Culled from: https://www.d-prize.org/
Apply at: https://www.d-prize.org/submit
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.
Up to 25 of the most promising proposals
will be selected for funding
awards, regardless of which challenge track was selected.
Submission Policies
●
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.
●
Proposals must be written
in English.
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: November 19, 2017 at midnight
PT (Pacific Time).
Early decision proposals are more likely
to advance to the next round, and will have additional
time on for the full proposal.
● Regular deadline: December 10, 2017 at midnight
PT.
● Extension deadline: December 31, 2017 at midnight PT. Extensions are limited to the
first 200 people who register
at: www.d-prize.org/extension
Round 2
Top entrepreneurs invited to participate in Round 2 will be asked to draft and submit a full
plan of their venture, roughly
10 pages in length plus any desired
appendices. The plan will
include more details on operations, a 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 four weeks to submit a plan.
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 $12,000.
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 from at least two judges, and if advanced
will receive up to two additional independent readings.
We strive
to send decisions
within three weeks of your submission. 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.
Proposal Tips
●
Be succinct.
Successful proposals are objective and to the point. Orient
your proposal towards an educated judge
who is relatively knowledgeable with the key issues.
● Scale, impact, cost-effectiveness. Successful entrepreneurs will build a plausible case that their intervention is highly scalable,
cost-effective, and will lead to enormous impact.
● Keep within scope.
The most successful startups
have a narrow focus and avoid
spending resources on too many areas. A tightly scoped
idea will perform
best in this competition.
Concept Note
Please prepare
a concept note which responds
to the following prompts. Concept
notes are limited to three pages.
● Introduction: please begin
your concept note with a short 1-3 sentence summarizing your idea.
● Problem: what are the most critical issues
preventing better distribution of your selected intervention in your pilot
region? Be specific.
●
Concept: what is your solution? How will your new pilot
venture implement your solution?
We want to understand what you will do, and how you
will do it in detail.
● Goals: during your pilot, how many poverty
interventions will you distribute during
your pilot, at 6 months, and at 1 year? How many people
will you help during your pilot, at 6
months, and at 1 year?
(This can be a simple
table).
● Future Growth: explain
your vision for scale. How do your operations grow through your first year? What additional staff will you require, and how have you funded
your growing operations?
● Team: list all the people
on your team, their responsibilities, their location during the pilot, and the average hours per week they will commit to this venture.
If not local to your operating region, please note any developing country experience.
Resumes / CVs
Please include
a resume for each person
on your team, limited to one page per person. Resumes should highlight the most relevant
past leadership roles and accomplishments.
Additional Information
Custom Challenge: are you submitting to a Custom
Challenge category? If so:
● When submitting, we will ask you to provide a URL link us to one website
with credible evidence that supports your intervention.
● We also recommend you include 1 additional page elaborating on your intervention, and citing evidence that it is proven and
in need of greater distribution.
Existing organizations: has your organization already launched? If so, we will ask you to include a summary of your activities since launching, and your current
budget / income statement in the submission webform.
Proposal Instructions
●
Prepare your concept note and resume,
and clearly name your files.
Files must be PDF
and are limited to a size of 4MB each.
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