D-Prize: $20,000 to Pilot Your Social Enterprise Idea

Deadline: 30 November 2013
Open to:  anyone or any teams who submit an application
Prize: $10,000-$20,000 to pilot your idea

Description

The world theoretically ended poverty decades ago. Advances in health, financial services, and technology have illuminated a clear development path for the poor. Unfortunately, development theory alone never fed a child. The great need now is for social entrepreneurs to find ways to distribute these interventions to actual people.

For example, a one-hour long “sugar daddy awareness” class reduces unwanted teen pregnancy by 28 percent, but is rarely taught. Solar lamps increase study hours and income potential, but have a market penetration of only 1 percent. Praziquantel is a 10 cent drug that treats a common parasitic disease, yet 220 million people still need treatment. Poverty solutions exist – but nobody has figured out a systematic and scalable way to distribute them.

D-Prize is a call to the world’s brightest social entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs. Submit your idea to start a new distribution initiative in one of the six challenge areas, including girl’s education, energy, education, governance and infrastructure, global health and the custom challenge.

The goals of the D-Prize are:

  1. Significantly increase access to life-enhancing technologies in the developing world – and prove an impact in a measurable way.
  2. Encourage young entrepreneurs to focus their talent on the developing world, pilot new solutions to distribution problems, and launch new social ventures.
  3. Encourage a global dialogue on the importance of leveraging distribution solutions for development. We believe the path to development is through solving distribution.

Eligibility

D-Prize challenges are open to anyone or any teams who submits an application.

Prize

If selected, you will be awarded $10,000-$20,000 to pilot your idea over a three-month trial period, and will be connected with mentorship from already successful social entrepreneurs. D-Prize will fund a total of 5-15 social entrepreneurs. If your pilot is successful, they will help you to launch your work and attract significant support.

Application

First Round Applications include:

  • Concept note of your social venture two pages in length
  • Resume or CV of core team

Download the First Round Application Packet HERE. First round applications are due 30 November 2013. Contestants selected to move to the Second Round will be notified within three weeks of their submission.

Email your questions to Nicholas Fusso at nicholas@d-prize.org.

Visit the official website HERE.

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