We are living in interesting times; change is in the air with global rearrangements on every front. The latest reality check is that the era of abundant grant funding is over. The recent shifts in the development landscape have been brought to the fore by major changes from key players like USAID and the European nations’ renewed focus on their own internal fiscal challenges. It is estimated that global aid will decline by 30% in 2026 from 2023 levels.

There are various actors who are looking to fill this critical gap but we have to be realistic; they are very large shoes to fill. Will local African governments and institutions raise the required funding to plug the hole? Your guess is as good as mine. This revision has left many African startups at a dangerous crossroads. Grants played a key role during the initial phase of pilots and the beginning of the commercial phase as I had pointed out in an earlier article.

Over the last two decades, awash with cash, founders have treated grant funding as a lifeline; a way to extend their runway and postpone a difficult conversation with commercial reality. In doing this, a large number of them have drifted from their core focus as they sought to orient themselves to funders’ goals. In this new climate, this is not an option on the table; the startups that continue to treat grants as a crutch will not survive. The leaders of tomorrow will be those who will use grant funding as it was intended: a strategic tool and a catalyst for an inevitable commercial endgame.

Is this the death of the grant? I don’t think so but the cake is definitely smaller and the new gatekeepers will be more demanding. Funding ticket sizes will be smaller, grant calls will be fewer and the evaluation criteria will be stricter. The new-age grant funders will be looking for disciplined leaders with a clear strategy for impact, scale and most importantly, sustainability. If you want your company to make the most out of the grants of the future, you will need to approach them systematically. Here is my step by step strategy.

Stage 1: The Alignment Filter

Before you even think of writing down a proposal, you need to be able to ask yourself a critical question. The number one question is not 'Can we get this money?' but 'Should we get this money?'

The answer to this question will be clear if you already have a Strategic Roadmap for your startup. This is the document that will guide you and your team even before you spend a single hour reading a grant's full RFP. The grant opportunity should be audited against this document, not the other way around. To put it plainly, without a clear commercial roadmap, you are not ready to apply for strategic grants. You are simply looking for a lifeline.

There are three key test questions a grant opportunity needs to answer and each must get a clear "yes" to proceed:

1. Core Mission Alignment: Does this funding expedite our primary commercial goal such as proving product-market fit or does it pull us into a secondary side project?

2. Synergy in operations: Can our current core team execute this without being distracted from their main commercial functions or will it require building a separate, siloed grant team?

3. Commercial Track: Is the final product from the grant a specific, tangible asset such as a bank of case studies or a validated financing model that directly unlocks the next stage of commercial funding?

The same way a disciplined leader needs to give Strategic No’s as he seeks partnerships, will apply to grant opportunities. Your discipline as a leader stems from the realization that a misaligned grant that pulls your team off course is the most expensive capital you will ever take on.

Stage 2: The Narrative & Proposal

The grant opportunity is aligned and now you will need to create a winning funding narrative. Ideally your proposal should not read like a request for a lifeline; it should instead be an invitation for the donor to participate in your inevitable success.

The proposal should be framed to communicate that you are on a clear path to commercial scale. This grant is not a detour but a strategic, de-risking accelerator for a specific, critical commercial milestone.

For your story to be credible, it should build a watertight case. A proposal may be made up of words but it is actually a presentation of evidence. It must bundle all your current assets to make it easier for a funder to say yes:

• The Hook: Start by explaining what makes your approach unique with market insights.

• The Validation: if you have any third-party credibility be it awards or positive press, highlight them.

• The Traction: However small they are, include early data points including number of users, positive feedback from the first 50 deployments and more.

When drafting the ask, it is important to frame it as a catalytic milestone. Instead of mapping out your budget story around operational costs like salaries, create a narrative around a tangible, value-creating milestone the grant will achieve. For example: This $300,000 grant will allow us to execute the scale phase of our market entry, resulting in a proven, repeatable sales process and the first 1,000 units deployed, which in turn unlocks commercial debt financing.

Stage 3: Flawless Execution

Securing the grant only got you to the starting line; you still have to run the race. How you execute the grant is what will determine your reputation and your future. Run the race well and you build unshakable trust.

You can dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s as per the grant requirements or go beyond just reporting and implement proactive transparency. The grant requires quarterly reports but you can also send short, data-rich, bi-weekly or monthly updates to your program officer. This simple act can build immense trust and makes them feel like part of your team, not just an auditor.

You can write dense narratives but also include visual, shareable dashboards translated from your data. Your donor will clearly see your key metrics such as users reached or income increased, in a simple, visually appealing one-page dashboard. These will also build up to great marketing material not just for your donor but for your own use as well.

Stage 4: The Strategic Leverage

The end of the grant is the beginning of your commercial story. You will use the assets you've just created to attract the real prize: sustainable, long-term commercial capital. Have all the dashboards, final impact report, case studies and testimonials as your proof of concept, professionally packaged.

With your proof as your sword, you will now execute a capital outreach campaign with a multi-prong approach. From VCs, you will seek a series A round to scale your business after proving your product-market fit and a plan to de-risk your business model. DFIs and banks will recognize how your impactful business model has data to track records that will qualify you for large-scale debt financing.

Conclusion

Contrary to popular belief, grant funding is not free money. It always comes at the high price of your focus. A misaligned grant can be the most expensive capital you ever take on. It can derail your team and your entire commercial strategy.

Conversely, when viewed through a strategic lens, it can be the most powerful growth catalyst you can acquire. The secret is discipline. Founders will need to master the ability to say NO to the wrong money and flawlessly execute on the right money. A grant can be a simple runway extension or a de-risked, high-speed launch-pad for your commercial success. Your choice.

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