Funding Opportunity: FemFocus – Encouraging Women’s Entrepreneurship

The FemFocus - Encouraging Women’s Entrepreneurship programme, funded by the Government of the Netherlands and administered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is designed to accelerate women’s economic empowerment in selected African countries. Targeting civil society organizations (CSOs), FemFocus supports sustainable business growth through substantial financial grants and comprehensive capacity-building initiatives. The programme focuses on two strategic tracks:

• Individual Empowerment: Improving business skills, financial literacy, network access, and opportunities for women entrepreneurs.
• Societal Transformation: Tackling socio-cultural and institutional barriers to women’s economic participation and leadership through advocacy and policy interventions.

Key Eligibility Criteria:

• Applicants must be civil society organizations (CSOs) legally registered in either the Netherlands or an eligible low- or middle-income country (as per OECD-DAC).
• The organization must have at least five years’ experience in:
  • Strengthening the capacity of in-country partners in LMICs.
  • Providing financial support for independently implemented activities.
  • Women’s economic empowerment, entrepreneurship, or related policy themes in targeted countries.
• During 2022–2024, at least 25% of annual income must be from sources other than the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (except for small or specialist southern organizations).
• Must have a policy and system for selecting and monitoring in-country partners, demonstrably applied in the past five years.
• Gross annual remuneration for management/governing body members must not exceed €226,000 (EU applicants).
• Only one grant may be awarded per applicant under this framework.
• Applicants must not hold a doctoral degree or similar advanced research qualification.
• Projects must cover at least two eligible African countries and last 60 months (starting January 2026).
• Consortia applications are not permitted, though collaboration with selected partners during the project’s inception phase is expected.

FemFocus strongly encourages competitive, innovative proposals demonstrating sound governance, robust impact metrics, and close alignment with gender-transformative approaches. Full details and documents can be found via the official programme page.

The FemFocus programme offers a substantial funding pool, with a total budget of €54,835,000 available for grants. Individual project awards range from a minimum of €18,260,055 to a maximum of €27,417,500, supporting initiatives over a 60-month period. While co-financing is encouraged to strengthen project sustainability, it is not required, and selected civil society organizations will receive direct financial support to advance women’s entrepreneurship and gender equality across eligible African countries.

• Submit in English using the prescribed forms and budget model to& DSO-MM@minbuza.nl, stating “application FemFocus (+ name of instrument).”

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