Call for Applications |
The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) is pleased to invite applications for round two of the Africa Digital Rights Fund (ADRF).
Launched in April 2019, the ADRF responds to rising digital rights violations such as arrests and intimidation of internet users, network shutdowns, and a proliferation of laws and regulations that hamper internet access and affordability. It offers flexible and rapid response grants to select initiatives in Africa to implement activities that advance digital rights and the potential of technology to uphold human rights, advance democratic governance or drive innovation.
In the inaugural round of ADRF, initiatives with activities spanning 16 African countries received a total of USD 65,000.
In round two, the ADRF seeks to support initiatives in various thematic areas, including but not limited to the following:

  • Access and affordability
  • Access to Information
  • Cybercrime
  • Data protection and privacy
  • Digital economy
  • Digital Identity (ID)
  • Digital security
  • Diversity and inclusion
  • eGovernance
  • Freedom of expression
  • Hate speech
  • Innovation for democratic participation, transparency and accountability (civic and social tech)
  • Misinformation/Disinformation
  • Network disruptions
  • Strategic litigation
  • Surveillance

Grant amounts range between USD 1,000 and USD 20,000, depending on the need and scope of the proposed intervention. The ADRF strongly encourages cost-sharing. The grant period will not exceed 10 months. It is anticipated that around 15 grants will be awarded in this round.
Together with the inaugural winners, round two grantees will be eligible for technical and institutional capacity building, including on data literacy and advocacy skills through the Data4Change initiative. As such, applicants are encouraged to identify existing data sets or indicate willingness to collect and collate data as may be relevant to the proposed initiatives.
The deadline for submissions is Friday December 6, 2019. Read more about the Fund and round two guidelines here.  The application form can be accessed here.