UK Aid Direct

Name

UK Aid Direct

Legal name

UK Aid Direct

Website

https://ukaiddirect.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Development Aid

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Foreign Governments (8888)

akta.pro primary industry

Country Development Assistance Programs (Bilateral ODA) (BPADABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH), Humanitarian & Disaster Assistance (Bilateral) (BPADABAB), Infrastructure, Energy & Urban Development Aid Programs (BPADABAJ)

Keywords

• International development funding
• Grant funding programmes
• Civil society support
• Poverty reduction grants
• UK foreign aid

Headquarters

HQ city

Bath

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Personnel, Operations

Core offering

UK Aid Direct was a UK government-funded grant programme established in 2014 by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) that awarded grants to small and medium sized civil society organisations (CSOs) in the UK and overseas to support projects aligned with the United Nations Global Goals. From 2016 to 2023 it was managed by Mannion Daniels in consortium with Oxford Policy Management, the Water Engineering and Development Centre, Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) and Education Development Trust. The programme awarded 196 grants across 39 countries, reaching nearly 9.8 million beneficiaries, and all projects have now ended.

Product overview

UK Aid Direct was a single, unified grant funding programme funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). It supported small and medium sized civil society organisations based in the UK and overseas to achieve sustained poverty reduction and the United Nations's Global Goals. The fund was flexible, adaptive and demand-led, responding to UK government priorities. All projects have now ended, and the programme is no longer active.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• UK Aid Direct Grant Fund A UK government-funded grant funding programme that provided financial support to small and medium sized civil society organisations (CSOs) based in the UK and overseas, addressing project themes including conflict prevention, disability inclusion, education, ending modern day slavery, health, livelihoods, nutrition, WASH and women's empowerment.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reached nearly 9.8 million vulnerable and marginalised beneficiaries

Named customers7 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Mannion DanielscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2016Mannion Daniels managed UK Aid Direct for the UK government from 2016-2023 as the primary implementing partner responsible for fund administration and management.
• Oxford Policy ManagementcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Oxford Policy Management was a key partner in the UK Aid Direct consortium from 2016-2023, providing policy expertise and development guidance.
• Water Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Water Engineering and Development Centre at Loughborough University partnered with UK Aid Direct from 2016-2023, contributing water and sanitation development expertise.
• Royal Tropical Institute (KIT)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Royal Tropical Institute (Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen) was a consortium partner from 2016-2023, providing tropical medicine and international health expertise.
• Education Development TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Education Development Trust partnered with UK Aid Direct from 2016-2023, contributing education sector expertise to the consortium.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Broad incumbents

• Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida): Sida channels Swedish government ODA to CSOs and multilateral initiatives with a focus on poverty reduction and the Global Goals, mirroring UK Aid Direct's mandate under FCDO.
• Aga Khan Foundation: Aga Khan Foundation funds civil society and community organisations across multiple developing countries on health, education and livelihoods themes, overlapping with UK Aid Direct's thematic remit and CSO beneficiary model.
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: The Gates Foundation is one of the largest global grantmaking foundations, funding CSOs and partners across health, development, gender equality and other themes that overlap with UK Aid Direct's project portfolio.
• Open Society Foundations: Open Society Foundations makes grants to civil society organisations globally, including on human rights, governance and inclusion themes that overlap with UK Aid Direct's portfolio (e.g., Minority Rights Group as a documented grantee).
• Ford Foundation: Ford Foundation makes grants globally to civil society and social-justice organisations, with thematic overlap in inequality, gender, governance and inclusion that intersects with several UK Aid Direct priority areas.
• Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad): Norad administers Norway's bilateral aid programmes, including grant channels to civil society. It is structurally and functionally comparable as a government-funded ODA grantmaking body.
• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ): GIZ is Germany's primary bilateral development agency, implementing projects across similar thematic areas (governance, health, WASH, education) on behalf of the German government. It operates at much larger scale but covers the same bilateral ODA space as UK Aid Direct.

Direct peers

• Global Fund for Children: Global Fund for Children is a grantmaking foundation that channels small, flexible grants to community-based organisations working on children's rights and youth development, directly comparable to UK Aid Direct's small-CSO funding approach.
• USAID Small Grants Program: USAID's small-grants mechanisms channel US government funding to local and international civil society organisations for community-level development. It is the most direct functional analogue to UK Aid Direct's small-CSO grantmaking model.
• Comic Relief: Comic Relief is a UK-based grantmaking charity that funds small civil society organisations in the UK and internationally on poverty and social justice themes, operating with a similar small-grant, CSO-focused model.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UKAidDirect

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about UK Aid Direct