Grants for Researchers from African Countries from the World Academy of Sciences 2021

With the support of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), TWAS launches the Seed Grant for New African Principal Investigators (SG-NAPI) to strengthen the capacity of African countries lagging in science and technology. This program is aimed at young scientists who are getting established in their country or about to return home to an academic position. Under this scheme, grants are awarded to promising high-level research projects in Agriculture, Biology, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Information Computer Technology, Mathematics, Medical Sciences, and Physics carried out in African countries lagging in science and technology identified by TWAS.

• Research Grants to research units amount to a maximum of USD 67,700.
• The grants, which are normally provided for a period of 24 months, may be used to purchase scientific equipment, consumables, and specialized literature (textbooks and proceedings only). They do not cover salaries of researchers and/or students, field expenses, or travel expenses. In addition, the purchase of laptops, tablets, drones, and laboratory animals is not supported.
• Awarded PIs may also support MSc students as part of the project, request funding for international conference grants, industrial link grants, mobility grants, and open access publication grants.
• The program has an additional component that seeks to enhance the productivity of female scientists returning to academia after maternity leave, a scientist-after-child grant.

• Applying Principal Investigators must be nationals of an eligible country, who holds a PhD and has good research experience. The grant should operate within a university or a research institution in one of the African countries lagging in science and technology. The PI must be 40 or under.
• The PI must have obtained their PhD within the last 5 years.
• The PI must have returned to their home country within the last 24 months.
• The PI must hold, be offered, or be in the process of accepting a position at an academic and/or research institution (including international research centers) in their home country.
• The PI must be national of an eligible African country that is lagging in science and technology.
• Applicant must at the time of application NOT have an active research grant with TWAS or OWSD Early Career Women Scientists (ECWS) Fellowship.
• Applications from women scientists and those working in the least Developed Countries are especially encouraged.
• The applicant must submit a strong Research Proposal.
• Applicants may apply for only one program per calendar year in the TWAS and OWSD portfolios. Applicants will not be eligible to visit another institution in that year under the TWAS Visiting Scientists the Visiting Professor programs. One exception: The head of an institution who invites an external scholar to share his/her expertise under the TWAS Visiting Professor program or the TWAS Visiting Expert program may still apply for another program.

About TWAS:

The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) is a global science academy founded in 1983 in Italy by a distinguished group of scientists from the developing world, under the leadership of Abdus Salam, the Pakistani physicist and Nobel laureate. They shared a belief that developing nations, by building strength in science and engineering, could build the knowledge and skill to address such challenges as hunger, disease, and poverty. From the start, the Academy had essential support from Italian scientists and political leaders. The academy works for the advancement of science in developing countries and supports sustainable prosperity through research, education, policy, and diplomacy.

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