Margaret McNamara Education Grants (MMEG) is a non-profit based in Washington DC that gives grants to women from developing and middle-income countries. Its South Africa Program funds women who are already registered at a South African university and who plan to use their qualification to improve the lives of women and children.
Yes, South African women qualify: the short answer
South Africa is on MMEG’s country eligibility list, which follows the World Bank’s income groups. A South African woman can apply to the South Africa Program if she:
- identifies as a woman and is at least 25 years old on the application deadline;
- is already registered, not just accepted, at one of MMEG’s listed universities, in an in-person programme (fully online study does not count);
- studies full-time or part-time with at least two courses per term;
- will be enrolled for at least the term between January and July after the award, and plans to graduate within three years of it;
- is not related to a staff member, spouse or retiree of the World Bank Group, the IMF or the Inter-American Development Bank, or to an MMEG board member.
Women from other eligible countries can also apply to this programme if they hold a South African study permit.
Any level, any field, but only at 25 listed institutions
MMEG welcomes certificate, undergraduate, postgraduate and postdoctoral students, and it does not restrict the field of study. The limit is the institution. MMEG’s November 2025 list names these 25:
- Universities of technology: Cape Peninsula, Central, Durban, Mangosuthu, Tshwane and Vaal.
- Traditional and comprehensive universities: Fort Hare, Nelson Mandela, North-West, Rhodes, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences, Sol Plaatje, Stellenbosch, Cape Town, Johannesburg, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Pretoria, the Free State, the Western Cape, the Witwatersrand, Venda, Zululand and Walter Sisulu.
UNISA and private colleges are not on the list. Check the current MMEG list of South African universities before you start, because MMEG accepts only students at listed institutions.
Studying in the US, Canada or France instead
Because South Africa is on the country list, a South African woman studying abroad can use MMEG’s other programmes. The US-Canada Program takes full-time students with a valid student visa from 15 September to 15 January, and the France Program runs from 15 October to 15 January. Both notify grantees by April.
Up to US$8,000, spent as you need it
MMEG’s FAQ puts the South Africa Program grant at up to US$8,000, depending on exchange rates and available funds. Grantees may spend it on any study-related cost except overdue fees: tuition, books and supplies, living costs, transport, research and fieldwork, or childcare. MMEG pays South Africa grants in February. You can receive an MMEG grant only once, but if you are unsuccessful you may apply again.
MMEG’s yearly window: 15 May to 14 September
The South Africa Program accepts applications from 15 May to 14 September each year, closing at 11:59pm US Eastern time. The 2026 window closed on 14 September 2026, and those applicants hear the outcome in December, with results on MMEG’s website by January and grants paid in February 2027. The next window opens on 15 May 2027.
When the window is open, apply through the online form linked from MMEG’s eligibility and programmes page and choose “South Africa program” in the first question. MMEG warns that if the programme name does not appear, the window is closed. Send questions to southafrica@mmeg.org. There is no application fee.
Scan these before you open the form
- a photo ID showing your date of birth (ID card, or passport if you study outside your home country);
- your latest official proof of registration (an acceptance letter does not count);
- your latest official transcript, which does not replace the proof of registration;
- your study permit page, if you are not South African.
In the form you write about your personal story and your commitment to women and children, give an estimate of your finances in rand for the year after the award, and summarise your thesis if you have one. Two referees upload letters through MMEG’s Embark platform: one must be a lecturer at your current university, and one must have known you for at least a year. MMEG disqualifies incomplete applications and essays written with generative AI.
Four review rounds and a video interview
A volunteer selection committee screens each application, scores it in two reading rounds, then interviews semi-finalists by phone or video before the MMEG board approves the grantees. Only semi-finalists hear from MMEG before the results. Postgraduate women may also want to compare the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust scholarships. Engineering and science students can look at ABB’s education trust funding for black women engineers or the MUTFSCO and BASF bursary.
I am 24. Can I apply to MMEG?
Only if you turn 25 on or before the deadline, 14 September, of the year you apply.
I have been accepted for next year but have not registered yet. Can I apply?
No. MMEG requires proof that you are already registered at a listed university when you apply.