Hello Innovators! 👋

Precious here from SASIE, your partner in tech entrepreneurship.

Momentum is your most valuable asset.

We are officially in the second week of December, the strategic sweet spot. This is not the time to slow down, but a perfect window for securing all those resources and clarity needed to hit the ground running in January. This week's edition presents 8 critical opportunities, including major grants for African youth, unique fellowship prizes, and targeted funding intended for women-led enterprises.

Your goal now is simple: to maximise your impact, leveraging the opportunities available today for unbeatable momentum in 2026. Review this list and submit those applications!

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Help us ensure your 2026 success is supported by the content you need most!

• NIYA Startup 2.0 (₦100 Million Funding)

• I&P Acceleration WE4A – Women Entrepreneurship for Africa (IYBA WE4A)

• Africa Impact Fundraising Grant (AIFG) 2025 by The New Africa Fund

• Global Citizen Prize: Cisco Youth Leadership Award 2026

• FMYD Waste to Wealth Initiative; Circular-Economy Funding & Support

• Green Challenge Competition by Balkan Green Foundation (BGF)

NIYA Startup 2.0 (₦100 Million Funding)

NIYA Startup 2.0: ₦100,000,000 for Nigerian Startups & Entrepreneurs

NIYA Startup 2.0 is one of the most key funding efforts to date supported by the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, and is purposed towards providing much-needed capital and support for youth-led startups across the country. The program intends to empower young founders with a significant grant while leveraging key partnerships to fast-track business growth and innovation in the country.

What You'll Get

• Financial Funding: Access to part of the total fund ₦100,000,000, which is made available for Nigerian startups and entrepreneurs.

• Partnership Support: Partnerships with organizations such as Sapphital, Federal Inland Revenue Service-FIRS, Providus, and Nigerian Export-Import Bank-NEXIM provide backing and visibility.

Who Can Apply?

• Age: Must be a Nigerian youth founder between 18 and 35 years old.

• Residency: Must be currently resident in Nigeria.

• Startup Type: It must be a youth founder-led startup with at least two co-founders. No solo entries will be allowed.

• Prerequisites: Need to have a completed NiYA Community Profile and a Course Completion Certificate from NiYA.

• Application: Requires submission of a Pitch Deck.

I&P Acceleration WE4A – Women Entrepreneurship for Africa (IYBA WE4A)

A pan-African initiative, part of IYBA WE4A, co-financed by international development partners to support women-led small and medium-sized enterprises across several African countries. The Program's focus is to address the financing and support gaps for women entrepreneurs, especially those operating in the green and transition sectors, through a blend of financial, technical, and mentoring support.

What You'll Get

• Financial Inclusion: Availability of alternatives for accessing guaranteed loans and repayable financing without collateral.

• Capacity Building: A structured acceleration framework in preparing firms for formalization, strengthening governance, and improving financial structures.

• Technical Support: Critical guidance on business planning, financial management, impact strategy, and growth pathways.

• Mentorship: Dedicated mentoring support to scale early-stage and growth-stage firms robustly and sustainably.

• Sector Focus: Strong emphasis on ventures committed to green impact, such as renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, circular economy, and waste management.

Who Can Apply?

• Women-led or women-owned businesses from eligible African countries (for example, Cameroon, Senegal, Togo, and Uganda).

• Small and Medium-sized Enterprises: SMEs. The ventures must be active in green or transition sectors, for instance, environmentally sustainable and climate-aligned ventures.

• Applications from early-stage and growth-stage firms are welcome.

Deadline: January 6, 2026

Africa Impact Fundraising Grant 2025

Africa Impact Fundraising Grant (AIFG) 2025 by The New Africa Fund

The New Africa Fund grant program is a competitive, specifically designed to support the work of NGOs, CBOs, and social enterprises based in Africa. This grant would support these organizations across various fields in scaling their work for long-term sustainability with much-needed resources.

What You'll Get

• Financial Grant: The funding for this study came from the AIFG.

• Skills Development: Free access to webinars that offer insights and invaluable skills to be applied towards the growth and sustainability of nonprofit organizations.

• Support: Resources to help Africa-based organizations formalize, scale, and sustain their development projects.

Who Can Apply?

• Organization Type: Africa-based NGOs, Community-Based Organizations, and social enterprises.

• Exclusions: This will exclude funding to individuals or organizations that are registered outside the African continent.

Deadline: December 16, 2025

Global Citizen Prize: Cisco Youth Leadership Award 2026

An international award presented by Cisco and Global Citizen to an outstanding individual aged between 18 and 30 years who has made a meaningful contribution, often using technology to create positive change toward ending extreme poverty. This includes a significant cash award provided directly to the organization that the winner contributes to, to help further scale their impact.

What You'll Get

• Financial Prize: A cash prize of $250,000 USD paid to the organization nominated by the winner.

• Global Recognition: The winner will be announced at Global Citizen NOW in May 2026 in New York City.

• Visibility & Network: High-profile exposure and access to global leaders, activists, and development experts.

• Unconditional Funding: No strings are attached to the award money, although reporting on organisational progress is requested every quarter over the course of 3 years.

Who Can Apply?

• Age: 18–30 years old at the time of application.

• Impact: The candidate should have a demonstrable track record of measurable impact over the last 3-5 years in advancing one or more of the UN Global Goals, with a focus on ending extreme poverty.

• Technology innovation: Must innovate with technology or IT-based solutions that improve efficiency and enhance impact.

• Organization: The applicant needs to be affiliated with a legally registered entity - non-profit, for-profit, social enterprise, B-Corp, etc. - through which s/he will receive the prize money.

• Application: Application is to be in English; a 1-2 minute video pitch is required.

Deadline: December 17, 2025

FMYD Waste to Wealth Initiative; Circular-Economy Funding & Support

This is a national program initiated by the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, Nigeria. The program empowers young Nigerians through training, resources, and startup capital to transform waste into eco-friendly products or green enterprises. This falls under the broader Circular Economy Youth Empowerment Initiative push.

What You'll Get

• Training: Training on waste management, recycling, upcycling, and circular economy entrepreneurship.

• Access to Start-up Capital: Availability of start-up capital or support to waste-to-value business ventures such as recycling, waste collection/processing, and upcycled products.

• Job Creation: Supports job creation and opportunities for green jobs for youths within the waste economy.

• National Ecosystem Inclusion: Formal inclusion in a national waste-economy ecosystem, where informal work is transformed into regulated enterprises.

• Environmental Impact: Support for climate action and environmental sustainability.

Green Challenge Competition by Balkan Green Foundation (BGF)

A competition to support young entrepreneurs and women-led businesses to transform innovative ideas into sustainable business models, focusing on increased energy efficiency, circular economy practices, and environmental responsibility to fast-track Kosovo's transition toward a green economy.

What You'll Get

• Financial Award: A cash award of €5,000 is given to the winner for the implementation of the project.

• Access to Regional Competition: Three shortlisted ideas will qualify to take part in the Balkan Green Ideas (BGI 2026 Regional Competition for further scaling.

• Mentorship and Support: Participants have access to customized mentorship and capacity-building support.

• Feedback: Every participant gets individual feedback and consultation with members of the jury, which helps strengthen their ideas.

ICYMI

• Harvard Professor Reza Satchu Breaks Down the Skills Necessary for Thriving Entrepreneurship - INC

• How to Scale a Business — According to Experts Who Drove Early Growth at Nigeria’s Billion-Dollar Companies - Zikoko

• Stop Wasting the End of the Year — Take These 5 Steps to Get Ahead in 2026 - Entrepreneur

• From Spark To Scale: Three Pillars For Turning A Business Idea Into Reality - Forbes

• Digital ChangeMakers for Women Entrepreneurs in Ghana - See Details

• Women District Intiative - Social Media Manager Fully Remote

•  UNESCO- Remote Consultancy Opportunity

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