ZAR 45,000 to ZAR 85,000 for digital democracy work in Africa
A fund run by OpenUp, the Civic Tech Innovation Network and Wits Enterprise under the CIVICUS Digital Democracy Initiative, backing grassroots digital democracy projects in sub-Saharan Africa.
Use when
You run a small civic-engagement or open-data project in sub-Saharan Africa and can either register or line up a fiscal sponsor.
Skip when
You are unregistered with no fiscal sponsor - Tier I requires registration outright, contrary to how this fund is often described.
Status (8 Sep 2026): Cohort 2 applications are closed and no Cohort 3 date is announced - monitor ddisafund.org and the OpenUp channels. Awards: Tier I ZAR 45,000 (about US$2,400) for grassroots organisations with 1 year of experience, and Tier II ZAR 85,000 (about US$4,600) for established organisations with 2 years. Registration is required for Tier I; Tier II accepts a fiscal sponsor if you are unregistered. Applicants must be based in sub-Saharan Africa (40 countries) with a clear civic engagement or inclusive democracy focus - DDISA's own definition of innovation names data visualisation for budget transparency.
Alternatives
Equity-free acceleration plus up to $500,000 follow-on in Morocco
Kigali's venture studio and early-stage investor
Mini-MBA and seed prizes for Cameroonian women entrepreneurs
