Can you create a new business or NGO that delivers a proven poverty intervention on a large scale? If yes, apply for the D-Prize Challenges for Entrepreneurs.

Submit a concept for a new organization that addresses one of the distribution challenges below. D-Prize will award up to USD 20,000 to the most promising teams to help launch their new organization wherever extreme poverty exists.

Important Details

• Launch Date: 7 April 2026
• Early Submission Deadline: 17 May 2026 (midnight PT)
• Regular Submission Deadline: 7 June 2026 (midnight PT)
• Extension Deadline: 28 June 2026 (midnight PT)
• Prize Value: Up to 20,000 USD
• Gender: Male/Female
• Eligible Countries: All
• Host Organization: D-Prize
• Distribution Challenges Categories:
  • Health
  • Water
  • Agriculture
  • Livelihoods
  • Energy
  • Public Services
  • Custom
  • Education

Eligibility Criteria for D-Prize Challenges

All contestants should meet the following requirements for the D-Prize Challenges for Entrepreneurs:

• Aspiring entrepreneurs from worldwide, of any age, and from any background can apply for this Prize. The majority of awardees have neither launched nor raised any funds.
• D-Prize funding is only for existing organizations.
• The Prize cannot support any applicant distributing an existing intervention and has a high-risk capital requirement that current donors or revenue cannot meet.
• Existing organizations must have an operation for no more than 18 months and have raised a maximum of $30,000 in outside funding.
• At this time, all submissions and proposals should be in English. However, applicants do not need to be fluent in English to apply.

Required Documents for Proposal

The proposal should have three parts as follows:

• Concept Note: Prepare a limited two-page concept note responding to the following prompts:

1. How does the applicant’s new organization or venture idea improve the distribution of their selected intervention?
2. What is the expected impact of their work?
3. Who are their team members?

• CV/ Resumes: Include a resume for each team member, limited to one page for each member. The resume must highlight the most relevant past leadership roles and accomplishments.
• Additional Information:if submitting a proposal to a Custom Challenge category.

Evaluation Procedure

The evaluation procedure of the D-Prize Challenges has four rounds as follows:

Round 1:

Send a concept note and resume (s) to the D-Prize team. Please note that each competition receives more than 3000 submissions. With the abovementioned deadlines, First-Round proposals will be accepted on a rolling basis. The organizer aims to make decisions within four months. Before making a decision, judges may seek additional Information by email.

Round 2:

In round two, the top 5% of entrepreneurs will receive an invitation to respond to brief written questions. Applicants will have two weeks to draft and submit their answers.

Final Round:

Top entrepreneurs conduct phone and email interviews. The top 1% will get up to $20,000 in seed funding.

Launching Round:

At this stage, entrepreneurs will spend the next three months using their skills to launch a business that has the potential to grow and benefit millions of people.

How to Apply for D-Prize Challenges?

To apply for the D-Prize Challenges, applicants should download the Information about the challenge they will solve, read it carefully, prepare the required documents, and apply online.

Apply Now

Check this Podcast to learn more about the D-Prize and Application details:

To learn more about D-Prize Challenges for Entrepreneurs, please refer to D-Prize’s website.

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