The Million Lives Collective (MLC) and the Judith Neilson Foundation have launched a new grant program aimed at accelerating collaborative innovations that improve health, equity and climate resilience in rapidly growing African cities.
The African Cities Innovation Fund (ACIF), announced at the International Development Innovation Alliance’s Global Summit in Nairobi, will open for applications in Spring 2026. The fund will award pairs of African innovators up to $75,000 in flexible grants to design and test solutions that address the continent’s most pressing urban challenges including extreme heat, air pollution, inadequate sanitation, rising climate-related health risks, and barriers to essential services.
Announcing the fund, Abi Taylor, Innovation Lead at the Judith Neilson Foundation, said,
“African cities are growing at a dramatic pace, creating huge opportunity, challenge and change. Ensuring that cities are places where people can thrive calls for imagination, ambition, innovation and collaboration.”
Beyond funding, ACIF awardees will receive targeted technical assistance, including coaching, partnership-building support, and direct engagement with global development leaders through IDIA’s Collaboration Lab, ‘Collaborative Scaling for Exponential Impact.’
MLC is currently building a pipeline of proven, scale-ready innovations that improve the health and wellbeing of urban residents. A call for new members will be issued in January 2026.
Jite Phido, Senior Program Manager at MLC and Results for Development, noted that innovators across the continent are already transforming urban health outcomes
“Communities are finding new ways to improve mobility, expand access to essential services, create safe public spaces, and build resilience to climate and economic shocks. Our upcoming call will help identify these efforts and amplify pathways for exponential impact through collaboration.”
Since 2019, the MLC has worked to identify and advance high-impact development solutions. Its collaboration grants—supported by the Bayer Foundation and the Gates Foundation—have shown strong potential for accelerating impact in areas such as health systems strengthening and women’s economic empowerment.
Edwin Muroki of 4Life Solutions Kenya, which participated in MLC’s women’s economic empowerment collaboration grants, said the new fund is timely for scaling health-impact innovations.
“Urban impact in Africa depends on partnerships that strengthen community trust, support behaviour change, and ensure that proven solutions can be delivered effectively at scale.”
ACIF will build on this evidence base, strengthening collaborative models that help innovators expand into new cities, reduce risk, and maintain quality across diverse contexts—even amid shrinking aid budgets.
African organizations working on circular production, climate-resilient infrastructure, youth mobility, digital equity, public health, and community wellbeing are encouraged to express their interest through the MLC website.
