Strategic Innovation Fund 2026: ActionAid Nigeria Offers Up to NGN 20 Million for Innovative Women’s Rights Initiatives

ActionAid Nigeria, with funding support from Global Affairs Canada (GAC), has announced the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) 2026 under the Renewed Women’s Voice and Leadership (RWVL) Project. The funding opportunity is designed to support creative, innovative, and strategic interventions that advance the rights of women and girls across Nigeria.

Through this call for Expression of Interest (EOI), eligible women’s rights organizations and women’s rights networks in Nigeria can propose new ideas, approaches, technologies, partnerships, advocacy models, and community-driven solutions that address persistent gender-related challenges.

The initiative provides an opportunity for organizations to test innovative interventions that can challenge existing barriers, strengthen advocacy and contribute to systemic change. Selected organizations may receive grants of up to NGN 20,000,000 each, with up to five innovative ideas expected to be supported in this funding round.

About the Strategic Innovation Fund

The Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) is intended to encourage women’s rights organizations to develop and test approaches that can contribute to meaningful and sustainable improvements in the lives of women and girls.

Rather than focusing only on conventional programming approaches, the fund is specifically interested in ideas that demonstrate creativity, innovation, strategic relevance, measurable impact, and potential for scale.

Under the fund, innovation can take several forms. An organization may propose:

• A completely new approach to addressing a gender-related challenge.
• An adaptation of an existing solution to a particular community or context.
• The use of technology to address barriers affecting women and girls.
• A community-driven methodology.
• A new partnership or collaboration model.
• An innovative advocacy or policy-influencing approach.
• A new model for delivering services or support.
• A creative strategy capable of producing measurable improvements in women’s and girls’ rights.
• An intervention that can potentially be replicated or scaled in other communities or contexts.

The central focus is on solutions that go beyond routine activities and demonstrate how innovation can contribute to gender equality, gender justice, women’s rights, and systemic change.

Issuing Organization and Funding Partner

The Strategic Innovation Fund is being offered by ActionAid Nigeria (AAN) with funding from Global Affairs Canada (GAC).

The opportunity is implemented under the:

Renewed Women’s Voice and Leadership (RWVL) Project

The project seeks to support efforts that strengthen women’s rights and leadership and advance gender equality through organizations and initiatives working within Nigeria.

What the Strategic Innovation Fund Supports

The fund is intended for innovative interventions addressing important issues affecting women and girls.

Applicants may develop proposals around areas such as:

1. Violence Against Women and Girls

Organizations can propose innovative solutions addressing violence against women and girls, including approaches designed to prevent violence, strengthen support systems, improve advocacy, or address structural factors contributing to gender-based violence.

Potential interventions could focus on improving how communities respond to violence, strengthening survivor-centered approaches, improving access to information and support, or developing innovative advocacy mechanisms.

2. Women and Girls in Conflict Situations

The fund specifically recognizes the needs of women and girls affected by conflict.

Innovative interventions may address the protection, rights, participation, access to services, or economic and social needs of women and girls living in conflict-affected environments.

3. Women and Girls on the Move and Returnees

The call also highlights women and girls who are displaced, migrating, returning to their communities, or otherwise experiencing challenges associated with being on the move.

Organizations can explore innovative methods of addressing protection gaps, access to opportunities, inclusion, advocacy, and rights for these populations.

4. Women’s Economic Justice and Empowerment

Another area of interest is women’s economic empowerment and economic justice.

Projects may seek to address structural barriers that limit women’s participation in economic activities, access to opportunities, resources, decision-making, or sustainable livelihoods.

5. Women’s Political Participation and Leadership

The Strategic Innovation Fund also welcomes interventions focused on increasing women’s participation and leadership in political and public life.

This can include approaches related to:

• Women’s political participation.
• Women’s leadership.
• Policy advocacy.
• Influencing decision-makers.
• Strengthening women’s voices in governance.
• Addressing barriers to women’s participation in political processes.

6. Policy Advocacy and Influencing

Innovation may also involve developing new advocacy approaches capable of influencing policies, institutions, practices, or decision-making processes affecting women and girls.

Organizations are encouraged to consider how an innovative intervention can contribute to broader systemic change rather than producing only short-term or isolated results.

Priority Groups Highlighted in the Call

ActionAid Nigeria has specifically indicated that it wants to hear from organizations developing innovative programming for structurally excluded groups.

These groups include:

• Women and girls with disabilities.
• Women and girls affected by conflict.
• Women and girls on the move.
• Returnee women and girls.
• Female inmates.
• Gender-based violence victims and survivors.
• Out-of-school girls.
• Elderly women.
• Women in politics.

Applicants proposing interventions focused on these groups should demonstrate how their proposed approach addresses the specific structural barriers faced by the intended beneficiaries.

Who Can Apply?

The Strategic Innovation Fund is open to women’s rights organizations and women’s rights networks operating in Nigeria.

Applicants must satisfy the eligibility requirements outlined by ActionAid Nigeria.

To be eligible, an organization must:

1. Be a women’s rights organization or women’s rights network.
2. Be women-led.
3. Operate in Nigeria.
4. Propose an innovative intervention that is creative, strategic, and capable of generating meaningful impact for women and girls.
5. Demonstrate how the proposed intervention advances gender equality and gender justice.
6. Show how the proposed intervention can contribute to systemic change.
7. Explain how the proposed initiative complements existing efforts aimed at advancing the rights of women and girls.
8. Demonstrate scalability, showing how the proposed intervention could potentially be expanded, replicated, or adapted beyond its initial implementation.
9. Demonstrate organizational capacity to implement the proposed intervention within the required timeframe.
10. Show the potential for measurable impact, including how the organization expects to assess whether the intervention achieves its intended results.

What Makes an Eligible Idea Innovative?

Innovation is an important component of this funding opportunity. Applicants are therefore expected to go beyond simply proposing conventional activities under an existing program.

According to the call, innovation can include a new approach, an adaptation of an existing solution, technology, community-driven methodology, partnership model, advocacy strategy, or another creative mechanism for advancing women’s rights.

A potentially suitable proposal should therefore clearly establish:

• What problem is being addressed.
• Why the existing approaches are insufficient or require adaptation.
• What is new or different about the proposed intervention.
• How the intervention will benefit women and girls.
• How the approach can contribute to systemic change.
• How results will be measured.
• Whether the model can be scaled or replicated.
• How the intervention complements existing work.

The emphasis is not simply on introducing something new, but on demonstrating why the innovation could provide a more effective way to advance women’s and girls’ rights.

Funding Amount

The Strategic Innovation Fund will provide grants of up to:

NGN 20,000,000 per innovative idea

ActionAid Nigeria expects to support up to five innovative ideas during this funding round.

If the maximum ceiling were awarded to all five selected ideas, the total potential funding represented by the round would be up to NGN 100,000,000.

The actual amount awarded to an individual applicant may depend on the assessment and selection process.

Implementation Period

Selected initiatives are expected to be implemented within a period of:

Six months to one year

Applicants therefore need to demonstrate that they have the organizational capacity, implementation structure, resources, and planning necessary to deliver measurable results within this timeframe.

The proposed intervention should be realistic in relation to the available implementation period and funding ceiling.

Number of Organizations to Be Supported

The call states that up to five innovative ideas will receive funding in this round.

This means that the opportunity is competitive and that submitting an Expression of Interest does not guarantee funding.

Only applicants that progress through the selection process will be contacted.

Application Requirements

Interested organizations are required to submit the application using the official application template associated with the Strategic Innovation Fund call.

The completed application template must be submitted together with an organizational profile.

Applicants should ensure that the required documents are complete and submitted according to the specified instructions.

Required Documents

Applicants should prepare:

• The completed Strategic Innovation Fund application template.
• The organization’s profile.
• Any other information or documentation required within the official application template.

The announcement specifically states that applications not submitted using the required template will be disqualified.

Important Application Restrictions

There are several important conditions that applicants should carefully observe before submitting an application.

Only One Application Per Organization

Each organization may submit only one application.

Organizations should therefore carefully determine which innovative idea they want to put forward before submitting their EOI.

Applications Must Use the Required Template

Applicants must use the designated Strategic Innovation Fund application template.

Applications submitted in another format may be disqualified.

Only Shortlisted Applicants Will Be Contacted

Due to the anticipated volume of applications, ActionAid Nigeria states that only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

Applicants should therefore not assume that a lack of immediate communication indicates an administrative problem.

Application Costs

ActionAid Nigeria will not be responsible for any expenses that applicants may incur while preparing or submitting their applications.

Organizations should therefore consider their own application-related costs when preparing their submissions.

Application Deadline

The deadline for submitting an Expression of Interest is:

12 October 2026 at 12:00 midnight

Applicants should ensure that their completed application and required documents are submitted before the stated deadline.

Important Timeline

• Call Opens: 23 September 2026
• Application Deadline: 12 October 2026
• Deadline Time: 12:00 midnight
• Expected Funding: Up to NGN 20,000,000 per selected innovative idea
• Number of Potential Awards: Up to 5
• Implementation Period: 6 months to 1 year

How to Submit an Application

Applicants must send the completed Expression of Interest and required supporting documents by email.

Submission Email: RWVL.SIFGrant@actionaid.org

Applicants should use the following subject line:

“Strategic Innovation Fund September 2026”

Organizations should ensure that the email includes the completed application template and organizational profile before submission.

Download the Application Templates

The announcement provides two key templates for prospective applicants:

Strategic Innovation Fund Application Template

Applicants are required to use the designated SIF Application Template when preparing their Expression of Interest.

SIF Grant Budget

The SIF Grant Budget template should also be reviewed and used as required by the application instructions.

Applicants should carefully examine the official templates before preparing their submission to ensure that the requested information and financial details are provided in the appropriate format.

Critical AI Policy for Applicants

One of the most important requirements in this call concerns the use of artificial intelligence.

The announcement explicitly states that the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, including ChatGPT or similar platforms, to draft, structure, or generate application narratives, project descriptions, or advocacy goals is strictly prohibited.

It further states that the use of AI for these purposes will lead to automatic disqualification.

Applicants should therefore carefully follow the funder’s stated requirements and prepare the relevant application materials in accordance with the official instructions.

This restriction is particularly important because the application may require applicants to describe their own organizational experience, proposed intervention, advocacy objectives, implementation approach, and expected impact.

What Applicants Should Consider Before Applying

Organizations considering this funding opportunity should review the call carefully and determine whether their proposed intervention meets the fund’s focus on innovation and women’s rights.

Before submitting an application, an eligible organization should consider whether its proposed idea:

• Directly advances the rights of women and girls.
• Addresses a clearly identified gender-related challenge.
• Is genuinely innovative or represents a meaningful adaptation of an existing solution.
• Has potential to produce measurable impact.
• Contributes to gender equality and gender justice.
• Has potential to contribute to systemic change.
• Complements existing initiatives rather than unnecessarily duplicating them.
• Can be implemented within six months to one year.
• Can potentially be scaled, replicated, or adapted.
• Addresses the needs of women and girls who experience structural exclusion where relevant.
• Can be realistically implemented with the proposed funding.
• Can be supported by the organization’s existing capacity and experience.

Why This Funding Opportunity Is Relevant to Women’s Rights Organizations

The Strategic Innovation Fund provides an avenue for women’s rights organizations in Nigeria to test ideas that may require financial support before they can be expanded or replicated.

Innovation funding can be particularly relevant to organizations that have identified persistent gaps in existing approaches and want to test a new model, technology, partnership, advocacy mechanism, or community-based intervention.

The opportunity also places emphasis on groups that can face multiple forms of exclusion, including women and girls with disabilities, women affected by conflict, returnees, female inmates, survivors of gender-based violence, out-of-school girls, elderly women, and women involved in politics.

Key Facts at a Glance

Conclusion

The Strategic Innovation Fund 2026 offers women’s rights organizations and women’s rights networks operating in Nigeria an opportunity to seek funding for innovative interventions that advance the rights of women and girls.

With funding of up to NGN 20 million per selected idea, up to five innovative initiatives may be supported under this funding round. The call places particular emphasis on approaches capable of addressing gender inequality, gender injustice, structural exclusion, violence against women and girls, women’s economic empowerment, political participation, advocacy, and the protection of women and girls affected by conflict or displacement.

Eligible organizations should carefully review the official application template, prepare their organizational profile, and ensure that their submission follows all requirements. Particular attention should be given to the 12 October 2026, 12:00 midnight deadline, the one-application-per-organization rule, the mandatory application template, and the funder’s explicit prohibition on using AI tools to draft, structure, or generate application narratives, project descriptions, or advocacy goals.

Organizations interested in applying should consult the official application materials and follow ActionAid Nigeria’s submission instructions before sending their Expression of Interest to RWVL.SIFGrant@actionaid.org.

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