SASI Due Diligence Fund (DDF) – Round 5 | €50,000 – €250,000 for Human Rights & Environmental Due Diligence in Agricultural Supply Chains
About the Due Diligence Fund
The Due Diligence Fund (DDF) is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), as part of the Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains Initiative (SASI). Now in its fifth round, the DDF has already supported 30 projects across four previous rounds since 2022.
The DDF promotes innovative, practical, and scalable approaches to corporate Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence (HREDD) in global agricultural supply chains. It responds directly to the growing body of supply chain legislation including the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG), the EU Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (CSDDD), and the EU Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR) by funding real-world projects that go beyond minimum legal compliance and generate improvements in the living and working conditions of primary producers.
A particular focus is placed on meaningful engagement with affected rightsholders, shared responsibility along supply chains, and the generation of transferable lessons that benefit the wider agri-food sector.
Funding Details
The DDF provides funding through two windows:
Funding Window A Grant range: €50,000 – €124,999. Standard governance and scalability requirements apply.
Funding Window B Grant range: €125,000 – €250,000. Higher requirements apply in terms of project governance, scalability, and impact. Projects funded under Window B must undergo a financial audit commissioned by GIZ, and funding recipients must remain available for audit purposes for up to 12 months after project end. Window B also requires an explicit scaling concept and formal involvement of affected rightsholders or their representatives in the project governance system.
Funding is provided through a grant agreement between GIZ and a designated funding recipient. The designated funding recipient must pass a successful commercial and legal eligibility check (KEP) conducted by GIZ. Germany-based Commercial Partners cannot receive funding directly.
Co-funding Requirements
Co-funding by the Commercial Partner(s) EU+ is mandatory. The required level depends on the size of the largest EU+ Commercial Partner:
Category 1 — SME (up to 249 employees, turnover up to €50 million): minimum own contribution of at least 25% of DDF funding.
Category 2 (up to 1,000 employees, turnover up to €450 million): minimum own contribution of at least 50% of DDF funding.
Category 3 (above 1,000 employees, turnover above €450 million): minimum own contribution of at least 100% of DDF funding.
If a company belongs to a corporate group registered in the EU, EEA, UK or Switzerland, the size of the entire group including subsidiaries and affiliates is used to determine the co-funding level. The EU Commission's SME Definition User Guide is used for this calculation. Co-funding may be provided in cash or in-kind (e.g. staff time, real estate), provided the in-kind contribution is directly linked to project activities such as workshops, governance meetings, or field trips. Supporting entities that are foundations or member organisations of the EU+ Commercial Partner may also contribute to the co-funding requirement.
Project Duration
The maximum funded period is 18 months, with the earliest project start date of 1 January 2027 and the latest end date of 30 June 2028. The overall project may start earlier or run longer, but only activities within the approved funding period are eligible for DDF support. If the project extends beyond the funded period, significant milestones must be plausibly achievable within it.
Key Dates
- Call for Proposals Published: 13 April 2026
- Live Q&A Session 1: 16 April 2026, 9:30–10:00 a.m. CEST
- Live Q&A Session 2: 22 April 2026, 4:00–4:30 p.m. CEST
- Live Q&A Session 3: 30 April 2026, 4:00–4:30 p.m. CEST
- Live Q&A Session 4: 6 May 2026, 9:30–10:00 a.m. CEST
- Short Proposal Deadline: 15 June 2026 at 23:59 CEST
- Shortlisting Results Communicated: By 15 July 2026
- KEP Eligibility Check Documents Due: By 15 August 2026
- Long Proposal Deadline: 15 September 2026
- Funding Decision Announced: By 31 October 2026
- Earliest Project Start: January 2027
Who Can Apply
Applications must be submitted by a consortium — individual applicants are not accepted. Each consortium must include:
Mandatory — at least one Commercial Partner (EU+) A company with legal personality and registered office in the EU, European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland, or the United Kingdom. The EU+ Commercial Partner must have at least 8 employees and an annual turnover of at least €800,000. At least two annual financial statements (or balance sheets where statements are unavailable) must be submitted.
Plus at least one of the following:
Commercial Partner (Local) — a company with legal personality and registered office in a country listed on the OECD DAC List of ODA recipients (2024–2026). African countries on this list include Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo (DRC), Congo (Republic), Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and others.
Public-Interest Partner — an organisation (NGO, civil society body, public good organisation, etc.) with relevant prior experience in the project country or with the subject matter of the proposal. No geographic restriction applies to Public-Interest Partners.
Additional Supporting Entities (not formal consortium members) may also participate in project implementation. These can include associations, multi-actor partnerships, universities, and state actors, and serve to ensure adequate stakeholder engagement and representation.
Operational eligibility for Commercial Partners: To qualify, a company's operations, products, or services must be connected to an agricultural supply chain (upstream or downstream) through production, processing, distribution, or enabling services; the company must be capable of causing, contributing to, or being directly linked to actual or potential adverse human rights or environmental impacts; and the company must have or be able to build the leverage to prevent or mitigate those impacts. Entities that provide only advisory or standalone technical services without such influence are not eligible as Commercial Partners, but may participate as Supporting Entities.
Exclusions:
- Applicants listed on the sanctions lists of Germany, the EU, or the United Nations
- Applicants with allegations or investigations of corruption against senior staff or management
- Germany-based Commercial Partners as funding recipients
- Individual applicants — consortia only
Project Eligibility
For a project to be eligible, it must meet all four of the following conditions:
EU-relevance: The products in the selected supply chain(s) are traded in the EU Single Market.
On-site measures: The project includes on-site activities in one or more OECD DAC-listed countries during the funded period.
Eligible activities: Funding is only provided for activities primarily designed to prevent or mitigate previously identified human rights or environmental risks, or to strengthen sectoral or regional due diligence systems.
Due diligence logic: The project contributes to better fulfilment of corporate HREDD obligations, with particular focus on one or more core due diligence processes such as risk assessment, prevention or mitigation measures, digitalisation and traceability, grievance mechanisms, meaningful stakeholder engagement, or gender equity and social inclusion.
Beyond compliance: The project must go beyond the minimum requirements of applicable legislation such as EUDR, CSDDD, or relevant national law.
What DDF-Funded Projects Focus On
Projects focus on primary production in supply chains and address risks that directly affect people and the environment on the ground. Key thematic areas include: deforestation-free supply chains and EUDR compliance, climate and biodiversity, digital inclusion and traceability, gender equality and social inclusion, and living incomes and wages. Smallholder farmers, plantation workers, and other affected communities (rightsholders) are actively involved in project design and implementation.
Selection Criteria
All eligible projects are assessed against the following criteria. Those that best fulfil the requirements are selected for funding.
Overarching Criteria:
Innovation — The project introduces new or improved methods, technologies, or practices in the selected supply chain(s), addressing existing challenges or creating added value.
Scalability — The project applies approaches or practices that can be expanded or replicated in other regions, supply chains, or by additional stakeholders. Window B projects must include an explicit scaling concept.
Additionality — The project leverages private sector contributions (e.g. through significant cash contributions or by exceeding the required own contributions) and demonstrates additionality of private and public funding.
Portfolio Synergies — The project is synergetic or complementary to SASI's existing portfolio or aligns with German/European development cooperation priorities (BMZ Reform Agenda, EU Global Gateway) and SASI's key thematic approaches.
Project Design and Implementation Criteria:
Risk-based approach — Objectives are grounded in a documented risk assessment of the affected supply chain, covering relevant risk factors for the applicable sector and region.
Meaningful engagement — Potentially or directly affected rightsholders or their legitimate representatives are meaningfully engaged in project planning and implementation. Window B requires formal governance roles for rightsholders.
Gender equity and social inclusion — The proposal identifies gender-specific adverse impacts and other structural inequalities, and includes at least one explicitly gender-responsive activity reflected in the project logic, budget, and monitoring framework.
Safety and Do-No-Harm — The proposal includes adequate security, safety, and wellbeing considerations and safeguards.
Governance — The governance structure enables efficient and effective project implementation, with each partner playing a significant role.
Monitoring — The project includes a tangible M&E concept with SMART indicators and a plan for follow-up beyond the funded period.
Application Process — Three Steps
Step 1 — Review key documents Before applying, carefully review the Terms and Conditions and the two required application templates: Template A (Short Proposal — Applicant Information) and Template B (Short Proposal — Concept Note). Both are available on the SASI/DDF website.
Step 2 — Prepare your application Review the FAQ document and Application Checklist. GIZ strongly encourages interested consortia to contact the DDF team at ddf@giz.de to discuss their project outline in advance — one individual appointment per consortium is offered. Live Q&A sessions are also available (see key dates above).
Step 3 — Submit your short proposal Submit all completed documents by email to ddf@giz.de by 15 June 2026 at 23:59 CEST. Only complete applications including all required signatures and supporting documents — submitted before the deadline will be accepted. Shortlisted consortia will then be invited to develop and submit a long proposal by 15 September 2026.
Reporting and Dissemination Requirements
Selected consortia submit a detailed technical progress report every six months and a final report including photos and quotes. All project partners agree to collaborate with GIZ to publicly share selected learnings, challenges, methods, and tools developed during the project, and to participate in at least one GIZ-hosted event. The aim is to disseminate practical lessons to the wider agri-food sector through GIZ's Learning Report and other channels.
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