USAID Development Innovation Ventures (DIV)

Goals & Objectives

DIV is an open innovation program by USAID that seeks to fund breakthrough solutions to critical global development challenges. The initiative emphasizes innovation, evidence-building, and scalability to impact millions of lives effectively and efficiently.

Focused Areas & Countries

DIV focuses globally but has significant projects in regions such as Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. The areas of focus include health, agriculture, education, water, energy, and governance.

Strategy

The strategy involves providing flexible grant funding to test new ideas, build evidence of what works, and scale successful solutions. It operates through a tiered funding model that encourages early-stage innovations and mitigates risks at later stages. These are Stage 1: Pilot (up to $200,000), Stage 2: Testing and Positioning for Scale (up to $1,500,000), Stage 3: Transitioning to Scale (up to $15,000,000), Evidence Generation: (up to $1,500,000)

Funding Eligibility Requirements

Open to organizations, including non-profits, for-profits, and academic institutions, that propose innovative solutions to development challenges. Innovations must be cost-effective and evidence-based.

Co-Funding Requirements

Generally, there is no strict requirement for matching funds, but co-funding may enhance an application's competitiveness.

Specialized Eligibility Requirements

The projects should demonstrate a clear path to scale and sustainability, showing how the innovation can grow and be financially viable in the long term

Call for Proposals Requirements

Proposals are accepted on a rolling basis. Applicants must submit detailed proposals outlining their innovative solutions, expected impact, and scalability potential.

Proposal Evaluation Criteria

The evaluation focuses on the innovation’s potential impact, cost-effectiveness, evidence of success, and scalability. Proposals must demonstrate the ability to reach a significant number of beneficiaries.

Other Requirements

All applications must be submitted through the DIV online portal, and applicants may be required to participate in interviews or provide additional documentation during the evaluation process.

Listed Initiatives & Application Open Dates

Applications are accepted year-round, allowing organizations to apply at any time. There are no specific application deadlines.

Past Awarded Projects

DIV has funded a diverse range of projects, including innovations in health care delivery, educational technology, agricultural practices, and financial inclusion. Specific details about past awarded projects, including their locations and principal investigators, are accessible through the DIV portfolio databas.

Project Examples

USAID DIV has funded projects such as solar energy solutions in rural Africa, mobile health technology in South Asia, and agricultural innovation in Latin America.

Awardees

Past awardees include universities like Stanford University, MIT, and organizations like One Acre Fund and BRAC.

Contact Information

Specific project contacts are generally found on the USAID DIV website or through the project summaries provided in the DIV portfolio database​(

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Projects Funded

Name of Awardee	Project Title	Country	Sector	Stage/Amount($)/Year
Medici Group (DBA Propaga)	Increasing Corner Store Profits through Inventory Microfinancing	Mexico	Economic Growth	2 | $450,000 | 2024
ODEKA: l’Organisation des Etudes Economiques sur le Kasai	Evaluating Progressive Versus Proportional Digitized Property Tax Collection	Democratic Republic of the Congo	Economic Growth	2 | $488,000 | 2024
Within Reach Inc.	Evaluating the Effects of a Well-being Curriculum on Student Success	India	Health, Education and Training	2 | $910,000 | 2024
Pula Advisors	Optimizing Agriculture Insurance Products and Services for Smallholder Farmers	Kenya, Zambia	Environment, Agriculture/Food Security	2 | $1,500,000 | 2023
Valala Farms	Piloting an Insect Approach to Address Malnutrition and Food Insecurity	Madagascar	Health, Agriculture/Food Security	1 | $200,000 | 2023
OneSky	Advancing Quality Independent Childcare in Industrial Zones	Vietnam	Education and Training	2 | $1,483,431 | 2023
BasiGo	Scaling Up Clean, Green, Public Transportation in Rwanda	Rwanda	Environment, Energy	2 | $1,500,000 | 2023
Wax & Gold Inc.	Piloting a Neonatal Advanced Life Support Program	Ethiopia	Health	1 | $200,000 | 2023
Village Enterprise	Scaling Sustainable Poverty Graduation	Rwanda	Agriculture/Food Security, Economic Growth	3 | $6,500,000 | 2023
Michigan State University	Testing a Combined SIT/IIT Approach to Control Mosquito-Borne Diseases at Scale	Mexico	Health	2 | $1,500,000 | 2023
Semilla Nueva	Testing Improved Biofortified Maize Seeds and Subsidies	Guatemala	Health, Agriculture/Food Security	2 | $1,200,000 | 2023
HERA Inc.	Testing an mHealth App to Increase Immunization Among Syrian Refugee Children	Turkey	Health, Disaster Relief/Humanitarian Assistance	1 | $200,000 | 2023
Healthy Learners	Evaluating the Impact of a Comprehensive School Health Program	Zambia	Health, Education and Training	2 | $1,500,000 | 2023
Vayu Global Health Innovations	Breathing for Babies: Revolutionizing Care for Acute Respiratory Distress	Ghana, Tanzania	Health	2 | $1,500,000 | 2023
Letrus (Centro de Autoria e Cultura Ltda)	Testing and Scaling an Artificial Intelligence-Based Functional Literacy Program	Brazil	Education and Training	2 | $970,000 | 2023
Maisha Meds	Scaling a Digital Approach to Targeted Malaria Treatment	Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya	Health	3 | $5,250,000 | 2023
Sprout, Inc.	Introducing Improved Climate Insurance Products to Smallholder Coffee Farmers	Kenya	Environment, Agriculture/Food Security	1 | $200,000 | 2023
Farm Input Promotions Africa Limited	Testing the Soil Method to Sustainably Manage Fall Armyworm	Kenya	Agriculture/Food Security	1 | $200,000 | 2023
Loowatt SARL	Expanding Home Toilet Services in Madagascar	Madagascar	Water Sanitation and Hygiene	2 | $749,743 | 2023
Luminos Fund	Scaling a Program to Reach Three Million Out-of-School Children	The Gambia, Liberia	Education and Training	2 | $747,500 | 2023
FHI 360	Using Machine Learning to Reduce HIV Treatment Interruptions	Nigeria	Health	2 | $1,211,034 | 2023
Interactive Research & Development Global (IRD Global)	Evaluating Behavior Change Approaches to Household Water Purification	Pakistan	Water Sanitation and Hygiene	1 | $200,000 | 2023
Emata Uganda Limited	Evaluating Innovative Farmer Financing on Crop Yields and Income	Uganda	Agriculture/Food Security, Economic Growth	1 | $196,000 | 2023
Burn Manufacturing Co.	Scaling Clean Cooking - BURN Manufacturing West Africa Expansion	Ghana, Nigeria	Energy, Environment	3 | $2,100,000 | 2022
Chancen International	Income Share Agreements (ISA) to Finance Education	South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda	Education and Training	2 | $900,000 | 2022
Chancen International	Income Share Agreements (ISA) to Finance Education	South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda	Education and Training	2 | $900,000 | 2022
Chancen International	Income Share Agreements (ISA) to Finance Education	South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda	Education and Training	2 | $900,000 | 2022
Spark MicroGrants	Evaluating a Facilitated Collective Action Process on Poverty Alleviation	Rwanda	Economic Growth	Evidence | $1,245,217 | 2022
University of Florida	MotoMeds: Providing Essential Nighttime Healthcare to Children	Ghana	Health	1 | $199,646 | 2022
Centre for Economic Research in Pakistan (CERP)	Interactive Mobile Support for Frontline Workers Promoting Breastfeeding	Pakistan	Education and Training, Health	1 | $199,251.45 | 2022
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)	Scaling Agricultural Input Markets	Mali	Economic Growth, Agriculture/Food Security	2 | $840,030 | 2022
Nudge Lebanon	Addressing Vaccine Misinformation with an Inoculation Chatbot	Uzbekistan	Democracy/Governance, Health	1 | $200,000 | 2022
Yale University	A Tough Call: Impacts of Mobile Technology on Work, Gender Gaps, and Norms	India	Democracy/Governance	Evidence | $600,000 | 2022
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)	Social Incentives for Childhood Immunization	Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone	Health	2 | $1,498,144.99 | 2022
THINKMD	Evaluating a Digital Health Tool to Improve Clinical Capacity	Nigeria	Health	2 | $1,500,000 | 2022
TERI: The Energy and Resource Institute	Piloting a Business Model for Sensor-Controlled Riverbank Filtration	India	Water Sanitation and Hygiene, Environment, Agriculture/Food Security	1 | $197,000 | 2022
Friendship Bench	Training Lay Counselors to Deliver Mental Health Services	Zimbabwe	Health, Education and Training	2 | $1,320,000 | 2022
Fundacion Capital	Banking Agents as Financial Inclusion Promoters in Underserved Areas	Colombia	Economic Growth	1 | $200,000 | 2022
Swoop Aero Pty Ltd	Using Drones to Strengthen Medical Supply Chains	Malawi	Health	2 | $1,500,000 | 2022
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)	Assessing the Educational Impact of Providing Eyeglasses to Students	Sierra Leone	Health	2 | $1,500,000 | 2022
Pratham, USA	Positioning an Evidence-Based Early Childhood Stimulation Program for Scale	India	Education and Training	2 | $1,497,850 | 2022
Georgetown University	Supporting Teacher Achievement in Rwandan Schools (STARS)	Rwanda	Education and Training	3 | $1,510,000 | 2022
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)	Building a Sustainable System of Agricultural Extension in Schools	Liberia	Education and Training, Agriculture/Food Security	2 | $395,000 | 2022
President and Fellows of Harvard College	Building Local State Capacity: Evidence from Technology Investments	Ghana	Democracy/Governance	2 | $871,178 | 2022
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Institute	Scaling up Fecal Sludge Management Through Mobile Treatment Units	India	Water Sanitation and Hygiene	2 | $500,000 | 2022
PharmaJet	Evaluating the Impact of a Needle-Free Delivery Device on Polio Immunization	Nigeria	Health	2 | $1,500,000 | 2022
rescue.co	Scaling Pre-Hospital Care Services and Systems Throughout Kenya	Kenya	Health	2 | $1,500,000 | 2022
Centre for Economic Research in Pakistan (CERP)	Bridging the Digital Divide in Job Search	Pakistan	Economic Growth	Evidence | $200,000 | 2022
Cinch Markets Ltd	Mosaic Agriculture	Kenya	Agriculture/Food Security	2 | $381,000 | 2021
Educational Initiatives Pvt Ltd	Building Scalable Model for Personalized Learning in Indian Public Schools	India	Education and Training	2 | $1,500,000 | 2021
J-PAL Southeast Asia	Early Stimulation Intervention to Nurture Parents and Children	Indonesia	Education and Training	1 | $200,000 | 2021
President and Fellows of Harvard College	Kartu Prakerja: Evaluating Indonesia’s Job Training and Cash Transfer Program	Indonesia	Education and Training, Economic Growth	Evidence | $1,382,140 | 2021
Acceso (formerly Esoko Mexico)	Actionable Critical Information for One Million Smallholders in Latin America	Haiti, El Salvador, Mexico	Agriculture/Food Security, Environment	2 | $1,495,800 | 2021
Viamo	Measuring the Impact of Information: Evaluating the 3-2-1 Service	Uganda	Health	Evidence | $1,500,000 | 2021
Zembo Motorcycle SMC Ltd	Electric Motorcycle Taxis and Network of Solar Charging Stations	Uganda	Energy, Environment	2 | $790,000 | 2021
Mercy Corps	Planning for Productive Migration in Niger	Niger	Economic Growth, Environment	1 | $200,000 | 2021
Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México	Digital Solutions for Access to Labor Justice	Mexico	Democracy/Governance	2 | $715,000 | 2021
Baobab+	Empowering Households and Entrepreneurs Through Energy and Digital Access	Senegal, Democratic Republic of the Congo	Economic Growth, Energy	2 | $1,500,000 | 2021
Ignitia AB	Weathering the Storm: Improving Food Security Through Accurate Weather Forecasts	Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Nigeria	Environment, Agriculture/Food Security	2 | $1,500,000 | 2021
National Bureau of Economic Research	Practical Innovations in Entrepreneurial Microfinance	India	Economic Growth	1 | $200,000 | 2021
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)	Technical Assistance to Scale Up Targeted Instruction	Ghana	Education and Training	3 | $1,284,800 | 2021
Yale University	PayDash: Improving Last-Mile Access to Information on Social Program Delivery	India	Economic Growth, Democracy/Governance	2 | $635,000 | 2021
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)	Addressing GBV through Interactive Peer Groups: The Real Man Challenge in Peru	Peru	Education and Training	1 | $200,000 | 2021
BRAC University	A Media Experiment to Reduce Intimate Partner Violence in Bangladesh	Bangladesh	Education and Training	2 | $368,000 | 2021
Columbia University	Nolkup: an App to Access Low-Arsenic Water in Bangladesh	Bangladesh	Health, Water Sanitation and Hygiene, Environment	1 | $200,000 | 2021
Yale University	Evaluating the Lively Minds Early Childhood Care and Education Program	Ghana	Education and Training	2 | $1,500,000 | 2021
In2Care BV	In2Care® EaveTubes for mosquito control	Côte d'Ivoire	Health	2 | $1,498,437 | 2021
Makerere University	Testing the Effectiveness of Psychotherapy Using Mobile Phones	Uganda	Health	2 | $264,974 | 2021
Jetli Transfer	Jetli Transfer: Improving logistics and business model to position for scale	Haiti	Economic Growth, Agriculture/Food Security	1 | $200,000 | 2021
Lively Minds	Lively Minds Early Childhood Care and Education Program	Ghana	Education and Training	3 | $3,500,000 | 2021
Mediae Company Ltd	Shamba Shape Up: The Farm Makeover Show	Uganda	Education and Training, Agriculture/Food Security, Environment	2 | $1,500,000 | 2021
Pratham, USA	Every Child Counts! Scaling Up a Successful Games-Based Curriculum - Pratham	India	Education and Training	2 | $504,276 | 2021
University of Oxford	Micro Equity - A Pilot Project in India	India	Economic Growth	1 | $111,627 | 2020
Youth Impact (formerly Young 1ove)	Scaling Up Teaching at the Right Level	Botswana	Education and Training	2 | $1,347,420 | 2020
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)	Can Contact Reduce Conflict between Herders and Farmers? Evidence from Nigeria	Nigeria	Democracy/Governance, Agriculture/Food Security	Evidence | $811,837.52 | 2020
LSE: London School of Economics	Jobs to End Poverty: Evidence from Bangladesh	Bangladesh	Education and Training, Economic Growth	Evidence | $985,896 | 2020
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)	Protecting the drug supply chain with an affordable and handy innovation	Nigeria	Health	2 | $344,312 | 2020
J-PAL South Asia at IFMR	Every Child Counts! Scaling Up a Successful Games-Based Curriculum - J-PAL	India	Education and Training	2 | $1,500,000 | 2020
Jacaranda Health	A Package to Improve Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes in Kenyan Public Hospitals	Kenya	Health	2 | $1,590,869 | 2020
CEGA: Center for Effective Global Action	Seasonal Hunger in Zambia: Better Smoothing Through Better Planning?	Zambia	Health, Economic Growth, Agriculture/Food Security	2 | $426,176 | 2020
Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi	Testing an Information and Coordination Tool to Reduce Female Genital Cutting	Somalia	Health	1 | $199,200 | 2020
Dimagi Inc.	Adding Precision Supervision to CommCare and Evaluating it at Scale	India	Health	2 | $1,500,000 | 2020
University of Colorado	Impact of Pedestrian Footbridges	Rwanda	Health, Economic Growth	Evidence | $1,499,798 | 2020
Good Business Lab Foundation	Alleviating Loneliness Among Migrant Garment Workers in India	India	Health, Economic Growth	2 | $757,998 | 2020
Avanti Fellows	Project Sankalp	India	Education and Training	2 | $301,090 | 2020
Johns Hopkins University	Testing a Scalable Model of the CHoBI7 Mobile Health Program in Bangladesh	Bangladesh	Health, Water Sanitation and Hygiene	2 | $1,500,000 | 2020
Ampersand	Mass-Market Electric Motorcycle Taxis	Rwanda	Energy, Environment	2 | $500,000 | 2020
President and Fellows of Harvard College	Raskin Welfare Reform: Transition to Electronic Distribution	Indonesia	Agriculture/Food Security	2 | $1,356,152.94 | 2019
Adaptive Symbiotic Technologies	BioEnsure Scaling Project	India	Agriculture/Food Security, Environment	2 | $750,000 | 2019
VisionSpring	The Clear Vision Workplace Alliance	Bangladesh, Vietnam, India	Economic Growth	2 | $1,956,197 | 2019
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)	Parental Education and Childhood Development: Experimental Evidence	Ghana	Education and Training	Evidence | $973,460 | 2019
Maisha Meds	A Digital Approach for Targeted Malaria Treatment	Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya	Health	2 | $1,490,000 | 2019
Standard Microgrid	Reliable, Affordable Microgrid Energy in Zambia	Zambia	Energy	2 | $1,215,000 | 2019
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)	Teacher Rotation and Student Outcomes: Experimental Evidence from Uganda	Uganda	Education and Training	Evidence | $900,000 | 2019
IRC: International Rescue Committee	Kernels of Practice: Building Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Skills	Nigeria	Disaster Relief/Humanitarian Assistance, Education and Training	2 | $492,211 | 2019
Global Development Incubator, Inc.	Results Based Financing to Scale Living Goods' Community Health Program	Uganda	Health	3 | $3,346,292.8 | 2019
Lively Minds	Improving Early Childhood Care and Education in Rural Areas	Uganda	Education and Training	2 | $1,250,000 | 2019
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)	Innovative Finance and Commitment Mechanisms in Agricultural Input Decisions	Mali	Agriculture/Food Security	Evidence | $194,691 | 2019
J-PAL South Asia at IFMR	Direct Benefit Transfers for Electricity	India	Energy	2 | $799,078 | 2019
American University in Cairo	Expanding Access to Finance through Micro-Equity	Egypt	Economic Growth	2 | $524,466 | 2019
Duke University	Pocket Colposcope	Kenya, Peru	Health	2 | $1,500,000 | 2019
Muso	Testing Proactive Case Detection: Completing sharing Results of ProCCM trial	Mali	Health	2 | $1,300,000 | 2019
In2Care BV	In2Care® EaveTubes for mosquito control	Côte d'Ivoire	Health	2 | $1,498,437 | 2021
Makerere University	Testing the Effectiveness of Psychotherapy Using Mobile Phones	Uganda	Health	2 | $264,974 | 2021
Jetli Transfer	Jetli Transfer: Improving logistics and business model to position for scale	Haiti	Economic Growth, Agriculture/Food Security	1 | $200,000 | 2021
Lively Minds	Lively Minds Early Childhood Care and Education Program	Ghana	Education and Training	3 | $3,500,000 | 2021