The D-Prize Competition funds new ventures that distribute proven poverty solutions in the developing world with a convertible grant of up to $20,000 for a 3-month pilot. Anyone aged 18 or older can apply, alone or as a team, with any business model, and there is no application fee. The regular deadline is 15 November 2026 at 23:59 Pacific Time, and an extension until 6 December 2026 is available to people who register in advance. At Youth Works Hub, we reviewed the official application packet and FAQs to bring you the full picture. Find more like it in our Others opportunities.
What D-Prize Funds
💡 Distribution, not invention: D-Prize is exclusively interested in ventures that scale the distribution of an already proven poverty intervention in the developing world. It does not fund prototypes of promising new interventions.
💵 Funding amount: all winners are awarded up to $20,000, offered as a convertible grant. The average D-Prize award is $16,000.
🧪 Pilot: the grant supports a three-month pilot in which you launch your model, begin operations and test whether it works in practice.
🏆 Not a head-to-head contest: you are not competing against other applicants. D-Prize typically funds at least 15 proposals per competition, regardless of the challenge track selected.
🔁 Twice a year: global prizes run twice per year, and taking part is the only way to receive D-Prize funding.
🤝 Support beyond money: if the pilot proves successful, D-Prize can help your venture attract future funding, gives you access to its network of past winners and will do its best to support you in other ways.
Who Can Apply
🙋 Anyone or any team: the competition is open to anyone aged 18 or older, including students, recent graduates, entrepreneurs and professionals. The only restriction is that individuals on the judging panel and their immediate family may not participate.
🏢 Any business model: for-profit, non-profit and everything in between.
📄 No registered entity needed: your company or NGO does not need to be formed already.
👤 Solo founders welcome: you do not need a co-founder or team, although strong teams often bring complementary skills.
🌱 Experience: prior experience in the sector is not always required, but you should show leadership skills and the ability to learn quickly and execute effectively.
⏱️ Commitment: you do not need to work on the idea full-time before applying, but you should have a clear plan to commit full-time if selected. Students and people with other commitments should have a clear idea of how to transition into a full-time founder.
🌎 Anywhere in the world: winners can be from anywhere in the world and operate in any developing country where extreme poverty exists, not only sub-Saharan Africa and India.
📍 Where you will work: you do not need to be a citizen of the country where you plan to operate, but you must have a clear plan to live and work there for the foreseeable future, both during and after the pilot, and show a strong understanding of the local context.
🆕 New organisations: D-Prize primarily funds new organisations. It typically does not support organisations with more than 18 months of full-time operations or more than $30,000 USD in outside funding, and may consider existing organisations only if their core focus is distributing an existing, proven poverty intervention.
What D-Prize Does Not Fund
🏭 Manufacturing or the development of new products.
🆕 New inventions or ideas without credible evidence.
🧺 Proposals from organisations focused on multiple interventions, where D-Prize funding would support only one project.
🎒 Personal or individual financial support, such as scholarships or school fees, and general community projects, such as building wells or schools.
🧱 Prototypes of new or unproven interventions.
Challenge Tracks and Custom Interventions
🎯 Distribution challenges: respond to one of the distribution challenges listed at www.d-prize.org. These are based on proven interventions, so you do not need to provide additional evidence.
🧩 Custom Intervention: if your idea falls outside the listed interventions, you may apply under the Custom Intervention if it distributes a proven, evidence-based intervention that meets the criteria for strong evidence, clear impact and potential to scale.
📚 Credible evidence: custom proposals need credible outside sources such as Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), J-PAL, GiveWell, the World Health Organization, the United Nations and the World Bank. An organisation's website, social media pages, general reports without specific citations, or belief in the idea do not count.
🔗 Custom Challenge requirements: you provide one URL with credible evidence when submitting, and you add one extra page to the concept note, bringing it to three pages. Without a credible source, the proposal is declined.
Deadlines
📆 Early decision deadline: 25 October 2026 at 23:59 Pacific Time (UTC -7), now passed.
🗓️ Regular deadline: 15 November 2026 at 23:59 PT.
⌛ Extension deadline: 6 December 2026 at 23:59 PT. Extensions are limited to the first people who register in advance at www.d-prize.org/extension.
⚖️ Timing does not affect your chances: the chosen deadline does not affect the strength of your proposal. First round proposals are accepted on a rolling basis.
What to Prepare
📝 Concept note (Part 1): limited to two pages. Anything longer is not read.
📎 Resumes (Part 2): one resume or CV per team member, limited to one page per person, highlighting the most relevant leadership roles and accomplishments.
🧾 Additional information (Part 3): Custom Challenge applicants add the evidence URL and extra page. Existing organisations add a summary of activities since launching and their current budget or income statement in the submission webform.
📁 File rules: files must be PDF, with a size limit of 4MB each. Proposals must be written in English, but grammar and vocabulary errors are not penalised.
✋ Submission policies: extra material outside the proposal is not considered, revisions after submission are not considered, and only one proposal per person or partnership is accepted. Proposals sent by email are not reviewed.
What the Concept Note Should Cover
🔧 Your distribution model: 2-3 sentences summarising the main activities of your new organisation, step by step, and how you connect a proven intervention to people in need.
🚧 Barriers: the main barriers that prevent people from accessing the intervention in your pilot region, how your model overcomes them, and the most fundamental part of your organisation that the pilot must prove.
📈 Expected impact: 1-2 sentences on your marginal impact compared with the status quo, at a high level and at an individual or household level. For example, a reduction in infection rates countrywide, or DALYs saved per person.
📊 Outcome table: how many proven interventions you plan to distribute, and how many people you will directly help, over the next 3 months, 1 year and 2 years.
🧮 Budget: 2-3 sentences on how much money you need for the pilot and the 3-5 major expected expenses, plus 1 sentence on your long-term vision.
👥 Team table: everyone on your team, their job titles and responsibilities, each person's location during the pilot, other professional commitments, and, if not local to your operating region, developing country experience and time spent in the pilot region.
✂️ Keep it short: you do not need broad statistics on why the problem matters, because the D-Prize team is already familiar with the challenge topics at a macro level.
How Proposals Are Judged
🔍 Review process: all proposals receive an initial read, and advanced ones receive up to two additional independent readings. Judges may request more information by email.
🧐 Judging panel: individuals with professional experience distributing life-changing technologies in the developing world.
🔥 Passion and potential: evident through your academic and professional background, relevant skills and quick leadership trajectory.
🎯 Focus on distribution: proposals must focus on distributing a proven poverty solution that needs greater access.
📏 Potential for scale: based on the organisational model in the concept note and your desire to commit and grow.
💬 Proposal tips: be succinct and objective, build a plausible case for scale, impact and cost-effectiveness, and keep a narrow, tightly scoped focus.
🤖 AI tools and writing services: using them is fine, but D-Prize considers them probably unnecessary, because evaluation is based on the quality of your idea, not your writing.
Stages After the First Round
📬 Decision timeline: D-Prize aims to send first round decisions within four months, and to respond within 16 weeks after the final deadline, though it can take longer with many submissions. Every proposal receives a response.
📝 Round 2: top entrepreneurs answer several pages of short written questions about operations, budget and milestones, with about two weeks to submit.
🎤 Final Round: finalists interview with the judges over email and on the phone. Depending on promise and cost-effectiveness, judges may award up to $20,000.
Not an Erasmus+ or European Solidarity Corps Programme
⚠️ The D-Prize Competition is not an Erasmus+ or European Solidarity Corps (ESC) programme, and no Erasmus+ or ESC rules or funding apply.
💵 Costs: there is no fee to apply. The grant itself is a convertible grant of up to $20,000.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much funding can I get from D-Prize?
Winners receive up to $20,000 USD, offered as a convertible grant to support a three-month pilot. The average award is $16,000.
Can I apply after 15 November 2026?
Yes, if you register in advance at www.d-prize.org/extension, you can submit until 6 December 2026 at 23:59 PT. Extensions are limited to the first people who register.
Do I need to be based in the country where I will operate?
You do not need to be a citizen, but you need a clear plan to live and work in that developing country for the foreseeable future, during and after the pilot.
Can I apply with more than one idea?
No. Only one proposal per person or partnership is considered per competition, and applications cannot be edited after submission. If you applied in a previous year, you can apply again and explain what changed.
How do I know my submission worked?
You receive an email receipt from apply@d-prize.org. If you have trouble uploading, check that your files are PDFs under 4 MB, clear your browser cache, try another browser or device, and then email help@d-prize.org with screenshots.
Deadline
⏳ 15 November 2026 (extension until 06 December 2026 for people who register in advance)
Links
📨 Submit your concept note and resumes: https://www.d-prize.org/submit
✍️ Register for the extension: https://www.d-prize.org/extension
📄 Application packet (PDF): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V3Akxu351srdTJpR9AF4ZlB8RD7m2F3S/view
🌐 D-Prize website and challenges: https://www.d-prize.org/
❓ FAQs: https://www.d-prize.org/faqs
📧 Questions: help@d-prize.org
