Application
You can review a copy of RFP questions, including the prompt for the narrative portion of the proposal, under each RFP. When an RFP is open, proposals are accepted through the application portal.
Open RFPs
This RFP is now closed.
Datasets for Language in Sub-Saharan Africa
23 September 2020 – 10 November 2020
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This request for proposals will fund language datasets for machine learning in sub-Saharan Africa.
A full copy of the RFP, including more details on potential areas of funding, eligibility, and selection criteria, is here.
See the budget template for reference here. Sample budget coming soon.
Applications are accepted through the application portal here.
Timeline:
- RFP Posted Publicly on Lacuna Fund Website: 23 September 2020
- Webinar: 2 October 2020
- Question and Answer Deadline: 7 October 2020
- Answers Posted: 14 October 2020
- Applications Due: 10 November 2020 (Noon ET / 5pm WAT / 8pm EAT)
Question and Answer Period: All questions related to the RFP should be submitted to secretariat@lacunafund.org with “Language RFP 2020 Question” in the subject line. Questions submitted by 7 October will be de-identified and answered publicly by 14 October on the Lacuna Fund website in a document posted here.
(October 14, 2020) Please see the Q&A here.
Additional resources from the Data Science for Society – Lacuna Fund NLP RFP Webinar on 2 October:
- Webinar Recording (English)
- Presentation: Datasets for Language in Sub-Saharan Africa
Please note that for this request for proposals, applicants should:
- Be an organization headquartered in Africa or have a substantial partnership with organization(s) headquartered in Africa.

Past RFPs
All past RFPs can be found here.
Focus Areas
The Steering Committee of Lacuna Fund: Our Voice on Data has identified the following areas as domains where a lack of labeled training data limits the potential of machine learning or presents the risk of bias or inequity.