SEA Capital Pathways

Women entrepreneurs: win up to $100,000 through the cartier women’s initiative awards

The cartier women’s initiative is now accepting applications from women-led businesses driving positive social and environmental impact around the world. This prestigious global program supports visionary entrepreneurs with funding, mentorship, leadership development, and access to a powerful international network.

💰 Funding
• First-place winners: $100,000
• Finalists: $30,000

🎁 What selected entrepreneurs receive
• Non-dilutive grant funding
• One-on-one business mentoring
• Leadership training and workshops
• Global visibility and media exposure
• Access to a worldwide network of impact-driven founders, investors, and experts

🎯 Who should apply
• Women founders or co-founders
• Early-stage for-profit businesses
• Ventures creating measurable social or environmental impact
• Businesses with demonstrated traction and growth potential

🌍 Eligible regions
Global

🗓️ Deadline
June 16, 2026

⭐ Why this opportunity stands out
Beyond funding, the cartier women’s initiative offers long-term support, international recognition, and access to a global ecosystem designed to help women entrepreneurs scale their impact and accelerate business growth.

📩 Apply here: https://www.cartierwomensinitiative.com/awards

The jacobs foundation is investing up to usd $6 million to support research that advances understanding of how children learn across diverse cultures, languages, and environments.

Through the levante initiative, researchers will contribute to one of the world's most ambitious efforts to build open, longitudinal datasets on learning variability and child development.

💰 Funding
* Regular projects: up to usd $250,000
* Large projects: up to usd $600,000
* Infrastructure projects: up to usd $1,000,000

🎯 Focus areas
* Learning variability
* Child and cognitive development
* Longitudinal research
* Causal inference in learning
* Open science and data sharing
* Educational outcomes across diverse contexts

👥 Who can apply
* Researchers with a phd (or equivalent) obtained at least 5 years before the application deadline
* Applicants affiliated with universities or research institutes
* Researchers working on learning, education, psychology, child development, or related fields

🌍 Eligible regions
Global

⭐ Special encouragement
The program strongly encourages research from underrepresented regions and the global south to help close major gaps in existing learning and education datasets.

📌 Why this opportunity matters
All funded projects contribute to a shared open-data ecosystem, enabling large-scale collaboration and cross-country comparisons that can transform how researchers, educators, and policymakers understand learning worldwide.

📅 Deadline
June 10, 2026

🔗 Learn more:
https://jacobsfoundation.org/

Kai Raghuwanshi highlights a hard truth for founders across Southeast Asia: impact capital is not a backup plan for startups that couldn’t raise VC.

Many ventures get rejected not because their mission is weak, but because their capital logic is weak. Grants, equity, debt, catalytic capital, and blended finance all serve different purposes, yet founders often approach them with the same fundraising story.

The next generation of successful founders won’t be the best storytellers. They’ll be the ones who understand which type of capital fits which stage, milestone, and operating reality.

Read the full article on e27: https://e27.co/funded-sea-does-not-need-more-impact-capital-it-needs-fewer-weak-capital-seekers-20260530/

Up to usd $75,000 for community-led environmental projects in malaysia

The global environment facility small grants programme (gef-sgp), implemented by undp, is now accepting proposals under its operational phase 8 (op8).

This funding supports community-driven initiatives that protect biodiversity, strengthen local livelihoods, improve food security, and build climate resilience through sustainable landscape and seascape management.

💰 Funding
* Regular grants up to usd $75,000 per project

🎯 Priority areas
* Community-based conservation of threatened ecosystems and species
* Protection of biodiversity through community-led governance
* Sustainable agriculture, fisheries, and food security
* Restoration of degraded lands
* Biodiversity-friendly livelihoods and blue economy initiatives
* Protection of threatened species

👥 Who can apply
* Community-based organizations (cbos)
* Non-governmental organizations (ngos)
* Civil society organizations (csos)
* Social enterprises
* Indigenous peoples’ organizations
* Women and youth groups
* Persons with disabilities groups
* Local communities

📍 Priority locations
* Pahang
* Johor
* Sabah
* Sarawak

Projects outside these areas may also be considered if they align strongly with op8 priorities and demonstrate clear environmental and community impact.

📌 What makes a strong proposal?
* Community-driven and locally led
* Aligned with op8 strategic priorities
* Clear environmental and socio-economic benefits
* Strong engagement of women, youth, indigenous peoples, and local communities
* Co-financing or in-kind contributions where possible

🌍 Why this matters
For more than 26 years, gef-sgp malaysia has supported hundreds of grassroots projects that combine environmental conservation with sustainable livelihoods. op8 continues this mission by empowering local communities to lead solutions for biodiversity protection and resilient development.

🔗 More information:
https://sgpmalaysia.org/apply-for-grant/

Up to $250,000 for women researchers in technology

The Sony women in technology award with nature is now open for applications globally.

This award supports outstanding women researchers working on breakthrough technology research with real-world impact. winners receive flexible funding, global recognition, and access to Sony and nature’s innovation ecosystem.

💰 Funding
* USD $250,000 per winner
* 3 winners selected globally

🎯 Who can apply
* Women researchers in technology fields
* Early-career researchers (within 15 years of undergraduate degree)
* Mid-career researchers (15–25 years since undergraduate degree)
* Applicants affiliated with research institutions or university spinouts

🌍 Eligible regions
Global

📅 Deadline
June 5, 2026

📌 What they’re looking for
* Ambitious and innovative research
* Strong scientific and technological impact
* Potential for real-world application and influence
* Breakthrough ideas shaping the future of technology

⭐ Additional consideration
Extra weighting for applicants from low- and middle-income countries, first-generation university backgrounds, and researchers with disabilities.

🔗 Learn more & apply:
https://womenintechnology.sony.com/

Up to £8,000,000 for Locally-Led Clinical Trials!

Wellcome is seeking transdisciplinary teams in Africa, South Asia, and South-East Asia to conduct high-impact trials optimizing infectious disease treatments.

The infectious disease clinical trial award supports randomized controlled trials that optimize how licensed vaccines and therapeutics are used in low- and middle-income settings helping move interventions from approval to large-scale adoption and policy uptake.

💰 Funding
* £1 million – £8 million per award
* Project duration: 3–5 years

🎯 What they’re looking for
* Randomized controlled trials
* Optimization of licensed vaccines or therapeutics
* Population targeting, dosing, combinations, and pragmatic effectiveness
* Evidence that can directly influence policy, guidelines, and implementation
* Studies including health economics and underserved populations

🌍 Eligible regions
* Africa
* South asia
* South-east asia (excluding mainland china)
* Multi-country trials allowed within eligible regions

🎯 Who can apply
* Transdisciplinary research teams
* Led by mid-career or established researchers
* At least 50% of applicants must be based in eligible regions

📅 Deadline
June 2, 2026 (15:00 bst)

📌 Why this opportunity matters
Wellcome is specifically funding “evidence-to-uptake” trials research designed to answer the critical questions that unlock large-scale adoption, policy change, and improved access in real-world healthcare systems.

🔗 Learn more & apply here: https://wellcome.org/research-funding/schemes/infectious-disease-clinical-trial-award-optimising-interventions-impact

CHF 100,000 + Zero Equity: DayOne Accelerator 2026.

DayOne is seeking global Digital Health, MedTech, and TechBio ventures to integrate into Europe’s leading life sciences hub.

Dayone accelerator supports early-stage startups building technologies that strengthen pharma R&D, digital health innovation, and tech-enabled biology solutions.

The program is designed for founders looking to refine their market positioning, connect with pharma partners, and grow within one of Europe’s leading life sciences ecosystems.

💰 What selected startups receive
* Chf 50,000 non-dilutive funding
* Up to chf 50,000 in personalized support
* 12 months workspace access at Dayone next
* Up to chf 1,000 travel & accommodation support for bootcamp participation
* Mentorship, investor access & pharma ecosystem connections

🎯 Focus areas
* Digital health
* Medtech
* Techbio
* Pharma R&D enablement
* Healthcare innovation infrastructure

🎯 Who should apply
* Individuals & startup teams worldwide
* Early-stage ventures building tools/services for pharma R&D
* Startups ready to collaborate with pharma stakeholders

⚠️ Note
The accelerator does not support therapeutic asset developers or independent drug pipelines.

🌍 Eligible regions
Global

📅 Deadline
May 31, 2026 (23:59 CET)

📌 Why this opportunity stands out
Dayone combines equity-free support with direct ecosystem access, helping startups build credibility, partnerships, and real commercial pathways within the life sciences industry.

🔗 Learn more & Apply here: https://www.dayone.swiss/accelerator/

U.S. Funding for Health Programs in Laos

The U.S. Department of State is seeking local and international organizations to deploy long-term health and protection initiatives.

🎯 Open focus areas in Laos
Rapid outbreak response
Child development, care, and protection

👥 Who can apply
Ngos & nonprofits
Universities & research institutions
Private sector organizations
Faith-based & community organizations
International organizations & government institutions

📅 Deadline
May 31, 2026

📄 Application requirement:
Submit a 5-page statement of interest (soi)

🔗 Learn more and apply:
https://la.usembassy.gov/u-s-funding-opportunity-for-health-programs-in-laos/

Kai Raghuwanshi explains why many Southeast Asian startups are not actually underfunded, they are following the wrong capital path.

Too many founders default to venture capital because it is the loudest and most visible funding route, even when their business still needs validation, pilots, partnerships, or implementation proof before equity makes sense.

The ecosystem rewards fundraising theatre, but real progress often comes from quieter capital: grants, catalytic funding, corporate pilots, institutional partnerships, and non-dilutive support.

The founders who survive are not always the best at pitching. They are the best at matching the right capital to the right stage.

Read the full article on e27
https://e27.co/funded-the-startup-world-has-a-fundraising-addiction-20260523/