Canadian International Development Scholarships 2030 (BCDI 2030) is an eight-year international development program funded by Global Affairs Canada and jointly administered by Colleges and Institutes Canada and Universities Canada. It puts CAD 80 million behind education and training in Canada for people from 26 eligible francophone countries, Commonwealth countries and small island developing states.
Awards do not go to individuals who apply on their own. Canadian colleges and universities build projects with partner institutions abroad, and each funded project recruits and selects its own scholars. Learning and training activities take place on Canadian soil; projects may also include virtual or hybrid activities, but fully virtual projects are not eligible, and scholars return home afterwards to work.
The program targets more than 7,000 direct beneficiaries, at least 51% of them women, with 90% of the funding going to sub-Saharan Africa. Stream 1 is scholarships for studies in Canada; Stream 2 is institutional partnerships with customized training.
Benefits & funding
- A scholarship for study or training at a Canadian college, institute or university, arranged through a funded project.
- Programs must lead to credits, continuing education units, or official recognition as part of a degree.
- Stays run from one month to four years and cover custom training programs, full programs of study, research or mobility stays of one or two semesters, and complementary employability training.
- CAD 13.3 million was awarded to 25 scholarship projects supporting close to 500 scholars; Stream 1 plans roughly 600 scholarships in total.
- The program publishes no standard award package. Each funded project sets the financial terms with its partner institutions, and candidates are never asked to pay a fee at any stage.
- The administering consortium works with Canadian immigration authorities to help process temporary immigration documents for scholars.
Eligibility
- Candidates must come from one of the 26 eligible countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia.
- Candidates must be connected to a higher education institution in an eligible country that partners in a funded BCDI 2030 project; there is no route outside those partnerships.
- Faculty and staff of a partner institution are eligible if they meet the Canadian institution’s admission criteria and their own institution approves the secondment.
- Levels run from college and technical certification through bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral and postdoctoral study; each project sets its own academic requirements.
- Partner institutions must select at least 51% women recipients where possible; men and women are both eligible.
- Selection is made by the institutions running each project, using their own criteria and recruitment strategy.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.
Eligible nationalities
Benin · Burkina Faso · Cameroon · Central African Republic · Chad · Republic of the Congo · DR Congo · Egypt · Gabon · Ghana · Guinea-Bissau · Haiti
+ 14 more
Côte d'Ivoire · Kenya · Madagascar · Mali · Mauritania · Morocco · Niger · Rwanda · São Tomé and Príncipe · Senegal · South Africa · Tanzania · Togo · Tunisia
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Application process
- 1Check the list of 26 eligible countries and confirm your institution partners in a funded project.
- 2Browse the funded Stream 1 projects on the BCDI 2030 site and find one matching your field and level of study.
- 3Contact the resource person listed for that project, or watch for the call for applications your own institution launches.
- 4Apply through the partner institution’s process and meet the Canadian host institution’s admission requirements.
- 5Once selected, work with the project team on study permit and immigration paperwork before travelling.
Program timeline
The eight-year program begins.
2022
Ongoing
each funded project launches its own call for scholarship applications; the program sets no central deadline.
December 31, 2028
first-call projects submitted in May 2023 must complete all activities.
second-call scholarship projects are implemented.
2025–2029