Are you someone who believes that solar power can solve the problem of getting cheap, clean energy to people living off the grid in developing countries? Do you believe that a solar lighting enterprise has great ‘inclusive business’ potential but are unsure about how to get started? If so, our latest Spotlight publication on…

Making 'deals' with government and partners.  Managing innovation.  Getting the cost model right.  And moving beyond an IAP grant to further finance.  These have all emerged as critical issues in the first overview of progress and lessons in the portfolio of  Innovation Against Poverty (IAP).  

Last week the first Knowledge Exchange Report from IAP was published, entitled…

Just how big is the gap between what entrepreneurs say they will achieve, and what happens in practice?  And in the absence of a crystal ball, what tools and criteria do we use to assess the likely trajectory?

These questions are addressed in  two analyses recently published by the Business Innovation Facility, in its Portfolio Review at the end of…

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, in partnership with the Rural Electrification Agency and GTZ joined forces to enable people in rural Uganda to buy affordable solar systems during the Access to Solar campaign. Text to Change together with …

Mobile services in agriculture used for information services, creation of new learning tools and market updates seems to be the area where the speed of innovation is now seriously picking up in Africa, as mobile networks have reached critical size and penetration to allow for new application creation. Sida is arranging a seminar titled "Can mobile phones improve agricultural productivity, resilience and food security?" 29 May at their HQ in Stockholm together with…

An agriculture company that’s looking to enhance its local sourcing strategy, an education initiative whose vision is to make internet connectivity available for all children in Tanzania and a health venture that aims to replicate successful health approaches from elsewhere.  All these, and others, were in the 70-strong audience at Innovations Against Poverty (IAP) launch in Tanzania/ Dar es Salaam in the beginning of March. The event was a full house, with more people attending than were…

Innovations Against Poverty, the new challenge fund by Sida, had a successful start last year with hundreds of entrepreneurs getting engaged and nearly 30 companies receiving financial support. The funding and outreach is now increasing to also target middle income countries in the Middle East and North…

Innovations Against Poverty's newly released Guide to IAP assessment criteria outlines how applications and concept notes are reviewed and assessed against a set of five eligibility criteria:

• Commerciality
• Development effects
• Cost-sharing…

Our application process is open again! Sida has made more funds available to put additional focus on challenges in the MENA region. The window to apply is open until 30 April.

Read more

Specialty food business Lotus Foods was awarded a small grant to scale up its sustainable rice initiative in IAP's first funding round last year.  The company has now been profiled in Specialty Food Magazine, part of the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade, in a recent article entitled…

Three billion people in the developing world use open fires or wood charcoal for cooking. Cooking over open fire produces black soot and toxic gases, leading to the premature death of 1,8 million persons yearly, mainly women and children. It is also estimated that particulates from open fires is responsible for 18% of the greenhouse effect. Many low-income families spend a substantial part of their household income on wood or charcoal for cooking. Others spend a lot of time collecting wood…

In November 2011, the first round of projects to receive support from Innovations Against Poverty were selected for both small and large grants. The IAP team has analysed these projects to determine their key characteristics including geographical and sectoral spread, size and type of applicant organisations, and main beneficiary groups. The main findings of this analysis are summarised in two-page summary.…

Two IAP-funded projects have been featured in a database of case studies devleoped by the UNFCCC under its Private Sector Initiative. The database showcases HiNation's solar lighting initiative in Zambia and…

Innovations Against Poverty received 236 applications when the second application window closed end of November. 108 small grant applications and 122 concept notes for large grants were submitted from 40 countries.

Find out more here.

Summaries for ten IAP small grants projects are now available on the Hub.  These projects cover a range of areas including renewable energy, mobile technology, health and food production, and will be implemented in countries across Africa and Asia. 

Visit the IAP projects page for a full list and links to each project summary.  You can also download pdfs of the summaries at the…

In a press release issued on November 14, Sida has announced that it will be awarding grants of up to 200,000 euros to nine organisations under the Innovations Against Poverty programme.  These companies are active within the fields of agriculture, energy, food, health, sanitation and waste.  The…

The window for grant applications to Innovations Against Poverty will close on 25^th November.  With this deadline drawing nearer, we have put together some essential tips on what makes a strong application.

If you are a prospective applicant, be sure to check your application against these simple points and click on the links below for more detail.

Here are a few of our top tips that emerged from recent BIF/IAP events in Zambia:

1.     Provide…

The next deadline for applications to Innovations Against Poverty is 25 November this year. Find out more about how to apply here and visit the IAP webpages for further information and latest news.  IAP provides financial assistance with small…

In the first round of grants from the Swedish Innovations Against Poverty programme twelve organisations have been granted funds up to 20,000 euros. These companies are innovating within the fields of energy, agriculture, water, sanitation and financial services.

Since April this year, Sida (the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency) is operating the…