Mid-August Update: 55 New Funding Opportunities!

Fifty-five new funding calls opened in mid‑August, bringing roughly USD $55 million in competitive funding and a notable shift in eligibility rules: multiple programmes now require organisations to be women‑led to qualify. New grants and accelerators range from equity‑free corporate cohorts to investigator‑led research funding, and include COSPE’s Inclusive Nissa, the Numun Fund, C3’s EmpowerHer, Reliance Foundation’s SheConnects, and direct support from Enthuse and Tara.

"Women-led stopped being the theme and became the eligibility," said the update summarising the cycle, highlighting that at least five funders in this batch now gate access by organisational leadership rather than programmatic impact alone.

The pattern plays out across sectors. In gender and inclusion-focused calls, COSPE’s Inclusive Nissa is explicitly written for women’s financial inclusion in Egypt; the Numun Fund targets feminist and women‑led tech; C3’s EmpowerHer accepts only women‑founded climate startups across MENA; Reliance Foundation’s SheConnects funds women‑focused digital work in India; and Enthuse and Tara back women‑founded ventures outright. That concentration represents a structural shift in how funders route capital to gendered organisations, moving from thematic funding for women’s issues to leadership‑based eligibility.

Research and corporate terms

Alongside gendered eligibility, the cycle emphasises two other trends. First, several corporate and corporate‑adjacent accelerators are competing on non‑dilutive terms: Google for Startups is offering up to ZAR R1M of non‑dilutive funding into a South African cohort; C3’s EmpowerHer is explicitly equity‑free; Villgro Africa and Social Alpha provide catalytic, stage‑based support rather than taking equity; and Reckitt’s Catalyst offers flexible financing to social entrepreneurs. "The venture‑style capital we have watched become the default shape since May is now differentiating on terms, and equity‑free is the pitch," the report notes.

Second, funders continue to bankroll the "machinery of research" — methods, measurement and institutional capacity — rather than only service delivery. Major programmes include Merck KGaA’s 2026 Research Grants, which fund collaborative projects in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals with awards up to EUR 250,000 per year for two years for neuroinflammatory disease models, EUR 150,000/year for AI in cell culture and material remediation, and EUR 100,000/year for cell‑free screening assays. The programme is structured as a collaboration: "The grant is a collaboration, not a check: abstracts move to joint workshops with Merck scientists," the guidance states. Other initiatives cited include the Pfizer‑Astellas medical‑education call, TRAILS4SOIL’s soil MRV procurement, and a Slovak‑Israeli bilateral R&D programme.

• Number of new calls: 55
• Competitive funding pool cited: USD $55M
• Merck KGaA grant amounts: up to EUR 250,000/year (neuroinflammation) and lower tiers for other tracks
• Earthshot Prize: GBP 1,000,000 per winner; five winners annually

Outlook: funders are increasingly explicit about whom they intend to support and on what terms — privileging women‑led entities in multiple streams, offering non‑dilutive corporate support as a recruiting tool, and deepening investment in foundational research capacity. For applicants, the practical implications are clear: align applications to stated leadership criteria, favour collaborations that can co‑develop with industry partners, and prioritise opportunities that explicitly promise equity‑free financing or investigator‑led research support.