Utafiti Africa, UbuntuNet Alliance’s research funding opportunities portal, has reached the key milestone of 1,100 active users across Africa. The portal aims to catalyze increased funding and impactful research across Africa. It has a continuously updated, searchable database of funding opportunities. The Swahili word Utafiti means “research,” reflecting the platform’s core mission to support and advance research.
The portal is designed with ease of use in mind, featuring an intuitive interface that allows users to quickly search for opportunities based on specific criteria such as field of study, location, and type of funding. It has funding opportunities for project, equipment, research, training and travel grants and PhD and Master fellowships. Grant seekers can filter opportunities by country and discipline, narrowing down on opportunities they are eligible for and are interested in, respectively. Each listing on Utafiti includes comprehensive details about the opportunity, including eligibility criteria, application deadlines, funding amounts, and application procedures.
One of the standout features of Utafiti is its tailored alerts and notifications system. Users can set up personalized alerts to receive email notifications about new opportunities that match their interests and qualifications, helping them stay informed without constantly checking the portal. The platform also offers video-on-demand courses designed to enhance the skills and knowledge of researchers, policymakers, and other stakeholders in the academic community.
The two-year-old portal, accessible at no cost, addresses the challenge researchers face in identifying grant opportunities scattered across many funder sites or behind the paywalls of consolidation sites. Faced with limited local resources, Utafiti Africa supports researchers in finding funds to support their work. It aligns directly with the Alliance’s mission to enable and strengthen collaboration and innovation among Africa’s research and education communities.
