Frequently Asked Questions
It has come to the Fund’s attention that the geographical eligibility criteria in the T&Cs may not be as clear as we would have liked.
So that applicants have no doubt about their eligibility, we thought it best to clarify that this Funding Round is only open to proposals for projects in Sub-Saharan African and Asian countries that are classified by the OECD DAC as Least Developed, Other Low Income, and Lower Middle Income.
It is not open to projects in Sub-Saharan African or Asian countries classified as Upper Middle Income or above. For example, this means that projects in that Botswana, China, Gabon, Kazakhstan, Mauritius, Namibia, the Seychelles, South Africa, and Thailand are ineligible.
Additionally it is worth noting that, in order to be eligible, the Lead Applicant must have existing users and revenue in at least one eligible Sub-Saharan African or Asian country classified by the OECD DAC as Least Developed, Other Low Income, and Lower Middle Income. As above, Botswana, China, Gabon, Kazakhstan, Mauritius, Namibia, the Seychelles, South Africa, and Thailand are not considered to be eligible countries.
Please refer to the revised T&Cs for full details. Additional geographical FAQs can also be found below.
The Terms of Conditions (T&Cs) for this Funding Round set out the objectives of the Fund, the type of organisations the Fund is looking to support, and the eligibility criteria for applying for funding. They are available here.
The Fund aims to increase mobile internet adoption and usage among those who have access to mobile internet services but are not using it. In order to be eligible to apply for funding, a Lead Applicant must use or be planning to use mobile technology strategically to contribute to this objective.
The Fund is open to post-revenue start-ups and small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Incubators and accelerators are not eligible to apply for funding, but they should however recommend to eligible start-ups in their current or past cohorts that they apply directly.
Social enterprises that are registered and operating as private sector companies in the country of grant implementation will be considered for funding as long as they meet the rest of the eligibility criteria set out in the T&Cs.
Charitable organisations, non-profit organisations, and any other organisations that are not registered and operating as private sector companies will not be eligible to apply for funding as the Lead Applicant, however applications from eligible start-ups or SMEs with these organisations as project partners are welcomed.
The Fund aims to support innovative start-up and SME private sector companies that are willing and able to work with mobile network operators, rather than providing support directly to mobile network operators. As such, applications from eligible organisations with mobile network operators as existing project partners are welcomed.
To be eligible to apply for funding a Lead Applicant must ALREADY be registered and operating in the country of project implementation, have active users and revenue in at least one eligible country, and (if different) be registered in the country in which the grant funding will be received.
While there is no requirement for how long a Lead Applicant needs to have been registered as a legal entity, for an organisation to be considered eligible to apply for funding, they must be registered and operating in the country of project implementation AND have active users and revenue in either the country of project implementation or another eligible country.
To be eligible to apply for funding a Lead Applicant must already have active users AND revenue in at least one eligible country, must be registered and operating in the country of project implementation, and (if different) be registered in the country in which the grant funding will be received.
Lead Applicants do not need an existing partnership with a mobile operator partner in order to be eligible to apply for funding. However, the Lead Applicants must demonstrate having the potential and appetite to form strategic partnerships with mobile operators.
While proposals will be considered for projects in ANY Sub-Saharan African or Asian country classified by the OECD DAC as Least Developed, Other Low Income, and Lower Middle Income, preference will be given to projects in:
Sub-Saharan Africa – Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Asia – Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
For a Lead Applicant to be eligible, they must apply for funding for a project in at least one of the eligible countries set out in the T&Cs. Lead Applicants can apply to implement the project in multiple eligible countries, but grant funding cannot ever be spent in non-eligible countries.
Additionally, if the intention is to implement the project in multiple eligible countries, the Lead Applicant must be able to demonstrate they have the capacity to roll out/scale their innovation in more than one eligible country within the grant period.
Further, the Lead Applicant must already be registered and operating in the country (or countries) of project implementation, and already have active users and revenue in at least one eligible country.
There is no pre-defined number of applications we want from a specific region.
This said, while proposals will be considered for projects in ANY Sub-Saharan Africa or Asian country classified by the OECD DAC as Least Developed, Other Low Income, and Lower Middle Income, preference will be given to projects in:
Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
To be eligible to apply for funding, a Lead Applicant must be registered and operating in the country of project implementation and, if different, be registered in the country in which the grant funding will be received. They must also have active users and revenue in at least one eligible country.
Previous or current recipients of GSMA grants are eligible to apply for funding. However, the Fund operates according to the principle of additionality. This means that the provision of grants must not substitute or replace an organisation’s core funding (or other existing funding), or crowd out or under-cut other funding sources. If a project progresses to the Proposal stage, both the Technical and Financial Proposal will be scrutinised by the Fund to ensure the applicant needs the amount of grant funding requested.
The Fund operates according to the principle of additionality. This means that the provision of grants must not substitute or replace an organisation’s core funding (or other existing funding), or crowd out or under-cut other funding sources. If a project progresses to the Proposal stage, both the Technical and Financial Proposal will be scrutinised by the Fund to ensure the applicant truly needs the amount of grant funding requested.
To be considered eligible to apply for funding the Lead Applicant must commit to providing a matching contribution of at least 50% of the amount requested from the Fund. For instance, if an applicant is requesting £200,000 from the Fund, a match funding contribution of at least £100,000 is required.
Match funding contributions can be made ‘in cash’ and/or ‘in kind’ and can be provided by the Lead Applicant themselves or a third-party. For more details and examples of what constitutes ‘in cash’ or ‘in kind’, please refer to the T&Cs.
Match funding does not have to be secured prior to the Pitch submission, however the Lead Applicant should explain in the relevant section of the application questionnaire how certain/confident they are of securing the contribution and any related conditions or dependencies.
If a project proceeds to the Proposal stage, the Lead Applicant will be required to provide evidence that the match funding has been secured or will be secured prior to contracting. Failure to provide this evidence will mean the Proposal is rejected. Please refer to the T&Cs for examples of evidence.
The Fund is looking for start-ups or SMEs willing and able to work with mobile operators on projects which advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In order to be eligible to apply for funding, a Lead Applicant needs to demonstrate how their project will advance the SDGs. This can mean just those related to mobile internet connectivity (e.g. SDG 9), however it is expected that projects which contribute to multiple SDGs will be able to demonstrate achieving the greatest socio-economic impact.
Applications cannot be edited once they have been submitted. Additionally, multiple submissions for the same project are not permitted. In cases where this occurs, the first submission will be reviewed if it is eligible but all duplicate submissions will be deemed ineligible and not reviewed.