AI Grants for the Global South: International Funding Opportunities

Sixty billion dollars in combined philanthropic and multilateral funding now targets AI deployment in low- and middle-income countries, yet most researchers in the Global South have never applied to a single one of these programs. The gap between available capital and submitted proposals remains staggering, and the window for several major initiatives is closing in 2026.

Browse our AI Grants page for current opportunities, including many of the international programs covered here.

The $60 Million EVAH Initiative: Three Foundations, One Call

The largest new entrant is the Evidence for AI in Health (EVAH) initiative, a joint $60 million commitment from the Gates Foundation, Novo Nordisk Foundation, and Wellcome. Announced at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi in February 2026, EVAH funds locally led evaluations of AI health tools in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. The first call for proposals focuses on AI-enabled decision support tools that assist frontline health workers with triage, diagnosis, and referral in primary care settings.

The spring 2026 application deadline is April 1, 2026, with questions due by March 6 and an FAQ published March 13. Research teams must be based in eligible low- and middle-income countries, and proposals should center on mature AI tools already deployed in clinical settings. The initiative is managed through J-PAL, and detailed eligibility criteria are on the EVAH RFP page.

Separately, the Gates Foundation and OpenAI are backing Horizon 1000, a $50 million pilot deploying AI capabilities across 1,000 primary healthcare clinics in Africa by 2028. Rwanda is the first launch country, with Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria next in line. The tools focus on patient triage, clinical decision-making, and communication in local languages.

IDRC's CAD 100 Million AI4D Program

Canada's International Development Research Centre runs one of the most established funding streams for AI in the Global South. The AI4D: Responsible AI, Empowering People program, launched in partnership with the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, represents more than CAD 100 million in committed funding. It builds on the earlier CAD 20 million AI4D Africa program that ran from 2020 to 2025.

Through a recent call, AI4D awarded grants of up to CAD 1 million each, with projects anticipated to begin in January 2026 and run for 36 months. The program has expanded beyond its original African focus to include low- and lower-middle-income countries across South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific. Research priorities span responsible AI governance, socioeconomic impacts of AI adoption, and building local compute infrastructure. IDRC is also investing CAD 1.5 million in the EQUAL Compute Network to close AI resource divides.

Researchers should monitor the IDRC funding page for upcoming calls, including the 2026 International Joint Initiative for Research Harnessing Disruptive Technologies.

Rockefeller, CGIAR, and the AI Infrastructure Push

The Rockefeller Foundation is taking a different approach: rather than funding individual research projects, it is building the compute layer that makes AI work possible in developing countries. A partnership with Cassava Technologies announced in late 2025 provides AI compute capacity to Rockefeller grantees working across Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Zimbabwe. The foundation has invested more than $18 million in AI for the public sector and launched a $4 million Development Finance Observatory with ONE Data and Google.org that uses AI tools to track financial flows into developing economies.

On the agriculture side, CGIAR — with an annual research portfolio of over $900 million and 9,000 staff in 89 countries — has made AI central to its strategy. The AgriLLM project is building an open-source, multilingual AI advisory service for farmers and policymakers in the Global South. In December 2025, CGIAR launched the AI Agriculture Ecosystem in Abu Dhabi alongside the new Institute for Agriculture and Artificial Intelligence. Researchers working at the intersection of AI and food systems should explore CGIAR's active grants dashboard for partnership opportunities.

Google.org and the Accelerator Model

Google.org has committed $120 million to its AI Opportunity Fund, extending AI education and training to underserved markets globally. In the Middle East and North Africa alone, Google.org is contributing $15 million through 2027 to ensure AI opportunities reach the region. The Generative AI Accelerator provides selected organizations with technical training, Google Cloud credits, and pro-bono support alongside a share of $30 million in funding. For 2026, new Impact Challenges offer up to $3 million per project for AI applications targeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

What Applicants Should Know

Several patterns emerge across these programs. Funders increasingly require that research teams be based in eligible countries, not just studying them from abroad. Locally led, country-owned projects score higher than fly-in consulting arrangements. Most programs prioritize AI tools that are already past the prototype stage and can demonstrate real-world deployment. And nearly every funder now requires an explicit responsible AI framework addressing bias, data governance, and sustainability beyond the grant period.

The competition for these funds is growing but remains far less intense than domestic NIH or NSF cycles. Researchers in eligible countries who have never applied to international AI funding may find the odds more favorable than they expect — and Granted can help turn a promising concept into a competitive proposal before these deadlines pass.