Startup grants and accelerators: Social Impact

Innovate UK's Innovation Funding Service lists multiple ongoing and upcoming competitions offering grants to UK-registered businesses and other organisations for R&D and innovation projects across sectors such as AI, batteries, energy, health, and more. Each competition has its own eligibility criteria, funding amount, and deadline, with awards ranging from tens of thousands to tens of millions of pounds.

Grand Challenges is a family of initiatives funded by the Gates Foundation that awards grants to innovators tackling global health and development problems. The program has made 4,163 awarded grants across 124 countries since 2003, covering a range of health and development topics. New grant opportunities are posted periodically for specific initiatives under the Grand Challenges umbrella.

Open Technology Fund offers multiple funding tracks for internet freedom technology, including the Rapid Response Fund for emergency digital security support, the Internet Freedom Fund for research and innovative anti-censorship tools, the FOSS Sustainability Fund for maintaining open source projects, and the Surge and Sustain Fund for large-scale anti-censorship tools. The program supports technical research, development, and operational costs for projects combating censorship and surveillance in repressive contexts.

Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation supports early-stage social enterprises with a three-year package of capacity-building support, capital, and community engagement. It provides up to $300,000 USD in unrestricted grant funding or investment capital, plus up to $500,000 USD worth of in-kind operational and technical support, including a board service role from a DRK team member.

Monthly grants for women entrepreneurs, named after Amber Wigdahl. One application is considered for every grant WomensNet gives that year.

Free 5-month residential fellowship in Washington, DC for early-stage social entrepreneurs - no fee, no equity stake. Includes a $10,000 stipend, free housing and workspace, pro-bono legal/business support, and AWS cloud credits.

Global network of zero-equity, zero-fee accelerator programs across multiple regions. Startups compete for non-dilutive cash prizes instead of giving up equity for funding.

Latin America's largest startup acceleration program — a free, equity-free six-week program (Acceleration + Connection phases) with mentorship and training, running two cohorts a year and selecting up to 220 startups per cycle.

An annual international awards programme for women impact entrepreneurs, run by Cartier. Awards come with a grant, a fellowship year and peer coaching. Separate regional awards and a Science & Technology Pioneer award.

Open innovation marketplace connecting social entrepreneurs with non-dilutive grant funding, mentorship and a nine-month support program to scale impact solutions globally.

Chicago's premier healthcare incubator, running equity-free, cohort-based accelerator programs (e.g. the Health Equity Innovation Accelerator) with hospitals, health systems and industry partners - mentorship, curriculum and a network of 200+ healthtech startups.

Argentine government program offering an interest-free honor loan (0% interest, no collateral, no fees) of up to $250,000 for early-stage ventures, or up to $700,000 for the Impacto track focused on social and environmental impact projects, accessed through an authorized incubator.

12-week impact-focused accelerator investing in tech startups tackling climate and sustainability challenges, with dedicated tracks including an Africa agritech cohort.

Africa's largest philanthropic entrepreneurship program - $5,000 in non-refundable seed capital, business training, mentorship, and access to Africa's largest entrepreneur network. Open to citizens and legal residents of any African country; application is completely free.

Corporate-backed equity-free accelerator for APAC startups (including New Zealand and Australia) working on circular economy, climate action or sustainable agriculture - $20,000 equity-free grant, with an additional $100,000 available to program winners.

Government non-reimbursable grants up to $30,000 for Colombian entrepreneurs and startups, plus technical assistance and training - no equity, no cost to apply.

Uruguay's national innovation agency co-funds innovative ventures under 36 months old with non-refundable support (Uruguay contributes at least 40% of project cost, up to $300,000 over 3 years), plus a $40,000 non-refundable Softlandings track for startups relocating to Uruguay.

XPRIZE Foundation runs a series of global 'Grand Challenges' that award large cash prizes to teams or innovators who develop breakthrough solutions in areas like quantum computing, water scarcity, healthspan, wildfire response, carbon removal, and rainforest conservation. Prizes range from $5 million to $119 million and are sponsored by various foundations and corporate partners such as Google Quantum AI, Musk Foundation, and HEVOLUTION.

The Shuttleworth Foundation Fellowship funds individuals ('Fellows') working on social impact and open-knowledge projects for one year. Funding consists of a fellowship grant covering the Fellow's time (amount based on external salary equivalent) plus $275,000 per year in project funding.

Two-stage programme for young founders from Latin America and Africa: a seven-week online incubator taking an idea to MVP through workshops and community, followed by a four-month accelerator in Switzerland with mentorship and introductions to investors. The page states the accelerator ends with a network and potential investment, but names no fixed funding amount.

LAN Accelerator runs a six-week acceleration programme for early-stage tech startups in Latin America, combining masterclasses, 1:1 mentoring, the LAN Brain team memory tool, and a Demo Day in Santiago de Chile. LAN takes equity through a SAFE at the startup's current valuation to cover the programme cost. The page says the top startups of the batch may receive cash investment through a SAFE at the cap of their own round.

A three-month hybrid accelerator program for growth-stage, deeply technical African startups, pairing founders with Google and industry experts to solve technical challenges and grow their business. Benefits include equity-free support, mentoring, technical bootcamps, early access to Google AI products, and eligibility for Cloud credits and free Cloud TPU access.

Echoing Green Fellowship is a full-time program that selects social entrepreneurs working on solutions to major social problems and provides them with seed funding, leadership development, wellness support, and expert resources. Fellows receive a stipend of $100,000 over 18 months, with for-profit organizations receiving funding as recoverable grants. The program also connects Fellows to a community of peers and experienced business leaders through convenings and pro-bono expert support.

Fast Forward's Accelerator is a three-month program for early-stage tech and AI-powered nonprofits, providing $25K+ in unrestricted funding, mentorship from tech and social impact leaders, and a curriculum covering both tech development and nonprofit management. Participants culminate in a Demo Day pitch and gain ongoing post-program support through Fast Forward's Portfolio Services, including peer circles and continued fundraising assistance.

Google for Startups Black Founders Fund: Africa provided equity-free cash awards along with ongoing Google mentorship, Google Cloud credits, and product support to help Black-led startups in Africa grow. The program ran as a hybrid, 6-month initiative, part of a broader global Black Founders Fund that has awarded more than $40 million since its 2020 launch.