FREE STEM Fund 2025 Grants

South Africa
Inclusive Innovation
Grant

The FREE STEM Fund 2025 Grants program, backed by the Optiver Foundation, is a global funding initiative dedicated to empowering girls, women, transgender, and non-binary people in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). By prioritizing intersectional and inclusive approaches, this fund supports organizations, collectives, and grassroots groups to address gender-based barriers and foster equal access to STEM education and career progress.

Applicants are invited from all regions and may include registered or unregistered initiatives and organizations led by or working with underrepresented genders in STEM. The program is designed to drive diversity, inclusion, and leadership within the global STEM community through educational programs, mentorship and leadership initiatives, and projects that connect traditional knowledge with modern science.

Previous FREE STEM Fund recipients have successfully advanced inclusion for Indigenous youth, people with disabilities, and girls from marginalized communities in Ecuador, Bolivia, Mexico, and beyond. The funding approach embraces participatory governance, local impact, and the creation of safe, equitable learning environments.

Selected projects will receive grant funding to implement activities that increase the visibility and influence of women, transgender, and non-binary role models; strengthen access to STEM education and training; and promote systemic change in science and technology.

Five Keywords for the Opportunity:

  • Gender equality
  • STEM inclusion
  • Intersectional empowerment
  • Global grant
  • Diversity & leadership

Opportunity Type:
Grant / Funding / STEM Empowerment

Industry Focus:
STEM Education, Science & Technology, Gender Equity, Non-profit & Community Initiatives

Date Opened:
Now open (2025)

Closing Date:
1 December 2025

Location:
Global

Contact Details for Your Opportunity:

Closing date
Industry
​Other service activities
Website link
www.freestemfund.org