The GSMA is offering grants up to £250,000 to help companies in low-and-middle-income countries accelerate AI and IoT development.

In partnership with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), the GSMA has launched the Innovation Fund for Impactful AI to empower small and growing enterprises in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) across Africa, south Asia, south-east Asia and the Pacific.

This initiative seeks to address the global problem of ensuring LMICs are not left behind in the AI revolution and can harness emerging and mobile technologies to drive inclusive and sustainable development.

Applications for the fund, which opened last week, recognise the untapped potential of AI and emerging technologies in LMICs. The goal is to harness these tools to create inclusive and sustainable options tailored to the needs of these communities, fostering resilience and driving meaningful impact.

Grants will range from £100,000 to £250,000 provided over 15 to 18 months, helping enterprises test and scale technologies. Tailored support should let enterprises build partnerships with mobile network operators, attract investors and develop scalable business models.

Beneficiaries will gain access to bootcamps, learning exchanges and global industry events such as MWC to build their technical and operational expertise. Enterprises will receive support to monitor and report the socio-economic and climate impacts of their innovations.

While technologies such as AI, IoT and mobile big data are gaining traction globally, their application in LMICs remains limited. This fund aims to close this gap by supporting innovations designed to benefit low-income and vulnerable communities. A goal is to ensure the sustainability and scalability of AI-driven options through local partnerships. It also aims to showcase the transformative potential of AI to create lasting change in LMICs.

The fund targets LMICs seeking to support AI-driven innovations across a broad range of sectors. By addressing diverse local challenges, it aims to enable impactful options that drive socio-economic development and climate resilience. Examples of potential areas of impact include healthcare, education, financial services and climate change adaptation.

Projects will need to leverage predictive or generative AI to deliver scalable and positive socio-economic or climate impacts. They must use emerging technologies such as IoT, blockchain or mobile big data to benefit low-income and vulnerable communities directly, and show clear pathways to sustainability and scalability through strong local partnerships and ecosystem engagement.

The fund will prioritise enterprises that are female-founded or female-led and actively address gender inequities. By supporting locally led organisations, the initiative also aims to build regional capacity, foster leadership and deliver impactful, community-driven outcomes.

Applications are open until 19 March. Full eligibility criteria and application details can be found at www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/connectivity-for-good/mobile-for-development/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/The-GSMA-Innovation-Fund-for-Impactful-AI-TCs.pdf.

“AI and emerging technologies have immense potential to tackle global challenges, but much of their development has focused on advanced markets, leaving a gap in the options designed for and by communities in LMICs,” said Max Cuvellier Giacomelli, head of mobile for development at the GSMA (www.gsma.com). “The GSMA Innovation Fund for Impactful AI seeks to change this by empowering enterprises in these regions to harness AI for transformative, inclusive and sustainable development where it is needed most.”