Emergent Ventures

Bold Ideas.
Transformative Social Change.

Launched in 2018, Emergent Ventures is a low-overhead fellowship and grant program that supports entrepreneurs and brilliant minds with highly scalable, "zero to one" ideas for meaningfully improving society. Mercatus Center faculty director Tyler Cowen administers the program. Grants are awarded to thinkers and doers around the world, with dedicated support available for projects with a focus on India, Africa and the Caribbean, or Ukraine. Applicants with a specific geographic focus should select the appropriate region from a drop-down menu on the application form. 

To be eligible for an EV grant, all applicants must be 13 years of age or older. If you have any questions about Emergent Ventures or the application, please contact us at [email protected]

Fast Grants for STEM Talent Identification

A new tranche launched in August 2023 supports the identification and development of global underrepresented talent in the STEM fields. Interested applicants should describe how their project relates to talent identification in the proposal summary section of the application. 

Fast Grants: Fast Funding for COVID-19 Science

Fast Grants launched in April 2020 as a spin-off of Emergent Ventures to swiftly support scientists working on COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. In total, Fast Grants raised more than $50 million and awarded 260 grants toward critical research. Learn more about the winners at https://fastgrants.org/.