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GSMA Fund: Pakistani AI Startups Can Win £250,000 GrantsTechnology
Pakistani startups using AI to improve people’s finances can apply for grants of £100,000 to £250,000, with applications closing on 17 December 2026.
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Pakistani startups using artificial intelligence to improve people’s financial lives can now apply for international grants worth up to £250,000. The money is on offer under a new GSMA Innovation Fund for AI-Enabled Financial Health, which opened for applications this week and will close on 17 December 2026.
The fund is backed by the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), through UK Aid. Selected companies will receive grants of between £100,000 and £250,000, along with technical guidance, introductions to investors, and a chance to showcase their work through the GSMA’s events and publications.
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The fund is open to private, for-profit small and growing businesses in low- and middle-income countries across Africa, South Asia and South-East Asia. Pakistan is on the list of eligible countries, alongside Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Indonesia.
Applicants must already have users and revenue, and a company applying for a project in Pakistan must be registered in the country and actively trading. Each applicant must also contribute at least a quarter of the amount it asks for from its own resources, and approved projects will run for 15 to 18 months.
The GSMA is looking for AI tools that help people cope with sudden money problems, make better financial decisions, and build savings and income over the long term. That could include systems that spot financial fraud, tools that explain money matters in local languages, services that share prices and market information, platforms that help people find work, and digital ways to save.
Companies working for women and girls, and for people with disabilities, will be given priority, as will local businesses and startups that can grow their projects by working with mobile network operators.
From access to everyday use
The fund sits against a backdrop of rapid growth in access to finance. According to the GSMA, the share of adults in low- and middle-income countries with a bank or financial account rose from 42 per cent in 2011 to about 80 per cent in 2024, with mobile money services playing a major part. Yet of the 2.3 billion registered mobile money accounts around the world, only about a quarter are used every month, showing how much room remains to turn access into everyday use.
This is not the GSMA’s first fund for Pakistan. In 2021, the organisation gave grants totalling Rs146 million to three Pakistani startups, and the new round gives local founders another chance to win international backing for home-grown ideas. Applications close on 17 December 2026, and full eligibility details are published on the GSMA’s official fund page.
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