The application process lasts roughly 11-12 months. The application process is split into 3 distinct stages:

• Pitch stage – applicants have a 5-7 week window to submit and application and the GSMA team shortlists applications for proposal stage over a 7-8 week period.
• Proposal stage – chosen applicants will be required to submit a forma project and financial proposal. Due diligence visits and interviews will also be conducted at this stage. The proposal stage culminates in a Fund Panel where the grants are awarded by independent experts
• Contracting stage – Ahead of contract signature grantees are expected to update their proposals pending feedback from the expert panel and meet any conditions that required ahead of signature. This process lasts around 14 weeks.

Following contract signature, grant length varies depending on the funding round.

On average, the GSMA Innovation Fund receives 300 – 600 applications per round.

Roughly 30 applicants are selected to move forward to proposal stage. From that 30 we anticipate around 10-15 are selected by the Fund Panel. However this will vary based on the available funds for the round and the quality of proposals.

All applications will be reviewed members of the team, who will assess the merits of each pitch, as well as screening them against our Fund eligibility criteria outlined in the Terms and Conditions. 

An independent panel of experts (‘Fund Panel’) will evaluate and appraise proposals based on the submitted material as well as recommendations from the GSMA and the Fund Manager.

Due to the high volume of interest and pitches we receive, we are unable to provide feedback to applicants who have been unsuccessful in initial pitch stage of the application process. 

However, we will be able to provide feedback to any applicants who are unsuccessful after having been invited to submit a full proposal.

The GSMA Innovation Fund uses a grant management platform to manage its grants end to end. You will be expected to register for this platform and submit an eligibility check before you can start your initial application. Once your pitch stage application is submitted and if you are successful, your proposal will be managed directly on this platform until grant closure. Only applications submitted on this platform will be accepted. You can register to the platform here  at any time and open rounds will appear in the main application portal.

Yes, you can edit your application at any time while the application window is open. To do so simply log onto the GSMA Innovation Fund grant management platform and edit your open draft. Specific information and guidance is provided on the application portal.

If you encounter any issues, please review the guidance on the application portal homepage. If you are still encountering problems, please contact [email protected]

Please contact the [email protected] and we will do our best to respond in a timely manner. For questions related to an open funding round we will generally hold an introductory webinar and we encourage you to join and pose your question in that forum. For details on webinars, please visit the open funding rounds application page.

Please refer to the open funding rounds application page to download our T&Cs. Here’s an example of T&Cs from a recent funding round.

Grantees that have successfully completed their grant from the GSMA are eligible to apply. However, preference will be given to applicants (organisations) that have not received prior UK Aid or Sida grant funding through the GSMA. Applicants that have received grant funding from the GSMA Innovation Fund in the past will need to strongly demonstrate the additionality of the new grant funding. 

Small and growing enterprises refers to commercially viable start-ups, small to medium enterprises and social enterprises with up to 250 employees that have significant potential, and ambition, for growth. To be eligible, applicants will need to demonstrate that a majority of their income is derived from commercial activities. Early-stage companies who have not reached this threshold will need to demonstrate a reliable path to sustainability via commercial activities that generate revenue to be considered.

The eligibility of an NGO to apply is defined in the terms and conditions (T&Cs) of each round.

While the Fund highly encourages partnerships with these entities, they will not be directly eligible to apply or receive grant funding.

No. Incubators and accelerators are not eligible to apply for funding. We welcome their support to recommend eligible start-ups in their current or past cohorts to apply directly.

No. The Fund aims to support innovative small and growing businesses that are willing and able to work with MNOs, rather than providing support directly to MNOs. Note, applications from eligible organisations working in partnership with MNOs are welcomed and encouraged.

Applicants cannot apply as a consortium. Only one organisation can apply for funding and become a grantee. An applicant can have downstream partners.  You can find more information in our Downstream Partners Guidelines. These guidelines are available in open funding rounds application page.

It is important that at the proposal stage the GSMA has full sight of all downstream partners to ensure that the Lead Applicant has (or plans to) appropriately procure, undertake satisfactory due diligence checks and properly contract them. This is because the GSMA is required to communicate full and accurate information about project delivery chains to its donors and ensure that an appropriate level of scrutiny and oversight is applied to all organisations in those delivery chains.

Applicants must be an existing entity registered and operating in the country of project implementation at the time of application (whether domestic or foreign-owned or a joint venture). In cases where responsibility for service delivery lies with a downstream partner, rather than the applicant, for example service delivery by a local government, it may be acceptable for the applicant to be registered in a country other than that of project implementation. You can find geographic restrictions in the T&CS of the open funding round.

There is no requirement on how long the applicant needs to have been registered as a legal entity.  The Fund will consider applications from organisations that are in early stages of operations as long as they are able meet all eligibility requirements, including been able to demonstrate that they are/have:

• Registered as a legal entity and have a bank account capable of receiving GBP payments in the country where they will receive the grant money.
• Active users and revenue in at least one eligible lower or middle-income market (see T&Cs of open funding round for restricted markets).
• Able to provide unqualified audited financial accounts as a condition for funding.