All project proposals are required to meet the following criteria; those that fail to meet these requirements will not be considered.

The competition is open to individuals or organizations emanating from the Sub-Saharan African diaspora currently living in Europe and active in Sub-Saharan Africa.

• Organization type: entrepreneurs, private investors, NGOs, civil society organizations, foundations, research institutes, academic institutions, etc. 
       -  Start-ups are eligible.
       -  Organizations that are looking into new services or products for
          expansion are eligible.
       -  Applying organizations must be legally registered in Europe or in 
          Sub-saharan Africa. 
       -  Organizations that are not yet legally registered may also participate
           in the competition, provided they agree to become legally
           incorporated before any prize money is made available to them. 
       -  Qualifying firms of an entrepreneur, including private micro, small and
           medium scale enterprises, would have up to 50 employees.

• Individuals are also eligible on condition that they partner with an organization based in Sub-Saharan Africa.

• Partnership: Project proposals must be submitted in partnership with local actor(s) based in Africa. The local partners can be local governments and their units, other NGOs, enterprises (both domestic and international), foundations, research institutes and academic institutions, subject to the conditions below:
       -  both parties cannot be individuals;
       -  both parties cannot be academic/research institutions, as no pure
          research projects will be considered.

• Eligible sectors: All sectors are eligible as long as they demonstrate a profit orientation.

• Proposals must be profit-oriented and demonstrate social benefits.

• Implementation time frame: Projects should be implemented within 12 months of receiving the first grant payment.

• Results: The results of projects should be measurable within the timeframe of implementation and have a direct impact on the social welfare of local communities. Projects with the primary output of research or knowledge, such as publications or conferences, are not eligible for the competition.

• Award size: The award size will range from €10,000 to €40,000. Awards to winners will vary according to the needs outlined in their proposals; however requests should not be greater than €40,000 or less than €10,000.

• Winning counterpart contributions: Prize winners will be expected to make counterpart contributions in the range of 5% to 25 % of the award won. This percentage will be needs-determined on a case by case basis.

• Past Development Marketplace winners:  If your project is already being funded by the World Bank Group or if you are a past DM winner (at global or country-level), project proposals for this competition must be significantly different from the project or idea for which you have received funding.  The same idea or project may not be re-submitted. If you have any questions, please contact the D-MADE team at the following email:  info@dmade.org.