RAIN Challenge – Resilient Agriculture Innovations for Nature (East Africa)

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Enriched corporate-foundation · Found: 2026-04-20 13:13

Challenge for non-profit organisations in East Africa supporting innovative, scalable solutions for climate-resilient and nature-positive agriculture. Run jointly with Global Resilience Partnership. Multiple rounds completed (2023, 2024, 2025); phase III application open. Winners receive funding and participate in a Leadership Academy.

Source: https://www.munichre-foundation.org/en/climate-adaptation/RAIN-Challenge.html

Funding Details

Funder: Munich Re Foundation
Funding Goal: Support non-profit organisations in East Africa with innovative, scalable solutions that increase agricultural resilience to climate change while fostering nature-positive agriculture. Projects should deliver innovative and scalable solutions addressing climate challenges for smallholder farmers and communities reliant on agriculture for their livelihoods.
Funding Amount: Cash prize (exact amount not disclosed on page); plus tailored mentorship, financial linkages, and communications support. Seed-level innovation grants with support through Leadership Academy.
Deadline: Unknown (periodic)
How to Apply: Applications submitted via online portal. Previous application form at https://globalresiliencepartnership.submittable.com/submit. Application guidelines available at GRP website. Phase III (RAIN 3) is the most recently completed round (winners announced June 2025). Next round timeline not yet announced.
Target Region: East Africa — Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and other East African countries.
Contact: Munich Re Foundation and Global Resilience Partnership (GRP). Contact via respective websites.
Last Checked: 2026-04-20 13:39

Application Checklist

Eligibility

Organisation must be a non-profit based in East Africa

Project Scope

Proposal must address climate resilience in agriculture and nature-positive outcomes
Solution must be innovative and scalable

Required Documents

Apply via GRP online application portal when next round opens
Review application guidelines on GRP website for the specific round

Constraints

Project must be locally led with East African implementation
For-profit initiatives must apply through separate Shockwave Foundation strand

Summary

The Resilient Agriculture Innovations for Nature (RAIN) Challenge is a multi-round competitive programme co-organised by the Munich Re Foundation and the Global Resilience Partnership (GRP). It targets non-profit organisations in East Africa working on innovative, locally-led agricultural transformation that addresses climate resilience and nature-positive practices. Programme objectives focus on nurturing early-stage, innovative agricultural ideas into viable, investment-ready solutions. The challenge specifically aims to change risk perceptions for agricultural investments by connecting potential funders with non-profit organisations, while demonstrating the potential of nature-positive agriculture to address climate change, food security, and livelihood challenges simultaneously. Thematic scope includes: regenerative agriculture, climate-smart agricultural practices, soil health improvement, carbon farming and carbon credits for smallholders, biodiversity conservation, sustainable land use, digital tools for agricultural management, and community resilience building. Projects must have scalability potential and deliver clear environmental and social impact. Geographic scope is restricted to East Africa. Countries included in previous rounds include Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and other East African nations. All implementation must be locally led. Eligible applicants are non-profit organisations — including public organisations, local civil society groups, international NGOs, and academic institutions — based in East Africa. A separate for-profit strand exists, organised by GRP and Shockwave Foundation. Selected initiatives receive a cash prize, tailored mentorship through a Leadership Academy, financial linkages, and communications support. Past rounds have shortlisted 9–19 initiatives and named 9–10 winners per round. Phase III winners were announced in June 2025; the next round (Phase IV) timeline has not been announced as of April 2026.

Historical Context

RAIN Challenge has run three rounds: RAIN Phase I (2023), RAIN Phase II (2024), RAIN Phase III (2025). Each round shortlisted approximately 9–19 initiatives; winners announced in June each year. Phase III winners were announced June 19, 2025. No Phase IV announced as of April 2026. The programme is co-funded by Munich Re Foundation and Global Resilience Partnership, with the for-profit strand supported by Shockwave Foundation.

Why it was added

discovered from funder #9: Munich Re Foundation

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