effectiveness and potential for scale. Uganda is an eligible low-income implementation country under the programme\'s geographic rules.

Benefits
Pilot grants provide up to EUR 200,000 for testing innovations in real-world conditions. Impact Evaluation grants provide up to EUR 1.5 million for rigorous counterfactual evaluation of previously piloted innovations. Scale-up funding can reach EUR 4 million for innovations with demonstrated impact, while Transforming Public Policy grants can provide up to EUR 500,000. Preparation grants are temporarily unavailable and are scheduled to reopen separately in 2027.

Requirements
Applicants must provide organisational information and a project proposal addressing the innovation, target population and development problem, evidence available at the selected funding stage, cost-effectiveness, implementation capacity, financial sustainability and pathway to scale. More mature funding stages require progressively stronger evidence of demonstrated impact.

How to apply
Review FID\'s funding stages and select the stage matching the maturity and evidence base of the innovation. The upgraded application platform is officially scheduled to reopen on 2026-09-01. From that date, eligible organisations can submit proposals through FID\'s year-round open call; applications are reviewed on an ongoing basis.