Grand Challenges, the Gates Foundation’s open innovation platform, is offering awards of up to 500,000 United States dollars for projects testing whether AI-enabled direct-to-consumer engagement can improve contraceptive uptake, continuation and informed method choice in sub-Saharan Africa. Applications close on 25 August 2026 at 11:30 US Pacific Time, which is eight days from this issue. Nigeria is named as a preferred country.

What the challenge is actually asking for

This is an evidence call, not a build call. The funder wants funded projects to deploy, test and evaluate AI-assisted consumer engagement tools and contribute to a shared evidence base for the field. That framing matters for how you write the application. A proposal that promises to build a chatbot will lose to a proposal that explains what question the chatbot will answer, how the outcome will be measured, and what the field will learn whether the result is positive or negative.

How much and for how long

The maximum award is 500,000 dollars over a grant term of up to 12 months. Indirect costs are capped at 15 percent of the total budget. Twelve months is short for a deployment and an evaluation, so a credible workplan almost certainly builds on something that already exists rather than starting from a blank page.

Who is eligible

Eligibility is broad on organisation type: nonprofits, for-profit companies, international organisations, government agencies, academic institutions, and multi-stakeholder collaborations, which the funder actively encourages. Individuals are not eligible, nor are organisations classified as individuals for United States tax purposes, so you need a legally recognised entity.

Geographically, projects must operate in sub-Saharan Africa. Eligible countries are Nigeria, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Senegal, Niger, Kenya, South Africa, Zambia and Cote d’Ivoire. Preference is stated for solutions in Nigeria, Ethiopia, DRC, Tanzania, Senegal, Niger or Cote d’Ivoire.

How to apply well

Applications are submitted through the Gates Foundation portal. Before you write, read the rules and guidelines, application instructions, budget template and FAQs, all linked from the challenge page. Foundations reject on compliance more often than on ideas.

With eight days left, the realistic path is a focused, evaluation-led proposal built on an existing platform and an existing partnership. Name your measurement approach early. State your comparison. Be specific about which of the preferred countries you will work in and why you can operate there now.

If you cannot make this deadline, the Grand Challenges platform issues new calls regularly. Register on the portal so the next one does not surprise you.

Why this matters

Nigeria being named a preferred country is the headline for African founders. Global health funders often talk about African priority markets in the abstract; here the preference is written into the call. Any Nigerian health technology company already running consumer engagement at scale, whether by WhatsApp, SMS or app, is closer to eligible than it may assume. HubPharm Africa’s own AI health companion, Afiya, reaches more than 15,000 users across 31 countries on WhatsApp, which is evidence that the channel and the model work on this continent.

 

OFFICIAL APPLICATION LINK

Apply on the Gates Foundation portal

https://submit.gatesfoundation.org/prog/ai-enabled_consumer_engagement_to_advance_family_planning