Microgrants

Apply for a Microgrant

PROMISE Labs Africa Microgrants fund African researchers directly—fast, flexible, with no overhead and no long delays. Right now, each grant is $100. As funding grows, we aim to award grants of up to $1,000.

Who should apply

We fund researchers based in Africa—students, educators, analysts, and practitioners—whose work asks a behavioral question about a real problem in their community. You don’t need an advanced degree or an institutional affiliation. Meet the 2025 winners →

The annual cycle

1. Mid-September – October 31

   Applications open

   Submit a short application describing your research question, why it matters to your community, and how you would use the grant.

2. First week of November

   Shortlist review

   We review every application and select a shortlist of the strongest proposals.

3. Second week of November

   Interviews & selection

   Shortlisted applicants meet with us for a brief conversation about their proposal before final selections are made.

4. Late November

   Winners announced

   Winners are announced publicly and featured on this site and our Substack.

What winners commit to

Every winner completes their project and shares what they learned in a public closeout presentation—watch the 2025 presentations on YouTube.

Before collecting data, every winner also completes a human subjects research ethics course (within the past 3 years) and submits evidence of completion. We accept the CITI Program Social and Behavioral course, the Global Health Training Center's Research Ethics Online Training (free for anyone, anywhere), OHRP Human Research Protection training, and comparable institutional training. Researchers in Nigeria can also complete CITI training free through the Center for Bioethics and Research.