Deadline: June 26, 2022
Who Should Apply?
You should have enormous ambition, and can imagine yourself as a successful entrepreneur. You are ready to launch your new venture, and if a pilot proves successful you are excited to grow it into a world changing organization.
If you are still a student or have existing commitments, you should have a clear idea how to transition into a full-time founder.
D-Prize is exclusively interested in ventures that will scale distribution of an already proven poverty intervention in the developing world. We do not fund prototypes of promising new interventions.
Eligibility
- D-Prize challenges are open to anyone or any teams. The sole restriction is that individuals and their immediate family on the judging panel may not participate as a contestant.
- D-Prize is also open to any business model (for profit, non-profit, and everything in between).
- All winners will be awarded up to $20,000. The award is offered in the form of a convertible grant.
- You are not competing against other applicants. We typically fund at least 15 proposals per competition, regardless of which challenge track was selected.
Submission Policies
● Proposals must be written in English. However, your English does not need to be perfect to apply, and grammar and vocabulary errors will not be penalized. We only want to understand your idea.
● Proposals must be submitted following the instructions in this packet.
● Extra material outside of the proposal will not be considered.
● Revisions to proposals after submission will also not be considered.
● Only one proposal per person or partnership will be considered.
Prize Process
Deadlines and the Prize Process
Round 1
First Round proposals will be accepted on a rolling basis, using the following deadlines. We strive to send decisions out within three weeks. Judges may request additional information via email before making a decision.
● Early decision deadline: May 15, 2022 at midnight PT (Pacific Time). Early decision proposals are more likely to advance to the next round.
● Regular deadline: June 5, 2022 at midnight PT.
● Extension deadline: June 26, 2022 at midnight PT. Extensions are limited to the first people who register at: www.d-prize.org/extension.
Round 2
Top entrepreneurs invited to participate in Round 2 will be asked to respond to short written questions – roughly based on a business plan. These questions ask more details about your operations, budget, milestones, and other items. Participants will receive a Round 2 Proposal Packet with full instructions. Those invited to the Second Round will have about two weeks to submit.
Final Round
Entrepreneurs invited to the Final Round will interview with judges over email and on the phone. Depending on the promise and cost-effectiveness of a proposal, judges may award up to $20,000 in funding. The average D-Prize award size is $15,000.
Piloting Winning Ventures
Besides direct funding, D-Prize can assist in helping your venture attract future funding if the pilot proves successful. We will also provide you access to the D-Prize network of past winners, and will do our best to support you in other ways
Judging Process
All proposals will receive an initial read, and if advanced will receive up to four additional independent readings.
We strive to send decisions within four months of your submission. However, this timeline may extend based on the volume of submissions, as we want to give every proposal due consideration. Judges may request additional information via email before deciding.
Judging Criteria
The D-Prize judging panel is composed of individuals with professional experience distributing life-changing technologies in the developing world.
Contestants are evaluated based on:
● Passion and potential for candidate’s success, as evident by their academic and professional background, relevant skills, and quick leadership trajectory.
● Focus on distribution. Proposals must focus on distributing a proven poverty solution that needs greater access in the developing world.
● Potential for scale, based on the organizational model proposed in the concept note and the entrepreneur’s desire to commit and grow.
