September 4, 2025 is the application deadline for Africa’s AI4D Innovation scaling challenge

Supported by Canada and the UK, the Nairobi-based Lab for Ethics, Policy and Scaling of AI (LEPSAI), of the African Center for Technology Studies (ACTS), has been seeking proposals from Sub-Saharan Africa-based entities for its AI4D Innovation Scaling Challenge.

The deadline to put in an application is September 4, 2025 (23: 59 hours, EST).

Winning proposals—depending upon a given project’s existing state—can expect to receive up to USD 100 K as a seed fund—aside from strategic, technical, and networking support for up to 12 months from LEPSAI and its consultants. Individuals, organisations, institutes, universities as well as consortia may apply.

This is a screenshot of the digital banner for the AI4D Innovation Scaling Challenge, 2025. (Credit: African Center for Technology Studies)

The call is part of the Artificial Intelligence for Development Africa programme, intended to promote scalable deployment of AI to address Africa’s key challenges (including in the realms of policy, inequity, etc. (and not just technical innovation).

The call’s stress is on realistic scalability rather than untested visions. The call notes the following: ‘Solutions must be beyond the proof-of-concept phase and be deployed under real-life conditions. Earlier-stage ideation-only concepts will not be considered at this time.’

Here is the link for all the details and application portal: https://ai4d.acts-net.org/ai4d-innovation-scaling-challenge/