Unlock funding for impact: April 2025 edition! A curated list of funding, fellowship, and acceleration opportunities is tailored to help these businesses thrive and expand their positive influence in the region is here!
The New month, new opportunities! 💡 Whether you’re a nonprofit, civic entity, academic institution, or social enterprisein Asia, securing the right funding can take your mission to the next level. From climate action and social equity to innovation and sustainability, we’ve rounded up the top grants, investments, and funding opportunities to help drive meaningful change.
Ready to power your impact? Explore the latest funding opportunities below!
RELEVANT SUSTAINABLE GOALS
The ASEAN Social Enterprise Development Programme 4.0 (ASEAN SEDP 4.0)
Are you a social entrepreneur in ASEAN looking to scale your impact, connect with like-minded changemakers, and gain access to funding opportunities? The ASEAN Social Enterprise Development Programme 4.0 (ASEAN SEDP 4.0) is now open for applications! This is your chance to accelerate your enterprise’s growth and amplify your impact in solving pressing social and environmental challenges.
Eligibility and Qualification
Social enterprises from ASEAN countries who are implementing projects and creating product challenges related to the 17 SDGs with the following qualifications are eligible to apply:
- The Founder, Co-Founder, CEO, or team members of the Social Enterprise who will participate in the programme are ASEAN nationals or Timor-Leste national, preferably aged between 18 and 35 years old. Those above 35 years old are welcome to apply.
- The Founder, Co-Founder, CEO, or team members must currently reside in one of the following 10 ASEAN countries: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam, or Timor-Leste.
- If selected, the Founder/Co-Founder or C-level must be fully committed to participating in the full cycle of the ASEAN SEDP 4.0 Though not mandatory, it is possible for the Founder/Co-Founder or C-level to invite additional team members to participate in the programme.
- The youth-led social enterprises must have, at minimum, a viable product that can be examined and presented. It would be preferable if the social enterprise already generates revenue.
- The participating Founder/Co-Founder or C-level must have good English as the entire programme will be delivered in
- The social enterprises generate impacts, which address social or environmental issues, and target marginalised and vulnerable communities as beneficiaries.
All interested social enterprises are required to apply to the programme by completing the application form on the following link bit.ly/ASEANSEDP4form by 31 March 2025 23:59 (GMT+7). Applications submitted to other channels will not be considered. Incomplete completion of the form will not be further processed for shortlisting. For enquiries, please contact [email protected]
Application deadline: March 31, 2025.
The Common Fund for Commodities (CFC)
The Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) invites applications for financial support from projects that aim to transform commodity value chains and uplift smallholder and SME-based enterprises in CFC member countries. The CFC provides a variety of financial and technical support options to empower SMEs, cooperatives, International Commodity Bodies (ICBs), and other institutions, particularly those led by or supporting women in agriculture.
To align your proposal with VACS objectives:
-
Support Diverse, Climate-Resilient Crops: Emphasize how your project promotes the cultivation of crops that are both diverse and
adapted to climate change, contributing to resilient food systems. -
Promote Sustainable Agricultural Practices: Detail how your agribusiness integrates sustainable land use and farming practices,
improving soil health and ensuring long-term agricultural productivity. -
Address Food Security: Highlight your commitment to enhancing food security in regions most affected by climate change, particularly
in Africa and Central America. -
Build Resilient Food Systems: Explain how your project will increase both the supply and demand for climate-resilient crops, helping
to establish a more sustainable and equitable food system. -
Demonstrate Measurable Outcomes: Include specific, measurable outcomes that align with VACS objectives, such as improved crop
yields, enhanced soil fertility, or increased income for smallholder farmers. -
Align with VACS Priorities: Ensure that your proposal clearly shows how it meets the VACS selection criteria, emphasizing its potential
to build climate resilience and support sustainable development.
FUNDING AND APPLICATION
- The CFC provides funding to agribusinesses through loans and debt instruments, with a standard maximum of USD 2 million for regular projects and up to USD 300,000 under the Fast-Track procedure. Flexibility is applied for projects demonstrating high impact and strong financial viability.
- All applications must be sent through the ongoing CFC Call for Proposals. No separate applications will be accepted.
Application deadline: April 1, 2025
Information Society Innovation Fund (ISIF Asia) by APNIC Foundation.
The Information Society Innovation Fund (ISIF Asia) empowers organizations across the Asia Pacific region to research, design, and implement Internet-based solutions to solve Digital Development challenges that support community development and growth. Currently seeking projects that address one of the of the foundations focus areas including, internet infrastructure (including IPv6), inclusion, technical capacity and/or research around Internet network operations, and environmental activism through meaningful connectivity.
Geographies: Asia Pacific.
Who can apply: All organizations welcome to apply, including public, private sector, academia (such as universities, or research and development institutions), non-profit, and social enterprises. All applicants must be legally registered in Asia Pacific.
Funding amount: Grants range $30,000 – $250,000.
Targeted Sectors/ SDGs: Digital inclusion, internet connectivity.
Application deadline: April 4, 2025.
TERA-Award Smart Energy Innovation Competition 2024
The TERA-AWARD Energy Innovation Competition aims to empower the development of a green economy, with an objective to identify innovative technologies and solutions for a future with smart energy. Through the competition, the organisers will offer application scenarios, funding opportunities, and resources to entries with potential, helping them their innovative ideas to fruition and achieve commercial success.
This global competition, under the leadership of Dr. Peter Lee, Founder of TERA-Award, offers up to US$1 million in prize money. This video showcases the scale of the competition—over 900 startups across 59 countries—and highlights the cutting-edge technologies being developed.
Hosted by Towngas and empowered by Full Vision Capital, the TERA-Award provides a global incubation platform turning ideas into realities, focusing on technology entrepreneurship, research, and advancement. Don’t miss the upcoming opening ceremony this Friday, featuring insights sharing and panel discussion with industry leaders and past award winners. Stay tuned for more exciting details from the ceremony!
PROGRAM BENEFITS
Grand Prizes
The top three entries in the Grand Final will receive cash prizes :
US$1 million (1st Place)
US$100,000 (2md Place)
US$50,000 (3rd Place)
Strategic Investment
Outstanding projects from the competition will have the opportunity to receive strategic investments form Towngas, Full Vision Capital, and partnership funds.
Application Scenarios
Towngas, along with its subsidiary Towngas Smart Energy will provide outstanding entries with application scenarios, empowering innovative technologies and products to be practically implemented and reproduced rapidly.
Acceleration Programme
Participants will have the opportunity to engage in face-to-face interactions with industry experts, renowned mentors, and investors, fostering project growth.
Media Promotion
A profesional media team will create coverage around trending topics related to the competition. The will uncover, track, and document the growth journey of annual winners while collaborating with mainstream media for extensive promotion and reporting.
Application deadline: April 9, 2025
The Resilience Innovation through Scaling Entrepreneurship (RISE) Urban Challenge
The Global Resilience Partnership (GRP) is launching the Resilience Innovation through Scaling Entrepreneurship (RISE) Urban Challenge to scale innovative urban ideas that address resilience needs in informality contexts.
This initiative provides tailored leadership and mentoring, communication support, and connections to investors, empowering urban entrepreneurs, innovators, and organisations from low- and middle-income countries.
Winners will receive up to $50,000 to scale their initiatives over 12 months. The challenge welcomes solutions prioritising women and youth resilience, and tackling issues such as climate risk, water security, and urban displacement.
Selected projects will receive a tailored leadership and mentoring programme, communications support, and be connected to investors. Subject matter experts will facilitate a leadership academy for the selected entrants. They will also be connected to potential investors and partners from GRP networks. Winners can be awarded prizes up to US$50,000, which will support their scaling and implementation over 12 months up to December 2026.
Complete guidelines are available here. Read these before applying.
Application deadline: April 11, 2025.
Roots — Micro-Grants
The Roots Micro-Grants Program supports youth-led projects to empower voices from the Global South to advocate for climate justice. The program provides grants of up to US$10 thousand to initiatives that prioritize climate justice and social equity. The program will provide grants for between 10-15 grassroots youth-led initiatives, with a focus on groups in Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and South Asia.
The Roots micro-grants project provides funding of up to $10,000 USD per group to help support youth-led projects, initiatives, research, or campaigns that advocate for climate justice through an intersectional lens. The grants are accompanied by ongoing mentorship.
We will offer grants for between 10-15 grassroots youth-led initiatives, with a focus on groups in Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, South East Asia and South Asia.
Preference will be given to projects that demonstrate some, or all, of the following characteristics :
- Community-driven approach: Projects, initiatives, research, or campaigns originating from grassroots efforts at the local level, driven by the community.
- Ambitious and transformative community solutions: Applicants should demonstrate innovative strategies focused on transformative, intersectional, and equitable solutions to address the root causes of the climate crisis.
- Support for marginalized communities: Initiatives actively engage and provide aid and assistance to marginalized communities, including but not limited to, sharing activist knowledge, capacity-building, facilitating leadership workshops, organizing networking events, and hosting climate-focused programs.
- Promotion of intergenerational collaboration: Priority will be given to initiatives that address and foster relationships across generations, seeking to bridge the intergenerational gap and reach audiences beyond existing echo chambers.
- Wellbeing: Groups that put an emphasis on the wellbeing of their membership and building resilient structures within their groups and communities.
Application deadline: April 14, 2025.
The Small Research Grants on Education Program by Spencer Foundation
The Small Research Grants on Education Program supports education research projects that will contribute to the improvement of education. This program is “field-initiated” in that proposal submissions are not in response to a specific request for a particular research topic, discipline, design, method, or location. The goal for this program is to support rigorous, intellectually ambitious and technically sound research that is relevant to the most pressing questions and compelling opportunities in education. The Spencer Foundation funds research projects that span the life course (i.e., from early childhood to adult learning) as well as those that focus on contexts outside of school.
Geographies: Global.
Who can apply: Principal Investigators (PIs) with an earned doctorate in an academic discipline or professional field and affiliated with a non-profit organization or public/governmental institution that is willing to serve as the administering organization if the grant is awarded.
Funding amount: Grants up to $50,000 for projects ranging from one to five years.
Targeted Sectors/ SDGs: Education.
Application deadline: Next round closes April 16, 2025. They accept applications three times a year.
2025 Global Economic Prosperity Challenge(by MIT SOLVE)
MIT Solve seeks exceptional technology-driven solutions to increase economic prosperity for all with a 2025 focus on solutions that; 1. Enable universal access to financial services, including innovative fintech tools for banking, insurance, credit, instant payments, and asset ownership, 2. Increase digital participation and security, including reliable connectivity and protected online spaces that safeguard civic participation, privacy, and digital identity, 3. Expand workforce development, such as through skill-based training, employment matching, and career mobility programs, or worker safety and benefits, with an emphasis on underinvested populations. Each Solver team receives $10,000 in unrestricted funding from Solve and access to additional financing in the form of grants and investments, this includes access to a pool of +$1.5M in prize funding at selection and additional funding opportunities throughout the program.
Geographies: Global.
Who can apply: Applicants welcome from all organizations from any stages (concept, prototype, pilot, growth and scale).
Funding amount: $10,000 – $150,000.
Targeted Sectors/ SDGs: Financial services, fintech, digital participation, workforce development AI, innovation.
Application deadline: April 17, 2025.
Ray Of Hope Accelerator
Are you building a startup that draws inspiration from nature to solve environmental challenges ? Looking for funding, mentorship, and global community of like-minded innovators ? The Ray of Hope Accelerator invites you to join a transformative six-month journey designed to support visionary founders like you. Whether you’re developing bio-inspired materials, sustainable energy solutions, or circular manufacturing methods, this program helps you scale your impact and grow as a leader.
Each year, The Ray of Hope Accelerator selects 10 high-impact startups at Pre-seed to Series A stages from around the world. While sectors and technologies vary, every startups we support shares one unifying theme: nature-inspired innovation.
Program Benefits
Selected startups receive :
– 15,000 in non-dilutive funding
– over $50,000 in in-kind services
– tailored coaching and mentoring
– Access to investor networks
– A four-day immersive Nature Retreat
– Comprehensive training in ey areas, including :
– impact and sustainability business strategy
– innovation storytelling and amplification
– Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
– Founder Mental Health and Resilience
Eligibility Criteria:
To be eligible for consideration, your organisation should meet the following criteria:
- Applicants from all over the world
- Early-stage startups that are :
- Nature-inspired : drawing inspiration from biological processes, materials, chemistry, or systems to drive innovation
- Impact-driven: focused on tackling climate and environmental challenges with scalable solutions
- Early-stage: ranging from pre-seed to series A
Application deadline: April 25th, 2025.
CapitaLand Community Resilience Initiative by AVPN
The CapitaLand Community Resilience Initiative is a SGD 3 million initiative, supported by AVPN, dedicated to strengthening community resilience across Asia. Focusing on education, health, and well-being, the initiative is designed to support vulnerable groups, especially children and youth in China, India, Singapore and Vietnam.
By focusing on children and youth, the CapitaLand Community Resilience Initiative aims to equip this group with the skills, knowledge and support systems needed to thrive in the face of adversity, driving economic growth and strengthening their resilience to ensure a stronger, more adaptive and equitable future.
Eligibility Criteria:
To be eligible for consideration, your organisation should meet the following criteria:
- A registered nonprofit organisation
- Operates in one of the following markets:
- China
- India
- Singapore
- Vietnam
- Possess a well-defined plan of the solution with potential for scalability, feasibility and impact
- Organisations must be able to provide 2 recent years of audited financial reports
- Joint applications are allowed, but there must be one lead applicant submitting the application
-
Should NOT be the following:
- Religious organisations
- Politically-affiliated organisations
- Included in the US or EU sanctions list, nor blacklisted by any UN or international agency
Application deadline: April 25th, 2025.
The Lighthouse Fund
AVPN, in collaboration with our partners, is tackling the financing gap at the intersection of climate change and public health while fostering ecosystems for urgent action. Through an open call, we will select a diverse range of non-profit organisations and social enterprises developing innovative solutions to address climate and health challenges in Asia.
Focus Areas:
💡Surveillance & management of climate-sensitive infectious diseases
💡Solutions to reduce heat stress & innovations in stable products
💡Surveillance & management of climate-sensitive infectious diseases
💡Solutions to reduce heat stress & innovations in stable products
Eligibility Criteria:
To be eligible for consideration, your organisation should meet the following criteria:
- Possess a well-defined plan of the solution with potential for scalability, feasibility and impact
- Organisations must be able to provide 2 recent years of audited financial reports
- Joint applications are allowed, but there must be one lead applicant submitting the application
- Should NOT be the following: Religious organisations, Politically-affiliated organisations, Included in the US or EU sanctions list, nor blacklisted by any UN or international agency
Application deadline: May 9, 2025.
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