Cash for your climate ideas

Hey,

Welcome to Green Jobs Rising!

Are you looking for a master’s scholarship or a grant to help move your startup forward?

Today, we’re sharing a list of grants and scholarships available for you to explore. 

To successfully apply for these opportunities, you need a strong proposal. 

The Pulitzer Center, which has open calls for journalists, offers guidelines to help make your proposal successful. 

If you’re looking to apply, there’s no magic formula for a successful proposal, but the best ones are personal, thoughtful, and original.

Choose a topic you genuinely care about, focus on the root causes of the issue, and bring a fresh angle.

Think beyond just one story. Consider how your reporting could reach more people, whether through different formats or multiple platforms. 

Before applying, review projects the Pulitzer Center has already supported and clearly explain how your idea fills a gap. 

Keep your proposal clear and simple. If you can’t explain your story briefly and convincingly, it may need more work.

Here is the list:

• Special Call for Journalism Proposals on Climate and Labor

  The Pulitzer Center is offering grants to support in-depth reporting on the intersection of climate change and labor. The funding supports journalists investigating how the climate crisis is affecting workers, industries, and livelihoods, while holding businesses and policymakers accountable.
  Deadline: 6 March 2026
  Eligibility: Grants are open to journalists, writers, photographers, radio and podcast producers, and filmmakers. Staff journalists and freelancers of any nationality are eligible to apply. Newsrooms or reporting teams may also apply, with the team lead serving as the main applicant.

• Energy Catalyst Round 11 – Early Stage
  The Innovate UK is offering grant funding under the Energy Catalyst programme to support innovative solutions that improve clean energy access in low- and middle-income countries. The competition funds early-stage projects developing affordable, reliable, and low-carbon energy technologies or business models, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, the Indo-Pacific region, and Latin America. The programme aims to accelerate sustainable energy access while supporting UK-led innovation partnerships.
  Deadline: 25 March 2026
  Eligibility: Projects must have total costs between £50,000 and £300,000 and run for 3 to 12 months, starting from 1 August 2026 and ending by 31 March 2030. Applications must include a UK-registered administrative lead (with international organisations required to partner with one) and involve at least one micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) from anywhere in the world.

• 2026 Grants Call: Advancing Supply & Deployment of Catalytic Capital
  The Catalytic Capital Consortium is offering grants to support practical solutions that strengthen how catalytic capital is supplied and deployed to high-impact investments globally. The programme focuses on addressing barriers in the investment ecosystem, such as limited risk-tolerant capital or inefficient capital pathways, with the goal of unlocking more funding for social and environmental impact. While projects may include climate-related investments, the core focus is on improving capital flows rather than funding a specific sector.
  Deadline: 4 March 2026
  Eligibility: The call is open to organisations proposing actionable, scalable solutions that can improve the supply of catalytic capital, the deployment of catalytic capital, or both. Projects should demonstrate potential to mobilise additional investment and create measurable impact across sectors and geographies. 

• Women in E‑Mobility Incubation
  This Women in E‑Mobility Incubation Programme is a call for applications inviting women‑led early‑stage startups working in Kenya’s e‑mobility sector to join a 6‑month incubation, mentorship, and technical support programme. The initiative, organised by partners including Coventry University (UK), African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS) and the Kenya Climate Innovation Centre (KCIC), aims to empower women entrepreneurs and accelerate growth, innovation, and scale in sustainable transport and electric mobility.
  Deadline: 4 March 2026.
  Eligibility: The programme targets women‑owned startups (at least 51 % female ownership) operating in areas like delivery/green logistics, passenger transport, maintenance/repair of e‑mobility assets, charging infrastructure, and related services. Applicants should be early‑stage operational startups committed to participating fully in the 6‑month programme.

• TFCA Financing Facility – Third Open Call (2026)
  The SADC TFCA Network has launched its Third Open Call for Concept Notes under the TFCA Financing Facility, co‑funded by the EU NaturAfrica Programme and the German Government. This funding seeks to support green economy and sustainable livelihood initiatives that strengthen conservation outcomes across Transfrontier Conservation Areas (TFCAs) in Southern Africa, using well‑structured value chains and tested business models to deliver both community benefits and landscape sustainability.
  Deadline: 31 March 2026.
  Eligibility: This call is open to SMEs, cooperatives, social enterprises, NGOs, and public or private sector entities operating in one of the six target TFCA landscapes. Projects should run for 24–36 months, propose activities that boost sustainable livelihoods and conservation (e.g., sustainable agriculture, eco‑tourism, sustainable energy, or innovative finance), and include at least 10% co‑financing from applicants. Each proposal should focus on a single TFCA and demonstrate capacity to deliver community impact and conservation benefits. 

• German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Development‑Related Postgraduate Courses (EPOS) Scholarship
  This is a scholarship programme that supports graduates from developing and newly industrialised countries to pursue postgraduate study (Master’s or PhD) in Germany in development‑related fields. It is aimed at professionals with at least two years’ work experience and covers expenses such as a monthly stipend, insurance, and travel allowance to enable full‑time study for development‑oriented careers.
  Deadline: Application deadlines vary by programme and institution.
  Eligibility: Applicants must hold a Bachelor’s degree, be from a developing or newly industrialised country, and have minimum two years’ professional experience. The scholarship supports study in fields related to sustainable development and professional advancement, and candidates must apply directly to the respective German university course listed in the DAAD database.

• Hauwa Ojeifo Scholarship 2026 
  The One Young World is offering the Hauwa Ojeifo Scholarship 2026, a fully funded opportunity for emerging young leaders committed to improving the lives of women and girls through work on mental health, gender equality, disability rights, and related social impact issues. The scholarship supports participation in the One Young World Summit 2026 in Cape Town, South Africa, and provides access to leadership development, networking, and potential grant funding.
  Deadline: 27 March 2026
  Eligibility: Applicants should be young leaders aged 18–30 at the time of the Summit (those over 30 may be considered based on exceptional impact). Candidates must be leading or involved in initiatives with proven impact in areas such as mental health (including neurodiversity), domestic and sexual violence, disability rights, reproductive health, maternal and child health, or non‑communicable diseases. Applicants must live and make an impact in Africa, Asia, or the Middle East and be willing to engage with other scholarship recipients and the One Young World community.

• Climate Finance Accelerator Kenya: Call for Proposals 

  The Climate Finance Accelerator (CFA) Kenya is inviting climate-focused projects and businesses to apply for tailored support that helps them prepare for investment and connect with financiers. The program provides technical guidance, investor engagement opportunities, and assistance in strengthening investment readiness for projects that deliver measurable climate impact, such as reducing emissions, supporting climate adaptation, or promoting sustainable development. The support is not direct funding but helps projects attract finance from private or blended capital sources.

  Deadline: 11 March 2026

  Eligibility: Applicants should be climate-focused projects or businesses based in Kenya seeking external finance, typically with a minimum financing need of around $1 million. Eligible sectors include clean energy, sustainable transport, climate-smart agriculture, green manufacturing, sustainable land use and forestry, circular economy initiatives, digital climate solutions, and blue economy projects. Projects must comply with environmental and social standards and ideally integrate gender equality, disability inclusion, and broader social impact considerations.

  Here are a few tips you may consider when applying for that grant.