SIPRA Challenge Fund – Large Grant Facility | €20,000 – €100,000 for Smallholder Agriculture & Food Systems in Sudan

About the Grant

MetaMeta, on behalf of ZOA, has opened a Call for Proposals for the SIPRA Challenge Fund – Large Grant Facility, part of the Strengthening Inclusive Partnerships for Smallholders in Rainfed Areas (SIPRA) programme. SIPRA is a four-year initiative funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and implemented by a consortium of four partners: ZOA, World Relief, SOS Sahel Sudan, and Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation (WCDI), with technical assistance provided by MetaMeta for agribusiness and challenge fund management.

The programme is designed to strengthen food and nutrition security in Sudan by empowering smallholder farmers particularly women, youth, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), and Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) through inclusive agribusiness investments, improved service delivery, and stronger local support networks.

This is a rolling call with no fixed deadline. Funding is limited and proposals are reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis until available funds are fully allocated. Early submission is strongly encouraged.

Funding Details

• Grant Range: €20,000 – €100,000 per proposal
• Exceptional Circumstances: Proposals exceeding €100,000 may be considered only in exceptional cases — applicants seeking higher amounts must consult the SIPRA team in advance and provide a strong justification and a 2-page summary before submission
• Co-funding: Mandatory for all applicants — thresholds are tiered based on grant size (see co-funding table below)
• Application Basis: Rolling — no fixed deadline; first-come, first-served until funds are exhausted

Co-Funding Requirements

Co-funding is a mandatory requirement for all applicants. Proposals will not be considered without meeting the specified thresholds. Co-funding can be provided in cash, in-kind, or a combination of both, depending on the size of the grant requested.

Grant of €20,000 – €40,000

• Co-funding rate: 10%
• Co-funding amount required: €2,000 – €4,000
• Minimum cash contribution: 5% of the total co-funding amount
• The remaining co-funding may be provided in-kind

Grant of €41,000 – €80,000

• Co-funding rate: 15%
• Co-funding amount required: €6,150 – €12,000
• Minimum cash contribution: 20% of the total co-funding amount
• The remaining co-funding may be provided in-kind

Grant of €81,000 – €100,000

• Co-funding rate: 25%
• Co-funding amount required: €20,250 – €25,000
• Minimum cash contribution: 25% of the total co-funding amount
• The remaining co-funding may be provided in-kind

Grant of €100,001 – €150,000 (Exceptional Cases Only)

• Co-funding rate: 30%
• Co-funding amount required: €30,000 – €45,000
• Minimum cash contribution: 30% of the total co-funding amount
• The remaining co-funding may be provided in-kind
• Note: Proposals in this range require prior consultation with and approval from the SIPRA team before submission

Important notes on co-funding:

• Farmer Producer or Network associations may present assets of equivalent value in lieu of a bank statement
• Co-funding must be clearly itemised in the detailed budget using the official proposal template
• Co-funding contributions must be reported quarterly once the project is active
• Approved projects must adhere to ZOA's procurement and financial management systems for both co-funding and grant budget management
• The tiered structure is deliberately designed for Sudan's fragile context lower-budget projects allow more in-kind support to accommodate applicants with limited cash resources, while higher-budget projects require stronger cash contributions to demonstrate financial commitment and long-term sustainability

Farmer Producer or Network associations may present assets with equivalent amounts in lieu of a bank statement. Co-funding must be clearly itemised in the budget and reported quarterly once the project is active.

Geographic Focus

The programme is currently active in seven states across Sudan:

• South Darfur
• East Darfur
• Central Darfur
• South Kordofan
• White Nile
• Blue Nile
• Gedaref

All proposed interventions must be implemented within these active programme states.

Priority Value Chains

Proposals must target one or more of the following critical value chains:

• Rainfed cereal, legume, and nutrition-rich crop production
• Livestock, poultry, fisheries, and horticulture
• Agricultural inputs and services
• Agro-processing and post-harvest management
• Market linkages and access to finance

SIPRA's Five Core Objectives

All proposals must demonstrate clear alignment with at least one — ideally several — of SIPRA's five strategic objectives:

1. Increase agricultural production and productivity — through improved inputs, sustainable farming practices, value addition, and enhanced post-harvest management to boost yields and reduce losses among smallholder farmers including women, men, youth, IDPs, and PWDs.
2. Improve food and nutrition security — enhancing smallholder households' access to diverse and nutritious foods and strengthening nutrition knowledge and practices for better dietary outcomes.
3. Promote climate-resilient agriculture — implementing water conservation, soil fertility improvement, drought-tolerant crops, agroforestry, and other adaptive strategies to help smallholder farmers adapt to climate variability across rainfed crops, livestock, poultry, fisheries, and horticulture value chains.
4. Revitalise local markets and economies — improving availability and affordability of essential food commodities, strengthening market linkages, upgrading infrastructure, facilitating access to finance, fostering private sector partnerships, and promoting economic circulation within local communities.
5. Sustainably enhance incomes and livelihoods — supporting inclusive agribusiness development, income diversification, and entrepreneurial capacity building for smallholder farmers.

Who Can Apply — Institutional Eligibility & Priority Ranking

SIPRA places a strong strategic emphasis on Sudanese private sector institutions as the primary target group. The following categories are eligible, provided they are actively engaged in the target states:

1. Farmer Producer Associations and Networks — operating farming as a business and producing for the market
2. Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in agribusiness and food and nutrition security
3. Large Private Companies (including financial institutions) with capacity to implement scalable agribusiness solutions
4. Non-private sector institutions such as NGOs and research and development organisations with proven experience in delivering sustainable, market-oriented agribusiness models

Institutional Priority Ranking (used during selection):

Institution Type

Sudanese private sector institutions with active operations in SIPRA states

Private sector institutions with a branch office, local team, or well-established Sudanese partner in SIPRA states

Non-Dutch private sector institutions with operational presence or partnerships in SIPRA states

Sudanese non-private sector institutions (NGOs, R&D organisations, social enterprises) with proven agribusiness track record

Non-private institutions with operational presence or strong partnerships in SIPRA states

Other international non-private institutions with active operations or partnerships in SIPRA states

Within each category, priority is given to institutions owned by, or employing significant numbers of, women, youth, IDPs, and PWDs.

Required Application Documents

All applicants must submit the following documents using the official SIPRA Proposal Template (Annex 1). Applications using a different template or missing any of the required documents will not be reviewed.

1. Company Registration Certificate Required from all applicants without exception.

2. Audited Financial Statements (Last Two Years) Required from all large institutions. SMEs and Farmer Producer or Network Associations may submit internal financial records instead — these will be verified against bank accounts or equivalent assets and may be subject to field inspection. Please note that pre-April 2023 statements are acceptable for organisations whose operations were disrupted by conflict.

3. Proof of Zakat Payment (2.5% Charitable Obligation) Required from all Sudanese institutions, whether applying as the lead applicant or as a contributing consortium partner. If your institution is exempted from Zakat payment, you must explain why and submit supporting documentation.

4. Evidence of Financial Capital to Meet Co-Funding Requirements Required from all applicants. This should be in the form of a recent bank statement confirming your organisation's ability to provide the required co-funding contribution. Farmer Producer or Network Associations may present assets of equivalent value in lieu of a bank statement. Refer to the co-funding thresholds outlined in Section 12 of the Proposal Template to determine the exact amount required based on your grant request.

5. Bank Account Details in the Requested Currency Required from all applicants without exception.

Due Diligence Verification

All applicants will undergo an additional compliance check via the GOPA Vendor Verification System, managed by MetaMeta as a member of the GOPA Group. This verification confirms that applicants are not listed on U.S., Canadian, or EU sanctions lists and are not engaged in illegal, dubious, or suspicious financial transactions. This step is non-negotiable and applies to all applicants regardless of organisational type or size.

What the Proposal Must Cover

The official Proposal Template requires applicants to complete the following sections:

• Project Title and Location — including implementation area (village, locality, state)
• Budget Overview — total project cost, grant amount requested, and co-funding contribution
• Applicant and Consortium Information — legal name, registration, bank details, sectoral focus, and partner roles
• Vision and Strategic Goals — short-term objectives and long-term aspirations aligned with sustainable agribusiness development
• Organisational Business Sustainability — revenue model, stakeholder value proposition, cost structure, and financial systems
• Problem Statement — clear articulation of challenges within relevant SIPRA value chains, including climate and social vulnerabilities
• Proposed Solutions — interventions addressing identified problems, including climate-resilient practices, private sector engagement, market access, and financial inclusion
• Expected Results and Impacts — including productivity, food security, climate adaptation, market revitalisation, and income generation outcomes
• Target Beneficiaries — disaggregated by gender, age, and vulnerability (women, men, youth, children, IDPs, PWDs)
• Assumptions, Risks, and Mitigation Measures — including conflict, access, climate, and market risks
• Project Business Sustainability Plan — strategy to sustain outcomes beyond the implementation period
• Activity Schedule — covering implementation through to August 2028
• Detailed Budget and Co-Funding — itemised results-based budget with justifications
• Affiliation Disclosure and Conflict of Interest Declarations

Budget Structure

All budgets must be structured around the following six categories. Each category carries an indicative percentage of the total budget to guide applicants in their financial planning.

1. Staff and Personnel — 20% of Total Budget This covers all human resource costs directly associated with project implementation, including the project manager, technical and field staff, and facilitators.

2. Investments — 45% of Total Budget This is the largest budget category and covers capital expenditure required for project delivery, including agricultural equipment, storage facilities, and processing machinery.

3. Operational Costs — 15% of Total Budget This covers the day-to-day costs of running the project, including training delivery, logistics, transport, and utilities.

4. Monitoring, Evaluation and Documentation — 5% of Total Budget This covers all activities related to tracking project progress and capturing results, including field visits, data collection, and reporting.

5. Formulating Upscaling Plans — 5% of Total Budget This covers the strategic work required to plan for replication and scaling beyond the grant period, including stakeholder consultations and strategy design.

6. Contingency — 10% of Total Budget This covers unforeseen costs and inflationary pressures that may arise during project implementation.

Important Notes on Budget Deviations

During the proposal review stage, applicants are expected to adhere strictly to this budget structure. Any major deviation from the categories or co-funding structure must be pre-approved during the review process and fully justified in the proposal.

Once a project is approved and under contract, a degree of flexibility is permitted. Budget deviations of up to ±10% per category are allowed during implementation without requiring prior approval. However, any changes that exceed ±10% in any single category must be discussed and formally agreed upon in writing with ZOA before being implemented.

Evaluation Process — Eight Stages

The SIPRA Large Grant Facility follows a structured multi-stage evaluation process:

Stage 1 — Submission: Proposals submitted to cfsipra@metameta.nl on a rolling basis.

Stage 2 — Screening & Pre-selection (3–5 working days): Assessed for eligibility, document completeness, due diligence, and alignment with SIPRA's thematic and geographic focus. Proposals that fail may revise and resubmit if they pass due diligence.

Stage 3 — Internal Evaluation Committee (IEC) Review (5 working days): Proposals scored out of 60 points across five criteria: Strategic Relevance & Impact (15pts), Feasibility in Conflict Context (15pts), Institutional & Consortium Capacity (10pts), Budget Completeness (10pts), and Project Business Sustainability (10pts).

• 45–60 points: Shortlisted
• 35–44 points: Major revisions requested
• Below 35 points: Rejected (appeal allowed)

Stage 4 — Strategic Review by Steering Committee (5 working days): The Special Purpose Large Grant Facility Steering Committee (SPLG-SC) comprising directors from the three SIPRA consortium organisations and a representative from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands  validates IEC findings and considers portfolio synergy and geographic/sectoral balance.

Stage 5 — Notification, Additional Documents & Appeals: Shortlisted applicants are invited to submit additional documents including an Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation Plan (IMEP), CVs of key personnel, consortium agreements, and a detailed budget. Appeals must be submitted within 10 working days.

Stage 6 — Independent Finance Committee (IFC) Review (15 working days): Proposals scored out of 100 points across eight criteria including Problem Analysis (10pts), Proposed Solutions (15pts), Expected Impact (15pts), Risk Management (15pts), Sustainability & Scaling (15pts), Budget Justification (10pts), IMEP (10pts), and Organisational & Team Capacity (10pts).

• 85–100 points: Recommended for funding
• 75–84 points: Minor revisions required
• 65–74 points: Major revisions required
• Below 65 points: Rejected (appeal allowed)

Stage 7 — Final Decision, Contracting & Public Disclosure: ZOA manages contract signing. A summary of all funded projects — including applicant names, project titles, grant amounts, and regions — is published on ZOA's website and shared by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Stage 8 — Disbursement & Onboarding: ZOA initiates fund disbursement and onboards successful applicants on financial, reporting, and compliance systems. Applicants finalise their IMEP aligned with ZOA's MEAL (Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning) standards.

Important Policies

Rolling deadline — funding is limited and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Submit early. 

Proposals requesting more than €100,000 require prior consultation with the SIPRA team before submission. 

Zero tolerance for fraud, plagiarism, and undisclosed conflicts of interest — violations result in immediate disqualification and potential legal action. 

All applicants must disclose affiliations and confirm they are not connected to any party to an active conflict or subject to international prohibitions.

Click HERE for the official document