Applications are now open for the Global Resilience Partnership’s 2025 Rise Urban Innovation Challenge (prizes up to US$50,000)

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Closing Date: 11 April 2025

Applications are now open for the Global Resilience Partnership’s 2025 Rise Urban Innovation Challenge (prizes up to US$50,000)

Overview

The call is now open for the Resilience Innovation through Scaling Entrepreneurship (RISE) Urban Challenge. RISE aims to convert idea and concept-level innovative urban ideas that are meeting resilience needs in informality contexts and scale them to sustainable ideas.

The Global Resilience Partnership (GRP) is launching the Resilience Innovation through Scaling Entrepreneurship (RISE) Urban Challenge to convert innovative urban ideas that are meeting resilience needs in informality contexts and scale them to sustainable ideas. The RISE Urban Innovation Challenge provides customised support to maximise each initiative’s potential for impact and aligns potential funders to these initiatives and drive attention to the urgent need for urban systems transformation.

Who can apply?

RISE is open to urban entrepreneurs, innovators, organisations or consortiums of organisations across the private sector (start-ups, SMEs), and civil society and grassroots organisations based in low- and middle-income countries. GRP encourage and welcomes proposals from youth-led and women-led organisations.

What will winners receive?

Selected projects will receive a tailored leadership and mentoring programme, communications support, and be connected to investors. Subject matter experts will facilitate a leadership academy for the selected entrants. They will also be connected to potential investors and partners from GRP networks. Winners can be awarded prizes up to US$50,000, which will support their scaling and implementation over 12 months up to December 2026.

What GRP is looking for?

GRP is looking for innovative solutions addressing urban resilience challenges in informality contexts – a few examples include but aren’t limited to climate risk, resilience retrofit, water security, urban migration and displacement. For this round of the RISE Urban Innovation Challenge, GRP encourage and welcome solutions that prioritise the resilience of women and youth.

Timeline

Webinar about the RISE Urban Challenge: 27 March 2025
Application deadline: 11 April 2025
Screening: The first phase of screening will be done to identify finalists that will proceed to the Leadership Academy and mentoring. Shortlisted projects will be announced in June 2025
Leadership Academy and tailored mentoring: June – September 2025
Announcement of final winners: November/December 2025
Winners’ activity implementation: through December 2026