The Sahara Impact Fund (SIF) is now open for applications offering up to $30,000 in funding, plus essential skills, tools, and a powerful network to scale your social enterprise or idea! Whether you’re tackling environmental challenges, promoting education, or innovating for economic growth, SIF is here to fuel your mission.
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About Sahara Impact Fund (SIF)
The Sahara Impact Fund (SIF) is a hybrid accelerator program that identifies, equips, and positions African social enterprises for investment readiness, grant funding, and long-term sustainability. Designed to scale innovative solutions to pressing community challenges, the program blends strategic grant capital, tailored mentorship, and business advisory support, bridging the gap between impactful innovation and sustainable funding opportunities.
The SIF project was created with a vision to support young people by providing an enabling environment for the development of self-sustaining businesses, with a focus on wealth creation and preservation. This is achieved through the support of a strong network of committed stakeholders. The program offers a comprehensive ecosystem of subject matter experts who guide participants through the foundational elements of building a successful enterprise. In addition, participants will have the opportunity to access funding from a pool of $200,000 (Two Hundred Thousand Dollars), following a rigorous shortlisting and evaluation process conducted by the Sahara Group Foundation Jury.
Selection Criteria
Underlisted are the elements to be considered before a solution is selected:
Relevance: What problem does the solution address, who is affected, and how urgent is it? What are the broader impacts on people and the environment, and what are the risks of not acting now?
Innovation: Is the solution a novel (never seen before) and an extraordinary idea or is it an improvement on an existing solution? If it is an improvement on an existing solution, what is unique to this solution?
Impact: How wide and deep will the impact of this solution be?
Scalable: How scalable is the solution? Is there a ready market for it? Is it easily replicable in other climes?
Profitability: Is the solution commercially viable and profitable?
Also Read: Apply Now: ECOWAS-YEP Youth Training Program for Nigerian Youths 2025
Benefits of Sahara Impact Fund (SIF)
Sahara Group Foundation’s tailored value proposition will offer beneficiaries:
Grant of up to $30,000.
Go-to-market support.
Legal Support (intellectual property, patenting, etc).
Business Advisory.
Brand Management Support.
Online marketing tools
The objective is to provide all of the above, which is worth over $100,000,000 to ensure the selected innovators, researchers, inventors, and entrepreneurs build their ideas or solutions into successful businesses that will grow, scale, and thrive.
Application Deadline: 31 August 2025
