Fund for Innovation in Development

Name

Fund for Innovation in Development

Legal name

Fonds d'Innovation pour le Développement (FID)

Website

https://fundinnovation.dev/

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Development Grants

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Federal & Federally-Sponsored Credit Agencies (6111)

akta.pro primary industry

Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE), Project Preparation Facilities & Technical Assistance Windows (BPADAOAI), Results-Based Financing (RBF) & Performance-Based Grants (BPADAOAF), Development Finance, Guarantees & Blended Finance Programs (BPADABAM)

Keywords

• Development grant funding
• Innovation financing
• Impact evaluation
• International development fund
• Evidence-based interventions

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Grant Disbursements to Innovation Projects: FID operates as a public development fund disbursing grants to innovative projects across seven funding stages: Pilot Preparation (up to €50K), Impact Evaluation Preparation, Pilot (up to €200K), Impact Evaluation (up to €1.5M), Scale-up (up to €4M), Innovation and Public Policies (up to €500K), and Impact Evidence and Public Policies. Revenue is not generated from commercial activities; FID is financed by public development assistance contributions from France and Switzerland (DDC).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

FID is a public development fund that finances innovative projects targeting poverty and inequality in low- and middle-income countries through a seven-stage grant program ranging from €50,000 preparation grants to €4,000,000 scale-up grants. The fund operates an open, year-round call for proposals accessible to research institutions, NGOs, governments, companies, and other organizations, and requires rigorous impact evaluation using counterfactual methods (randomised controlled trials). It is hosted by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and chaired by Nobel laureate Esther Duflo.

Product overview

The Fund for Innovation in Development (FID) operates a multi-stage grant program offering seven funding windows (from preparation grants of 50,000€ to scale-up grants of 4M€) for innovative development solutions targeting low- and middle-income countries. FID's approach combines innovation financing with rigorous impact evaluation methodology, supporting projects across sectors including health, education, agriculture, climate, democracy and governance. The portfolio includes technology-focused projects such as Prorede3 (AI-powered pharmaceutical donation platform in Brazil), Digital Green's agricultural AI chatbot in Ethiopia, Karibu Prof (AI-assisted French language learning app in Senegal), Togo AI Lab (data and predictive analytics for public policy in Togo), and Buni Banda (offline AI diagnostic assistant for tuberculosis in Kenya).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• FID Funding Program (Seven-Stage Grant Mechanism) A multi-stage grant funding program offering seven funding windows adapted to the maturity of innovation: Pilot Preparation (up to €50K), Impact Evaluation Preparation, Pilot (up to €200K), Impact Evaluation (up to €1.5M), Scale-Up (up to €4M), Innovation and Public Policies (up to €500K), and Impact Evidence and Public Policies. Designed for research institutions, NGOs, governments, companies, and other organisations developing innovative solutions for poverty and inequality in low- and middle-income countries.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3.5 million people targeted by FID-supported innovations demonstrating proven impact (2021–2024)
• +2 more outcomes

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

AI capability9 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and major.

• J-PAL (Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 July 2026J-PAL co-organises the annual Summer School on development methodologies with FID, AFD, and host-country governments (e.g., Benin 2026). J-PAL's Africa office (based at AUC Cairo) and LAC office (at PUC Chile) partner on multiple FID-funded impact evaluations (e.g., Egypt debtor prisons project, Guatemala Social Development Innovations Lab).
• J-PAL Africa / Africa officecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 July 2026Based at the American University in Cairo (AUC), J-PAL Africa leads implementation of impact evaluations and data collection across the MENA region. Active partner in FID-funded projects including the Egypt debtor prisons evaluation.
• Grand Challenges CanadaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 June 2026Grand Challenges Canada co-launched the Nexa global initiative with the Science for Africa Foundation during London Climate Action Week (June 2026), targeting climate-driven health innovations. FID is not a direct partner in Nexa but is mentioned in connected news as a funder of related development projects.
• Universidad del Valle de GuatemalamajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026Partners with J-PAL LAC on the Social Development Innovations Lab (SDI-Lab) project at Guatemala's Ministry of Social Development. Provides in-country research capacity and academic anchoring for the impact evaluation of social policies.
• Bluemind FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Stage 2 funding from FID enabled larger-scale impact evaluation of the Bluemind Foundation's 'Heal by Hair' mental health initiative in Togo from 2025 to 2027. The project trained hairdressers as Mental Health Ambassadors across Africa, reaching approximately 212,000 women.
• Togo AI Lab / Ministry of Public Service Efficiency and Digital TransformationmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024The Togo AI Lab is an initiative of the Togolese Ministry of Public Service Efficiency and Digital Transformation, developed in collaboration with the University of Berkeley. FID funds this project under its Impact Evidence and Public Policies grant stage to support evidence-based public policy in Togo.
• Agence Française de Développement (AFD)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021FID is an independent structure hosted by the Agence Française de Développement under a convention between AFD and the French State. AFD provides institutional hosting, infrastructure, and administrative support. Thomas Melonio serves as AFD's representative on FID's Board of Directors.
• Esther DuflocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Nobel Prize in Economics laureate (2019), Esther Duflo chairs FID's Board of Directors. A professor at MIT, she brings global scientific credibility and pioneered the use of randomised controlled trials in development economics.
• Jean-Michel SeverinomajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021President of Investisseurs et Partenaires (I&P), Jean-Michel Severino is a member of FID's Board of Directors, contributing expertise in development finance and investment.
• Stefanie StantchevamajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Harvard University economics professor and member of FID's Board of Directors, Stefanie Stantcheva contributes expertise in the study of poverty and inequality and the economics of public policy.
• Leonard WantchekonmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Professor of political science and economics at Princeton University and member of FID's Board of Directors. Leonard Wantchekon brings expertise in political economy and development research.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Global Innovation Fund: Global Innovation Fund is a London-based non-profit that finances innovative solutions for poverty in developing countries using grants, loans, and equity across stage-gated funding rounds. It is the closest direct peer to FID in mission, staged financing, and impact-evaluation focus.
• Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) — USAID: USAID's flagship tiered-evidence grant program funds pilots and scale-ups of development innovations with rigorous evaluation requirements. DIV is the most structurally analogous program to FID, differing mainly by being US government-funded and operating at larger scale.
• Grand Challenges Canada: Canadian government-backed fund that supports bold ideas in global health and development through staged seed-to-scale grants, often with rigorous impact evaluation. Shares FID's staged grant structure and focus on integrated innovation for LMICs.

Broad incumbents

• Acumen: Acumen invests philanthropic capital in early-stage social enterprises tackling poverty across Africa, South Asia, and Latin America. It overlaps with FID's mission but uses patient equity/debt rather than grants and operates at a much larger AUM scale.
• Omidyar Network: Impact investment firm founded by Pierre Omidyar that deploys grants, equity, and debt to organizations promoting social change globally. Comparable in evidence-oriented grantmaking but operates a much broader, more capital-rich portfolio.
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: The Gates Foundation is the world's largest philanthropic foundation funding global health and development innovation with rigorous evaluation standards. Far larger and broader than FID but shares the RCT-based evidence orientation in its global development work.
• Wellcome Trust: UK-based charitable foundation funding health research and global health innovation with staged grant mechanisms and evaluation requirements. Compares to FID as a much larger peer with similar evidence-led grantmaking discipline, focused on health rather than multi-sector LMIC innovation.

Others

• Agence Française de Développement (AFD): AFD is FID's institutional host and largest financial backer, implementing French bilateral development cooperation. Comparable as a French public development finance institution, though AFD primarily lends and FID primarily grants innovation projects within the same ecosystem.
• J-PAL (Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab): MIT-based global research center that runs randomized evaluations of development programs. J-PAL is FID's deepest academic partner (co-organizing the Summer School and multiple impact evaluations), making it a strategically linked ecosystem participant rather than a direct competitor.
• IDH - The Sustainable Trade Initiative: IDH is a Dutch-based public-private partnership that convenes companies, governments, and civil society to fund sustainable commodity innovations with evidence-based approaches. Overlaps thematically with FID's climate/sustainability projects but focuses on landscape-level commodity supply chains rather than LMIC innovation broadly.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments1 record

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Frequently asked questions about Fund for Innovation in Development