ActionAid Nigeria Opens ₦20m Strategic Innovation Fund 2026
ActionAid Nigeria has opened applications for its 2026 Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF), offering grants of up to ₦20 million to selected women’s rights organisations and networks implementing innovative initiatives that advance the rights of women and girls in Nigeria.
The Renewed Women’s Voice and Leadership (RWVL) Project is implementing this funding opportunity, with support from Global Affairs Canada (GAC).
The Strategic Innovation Fund is designed to help women’s rights organisations develop, test and pilot creative approaches to gender-related challenges. The fund seeks ideas capable of challenging existing barriers, strengthening advocacy and generating scalable solutions that can contribute to lasting change.
What the Fund Supports
ActionAid Nigeria is particularly interested in innovative interventions addressing issues such as:
- Violence against women and girls;
- Protection of women and girls affected by conflict or those on the move;
- Women’s economic justice and empowerment;
- Women’s political participation and leadership;
- Policy advocacy and influencing; and
- Other innovative approaches that promote gender equality and gender justice.
Applicants are encouraged to develop initiatives that can contribute to systemic change and complement existing efforts to advance women’s and girls’ rights.
The call particularly highlights innovative ideas that address the needs of structurally excluded groups, including women and girls with disabilities, women and girls affected by conflict, returnees, female inmates, survivors of gender-based violence, out-of-school girls, elderly women and women in politics.
Who Can Apply?
The opportunity is open to women’s rights organisations and women’s rights networks that meet the eligibility requirements.
Applicants must:
- Be a women’s rights organisation or network;
- Be women-led and operating in Nigeria;
- Present an innovative, creative, strategic and impactful intervention for women and girls;
- Demonstrate how the proposed initiative will advance gender equality and gender justice;
- Show how the project can contribute to systemic change and complement existing interventions;
- Demonstrate the potential for the intervention to be scaled; and
- Have the capacity to implement the intervention within a short timeframe and achieve measurable results.
Grant Amount
ActionAid Nigeria will support up to five innovative ideas under this funding round.
Each selected initiative can receive a grant of up to ₦20 million, with projects expected to run for between six months and one year.
Application Requirements
Interested organisations are required to submit:
- A completed Strategic Innovation Fund Expression of Interest application template; and
- An organisational profile.
Only one application per organisation will be accepted. ActionAid Nigeria also states that applications not submitted using the prescribed template will be disqualified.
Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.
Important AI Restriction
Applicants should take particular note of ActionAid Nigeria’s application rules.
The organisation expressly prohibits the use of Artificial Intelligence tools, including ChatGPT and similar platforms, to draft, structure or generate application narratives, project descriptions or advocacy goals.
According to the call, the use of AI for these aspects of an application will result in automatic disqualification. Applicants should therefore prepare their application narratives themselves and follow the prescribed application template.
Application Deadline
The Strategic Innovation Fund 2026 call opened on September 23, 2026.
The deadline for submission is October 12, 2026, at 12:00 midnight.
How to Apply
Eligible women’s rights organisations should complete the official application template and submit it together with their organisational profile by email to:
Applicants should use the email subject line:
“Strategic Innovation Fund September 2026”
The official ActionAid Nigeria Feminist Hub provides the full call details as well as access to the SIF Application Template and Grant Budget template.
Interested organisations should review the complete guidelines and eligibility requirements carefully before submitting their applications.
Deadline: October 12, 2026.
