SheConnects Digital Accelerator (range from USD 500,000 to USD 1,000,000)

Deadline:8TH July, 2026

The SheConnects Digital Accelerator: Africa aims to scale proven, high-impact solutions that enable women and girls to participate fully in the digital world, improving their lives and livelihoods. By catalysing innovative partnerships and use cases in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Accelerator will strengthen evidence on what works, foster south-to-south learning, and help shape a more inclusive global digital ecosystem. The Accelerator’s initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa are managed by CARE and the GSMA Foundation with support from the Gates Foundation.

Applicants should propose models that are practical, inclusive, and appropriate to low-resource settings, and that
demonstrate credible potential to impact at least 50,000 women users within an 18-month grant period.

The SheConnects Digital Accelerator: Africa is particularly interested in approaches that:

• place women’s lived realities, needs, and risks at the center of program design and implementation;
• focus on solutions and teams with a track record;
• use digital technologies in ways that are practical, scalable, and responsive to local contexts;
• demonstrate a realistic path to reaching 50,000 or more women users within the grant period;
• build on trusted delivery channels, community partnerships, or strong direct distribution mechanisms;
• articulate how the project could be sustained, scaled, or shared beyond the grant period;
• demonstrate the potential for adaptation or extension across geographies, donor types, and government integration; and
• use responsible AI practices and safeguards if AI is used.

The SheConnects Digital Accelerator: Africa will not fund proposals that:

• Focus only on access, including infrastructure (hubs/labs) and equipment provision
• Propose digital literacy curricula
• Do not support sectoral outcomes
• Are focused only on customer acquisition by increasing the number of female users

Award

• Awards under Accelerator Round 2 are expected to range from USD 500,000 to USD 1,000,000 for an 18-month period of performance.
• Final award amounts will depend on the strength of the proposed approach, the credibility of the pathway to scale, the reasonableness of the proposed budget, and the applicant’s demonstrated capacity to deliver.
• The SheConnects Digital Accelerator: Africa reserves the right to make multiple awards, negotiate budget levels,
  implementation scope, or workplans, request revisions or clarifications from applicants, or make no awards under this solicitation.

Eligibility

Eligible entities for this initiative include:

• Nonprofit and Civil Society Organizations, including registered nonprofits and charities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and community-based organizations
• Mission-Driven For-Profit Organizations. For-profit entities that have a clear public-benefit mission aligned with the goals of the RFP are eligible. Funding cannot be used for core commercial product development, customer acquisition, or general business operations.
• Consortia, Partnerships, & Collaborative Proposals. Proposals may be submitted through partnerships and other
  collaborative arrangements. In such cases, one lead organization must serve as the primary applicant and submit the proposal, with partner organizations included as sub-grantees.
• Academic institutions

Proposal Submission Instructions

Applicants must submit a complete proposal package consisting of the following materials:

• Technical application posted here
• Detailed Budget and budget narrative (template provided in application)
• Proof of organizational registration
• Proposal in English only

For more information.