11 Scholarships, Grants and Free Courses to Apply for Before January 2027

This roundup lists 11 opportunities you can still apply for, from free online courses to start-up grants and a fully funded fellowship. Most are open to applicants in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya, and several are open worldwide. Two close this weekend, so start with those. Each entry gives the deadline, who can apply and where to go next. Where Zejimo has a full guide, follow the link for every detail.

Status: Open, with deadlines from 1 November 2026 to 31 January 2027. The free LinkedIn course has no deadline. All details were checked on the official websites (checked October 30, 2026).

Quick list by deadline

Closing this weekend

Second Key Animation Online Course

A free online course from Triggerfish Academy, UNDP South Africa (timbuktoo) and Arc & Beyond, funded by the Government of Japan. It offers 100 places on five recorded English lessons designed by Japanese anime professionals, from November to December 2026. Top performers are put forward to Japanese anime studios, but a job is not promised. You must be 18 or older and an African citizen or resident, with a digital portfolio or showreel. Indians can apply only if they live in Africa. Generative AI is not allowed in your work. Apply by 1 November 2026, 23:59 South Africa time (22:59 in Lagos) on the official course page. Read the full Second Key guide.

YTH Live Global 2026 Innovation Challenge

Run by ETR, the US nonprofit behind the YTH Live Global conference, for young people building tech ideas that improve youth health and wellbeing. The winning team gets $5,000 in seed funding and mentorship. Second place gets $2,000 and third place $1,000. Every team member must be 18 to 29, and teams of one to five can apply from any country. You submit a short form and a three to five minute video in English. Apply by 1 November 2026, 11:59 pm Pacific Time (8:59 am on 2 November in Lagos) on the official challenge page. Read the full YTH Live guide.

Scholarships and courses

• ISACA Cybersecurity Month Scholarship: five cybersecurity students worldwide get $2,500 each plus an ISACA career bundle. You must be 18 or older and enrolled in or accepted to an accredited school. Closes 3 November 2026. Read the full ISACA guide.
• Akuna From Script to Screen with AI: a free 12-week AI filmmaking academy with Google, for creators aged 18 or older in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Sierra Leone and South Africa. Closes 15 November 2026. Read the full Akuna guide.
• LinkedIn Mastery: Build Your Personal Brand: a free course by Jason Feifer, editor in chief of Entrepreneur magazine, offered on his own page. It has more than 20 short videos and worksheets on defining your brand and creating posts. No deadline and no country limit. Read the full LinkedIn Mastery guide.

Grants and competitions

• Youth Ecopreneur Programme (YECO): a UN-backed accelerator for green and land restoration start-ups run by founders aged 35 or under, with a $10,000 award. Closes 22 November 2026. Read the full YECO guide.
• Octopus African Energy Entrepreneurship Awards: for clean energy start-ups in Sub-Saharan Africa that are five years old or less. Three winners share the cash prize. Closes 11 December 2026. Read the full Octopus guide.
• Allianz MoveNow Challenge: grants of $5,000 or $10,000 for founders aged 18 to 30 with a social or environmental project, open in most countries. Closes 18 December 2026. Read the full Allianz guide.
• Carnegie Challenge for Civic Leadership: awards for young people aged 5 to 20 in Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and the US only. Ghana and India are not eligible. The final deadline is 31 January 2027. Read the full Carnegie guide.

Fellowships and travel funding

• Stanford JSK Journalism Fellowship 2027-28: a residential fellowship with a $135,000 stipend for journalists with at least five years of experience. Citizens of countries under a US J visa suspension, including Nigeria, cannot take part this round. Closes 2 December 2026. Read the full JSK guide.
• KubeCon Europe 2027 travel funding: the Linux Foundation pays flights and hotels, or gives free passes, for open source contributors to attend in Barcelona in March 2027. Travel funding closes 18 January 2027 and free passes close 5 February 2027. You will most likely need a Schengen visa. Read the full KubeCon guide.

Tips before you apply

• Start with the two that close on 1 November. Convert each deadline to your own time zone.
• Check the country rules first. Some of these are open worldwide, and some are only for named countries.
• None of these asks you to pay a fee. Ignore anyone who asks for money to apply.

Related guides

• Octopus Energy African Energy Entrepreneurship Awards 2026
• Youth Ecopreneur Programme (YECO) 2026-2027: $10,000 for Green Start-ups
• From Script to Screen with AI 2026: Free AI Filmmaking Academy for Africans

Details are taken from the official websites of each organiser, checked on October 30, 2026. Confirm the current rules there before you apply.