What AI4D African Scholars Programme (IDRC) actually covers.
The Artificial Intelligence for Development (AI4D) Africa Scholars Programme, funded by Canada's IDRC and Sweden's Sida, supports PhD students and early-career researchers across Africa working on AI research with social impact. The programme covers research grants, travel to AI conferences, mentorship, and community-building among African AI researchers. Thematic areas include AI for agriculture, health, climate, and education across the continent.
Who can apply.
Open to phd, postdoctoral applicants. Eligible nationalities are listed below.
46 more eligible countries — full list available on the official application page.
Accepted fields.
AI4D African Scholars Programme (IDRC) currently lists the following eligible fields of study. Other related disciplines may also be considered — check the official call.
Four steps to a complete application.
Scholar Africa is a discovery and tracking platform — the application itself is submitted directly through the official provider site. The steps below mirror our HowTo schema.
Check eligibility
Confirm your nationality, academic level, and field of study match the criteria above.
Eligibility checklist
Prepare documents
Transcripts, recommendation letters, personal statement, and a valid passport.
Document checklist
Submit the application
Submit before November 30, 2026 via the official portal.
Submission checklist
Track your application
Use your Scholar Africa dashboard to monitor status and deadline reminders.
Post-submission checklist
What we checked, when we checked it.
Every scholarship on Scholar Africa goes through six checks (link, contact, organisation, winners, third-party, manual review). AI4D African Scholars Programme (IDRC) currently scores 8.5/10.
Report an issue
Other scholarships worth a parallel application.
Same eligibility window or destination. Many strong applicants apply to three or four programmes per cycle.