Aspiring Entrepreneurs apply for a Global D-Prize ($20,000 Grant Award)

Deadlines: December 30, 2015 (Regular Deadline) & January 16, 2016 (Limited Extension)

D-Prize is calling to the world’s boldest entrepreneurs. The world has solutions to poverty. Can you distribute them to those in need? Our world has already invented many effective poverty solutions, but sadly most fail to reach actual people in need. Millions of lives would improve if people had access to proven energy, education, health, and other interventions.

Can you design a new social enterprise and solve one of the distribution challenges below? If selected, we will award you up to $20,000 to launch a pilot in Africa, India, or another other developing region. D-Prize will award 5-15 social entrepreneurs funding. If your pilot is successful, we will help you find future funding and grow to impact millions.

Eligibility

• D-Prize challenges are open to anyone or any teams. The sole restriction is that individuals and their immediate family on the judging panel may not participate as a contestant.
• D-Prize is also open to any business model (for profit, non-profit, and everything in between). All winners will be awarded up to $20,000 in the form of a convertible grant.
• Up to 15 of the most promising proposals will be selected for funding awards, regardless of which challenge track was selected.

Distribution challenges

• Girls Education
  A. Sugar Daddy Awareness Challenge: 14 million unintended teen pregnancies occur annually in sub-Saharan Africa, and girls are 5x more likely to be infected with HIV. A one-hour “sugar daddy awareness” class reduces these risks 28%. Can you teach “sugar daddy awareness” classes to girls in need?
  B. Scholarship Challenge: Fewer than 50% of girls in developing countries will finish high school because they cannot afford fees. A $250 scholarship can quickly change a young girl’s life. Can you create a fundraising website and raise money from developed-world donors?
• Energy
  A. Solar Lamp Challenge: 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa use kerosene lanterns to light their homes. Solar lamps are cheaper, cleaner, create cost savings, and increase household incomes by 30%. Can you sell solar lights to rural or slum-dwelling households in need?
  B. Cook Stove Challenge: 3 billion people cook on traditional stoves, which cause chronic smoke exposure and are the cause of 4% percent of the global disease burden. A $13 modern stove provides cost savings and health benefits. Can you sell cook stoves and maintain long-term adoption rates?
• Education
  A. Flipped Classroom Challenge: By 2030 Africa will need to fill an impossible 4.1 million teaching positions. “Flipped classrooms” and deskilled curriculum can be run by a facilitator, and reduce the need for expert teachers. Can you implement an effective curriculum to teach students in a resource-limited classroom?
  B. Testing Challenge: In sub-Saharan Africa, 40% of children remain illiterate even after five years of school. Testing and public scorecards increase accountability in poor education systems. Can you launch an organization that tests student and school performance, and makes the information publicly available?
• Governance & Infrastructure
  A. Transparency Challenge: Public services in developing countries are rife with corruption. Public reporting and scorecards creates real accountability. Can you improve transparency and report data on the public service performance?
  B. Road Monitoring Challenge: World Bank infrastructure projects see a high social ROI, yet only 19% of roads in sub-Saharan Africa are paved. New road projects often cuts corners and may not even be finished. Can you create a simple road-construction mapping and monitoring system?
• Global Health
  A. Vaccine Challenge: For $20, a child can be vaccinated against a range of infectious disease for life. Yet millions of vaccines are wasted. Can you create a simple management system that tracks vaccine supplies?
  B. Corrective Surgery Challenge: Obstetric fistula, cervical cancer, club foot, and cataracts all have effective treatments. Yet identifying patients among large populations is difficult. Can you create a way to identify patients and connect them to early treatment solutions?
  C. Maternal Health Challenge : Misoprostol is a $3 drug that could prevent 100,000 maternal deaths from postpartum hemorrhaging. Can you develop an organization to train birth attendants to administer misoprostol?
• Custom
  Propose your own challenge! is you know of another proven intervention in need of greater distribution, we would like to hear it. The only requirements are to choose an already proven poverty solution that is in need of distribution to more people in the developing world. See suggested challenge parameters.

How to Apply

Application Instructions

• Prepare your concept note and resume, and clearly name your files. Files must be PDF and are limited to a size of 4MB each.
• Input your contact details and upload your documents to www.d-prize.org/submit Need an extension?

***A two-week extension is available to the first 100 people who register at www.d-prize.org/extension***

For more information, visit D-Prize or e-mail questions to the D-Prize team at help@d-prize.org