There are some types of projects that are not a good fit for Development Innovation Ventures’ (DIV) objectives. These include but are not limited to the following:
- Innovations at the idea stage that have not yet been created (i.e., that are in the ideation phase);
- Projects with limited potential to scale or minimal potential to demonstrate impact and cost-effectiveness (e.g., a jewelry business or construction of immobile physical infrastructure, including schools, power plants or lines, and factories);
- Basic scientific research (e.g., laboratory research of a prototype with no field testing);
- Expansion of businesses that are unlikely to lead to significant development impacts (e.g., businesses that lack a base-of-the-pyramid customer focus);
- Planning, diagnostic, and other tools that are difficult to link directly to measurable development impacts for people living in poverty and that reach millions of people only indirectly (e.g., a stand-alone monitoring or evaluation platform);
- Innovations that are applicable only in very limited contexts that will limit scale potential (e.g., projects that target a very rare disease);
- Pure research or research that will provide evidence of impact but will not assess cost-effectiveness or scalability; and
- Intermediaries with an indirect impact on development outcomes (e.g., incubators, accelerators, start-up boot camps, and other conveners).
The deadline for submitting the applications is 30-Sep-21.
