Call For Applications: Mercy Corps Ventures Anticipatory Action Accelerator 2025 (Up to $100,000 Equity-free Grants)
This initiative, building on recent Anticipatory Action (AA) pilots completed in Kenya and Nepal, will partner with startups, NGOs, and more to usher in a new era of humanitarian aid, leveraging innovations in tech such as climate data analytics, AI/ML, and crypto payment rails.
Their goals are:
- In the immediate term, identify promising Anticipatory Action solutions and fund their implementation to better prepare climate-vulnerable people for the effects of climate change.
- Across a portfolio of pilots, build the evidence base on how Anticipatory Action can represent a more responsive, efficient and just future for humanitarian aid.
- Scale up Anticipatory Action programs around the world and crowd in new capital to this solution.
Apply Also: Providus Bank SME Program
The Challenge
Nearly 300 million people around the world require humanitarian assistance. In 2023, USD 223.7 billion was allocated for aid, comparable to the annual GDPs of New Zealand, Portugal, and Qatar. However, 99% of this aid is issued reactively, delivered only after negative impacts have already been experienced. This means that only 1% of humanitarian aid is currently spent on proactively reducing and managing risks.
Eligibility
- Open to organizations operating in Africa, South and Southeast Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Pacific Islands, and Western Balkans who are piloting Anticipatory Action solutions to improve humanitarian aid delivery.
Yet more than half of all humanitarian crises are predictable, with 20% being highly predictable. Research shows that Anticipatory action (aid delivered before disaster strikes) is 7x more cost-effective than traditional humanitarian aid. How can we design a humanitarian aid system that can preemptively identify crises and reduce the negative impact of shock events, allowing climate-vulnerable people to build resilience?
Benefits
- Equity-free grants of up to $100,000 will be provided to selected partners, based on the achievement of pre-agreed milestones.
- Alongside capital, MCV will also provide mentorship, impact measurement advisory, access to partnership opportunities, knowledge exchange, and brand exposure.
Deadline: February 14, 2025.