€4.5m Funding Available for East Africans under ACP-EU Culture Programme

Deadline: 15-Sep-21

Ignite Culture is a new and exciting grant facility for the cultural and creative sectors in 14 countries in Eastern Africa! This Eastern Africa focused fund is part of the global ACP-EU Culture Programme which is being implemented by HEVA, in partnership with the British Council Kenya with the financial contribution of the European Union, and with further support from the Organisation of ACP (African, Carribean and Pacific) States.

Objectives

The overall objective of the ACP-EU Culture Programme (Eastern Africa): Ignite Culture is to contribute to the economic and social development of Eastern African states, through the growth and development of the cultural and creative sectors.
Specifically, it seeks to:
- Strengthen the creative and cultural ecosystem in which practitioners and organizations operate in Eastern Africa;
- Improve the access and visibility of the diverse creative and cultural sectors in Eastern Africa;
- Promote economic growth of the creative and cultural sector in the Eastern Africa region.

Funding Information

A total of €4.5million will be made available as grants for eligible organisations in the cultural and creative sectors of the 14 countries of the Eastern Africa region.
Applicants may apply for grant funding of between €30,000 to €180,000. For the purpose of application this is divided into three tiers:
- Tier 1 – Applicants can apply for a fixed amount of €30,000
- Tier 2 – Applicants may apply for up to €90,0000
- Tier 3 – Applicants may apply for up to €180,000

Target Groups

The ACP-EU Culture Programme (Eastern Africa) – Ignite Culture aims to contribute to the economic and social development of Eastern Africa through the growth and development of the creative and cultural sectors.
The primary target groups of the fund are creative and cultural organizations and businesses which produce creative and cultural goods and/or services, and/or develop programmatic interventions for the sector, such as:
- Creative and cultural businesses and organizations
- Educational and training institutions (with an existing or planned focus on creative and cultural industry curriculum development and research)
- Creative and cultural associations and industry bodies.
- Digital hubs and incubators (with an existing or planned focus on creative and cultural industries)
- Digital content and platform developers (with an existing or planned focus on creative and cultural industry content development and distribution)
- Civil society and advocacy groups (with a focus on creative and cultural industry emergent issues)
- Think tanks (with a focus on creative and cultural industry emergent issues)
- Public or government organizations and local authorities
- Cultural institutes, museums, art centres, agencies, collectives, consortias and groups

Eligible Countries

The primary purpose of all projects awarded funding under this programme must be the growth and development of the cultural and creative sectors of one or more of the following fourteen (14) Eastern African countries: Burundi, Comoros Islands, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda.
Lead applicants must be from one of these 14 countries. All project activities will need to benefit target populations in these 14 countries. Lead applicants may apply with partnering organisations from their own country or any of the 14 named countries. They may also partner with any of the following countries outside Eastern Africa:
- ACP Western Africa region: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Côte d’Ivoire, Libera, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo;
- ACP Central Africa region: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon, Equitorial Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Sao Tome and Principe (STP), and Chad;
- ACP Southern Africa region: Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Eswatini (formerly Swaziland)
- An EU member state: (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.)

Eligibility Criteria

The lead applicant organization must be registered, domiciled and operational in at least one of the 14 target countries, with the directors resident in the country. The lead applicant may have a co-applicant from any other African or EU member state countries.
The lead applicant organization must demonstrate that a minimum 51% ownership (by shareholding/directorship) is held by citizens of any one of the 14 eligible countries of the Eastern Africa region.
The lead applicant organization must demonstrate that it has been operating for at least one (1) year.
The lead applicant organization must have valid financial statements and /or audited accounts for a minimum of one (1) year after Jan 2018.
The lead applicant organization must have directly implemented at least one project in the creative and cultural sector, for at least 50% of the amount of the grant requested, at any time between Jan 2018 and Mar 2021.
The lead applicant organization must be working in any of the following value chains:
- Cultural and Natural Heritage: Museums, archeological and historical places, cultural landscapes, natural heritage, archives, cultural preservation work, cultural food and cuisine, hair, beauty and cosmetic products
- Performance and Celebration: Performing arts, recorded music, festivals (music, film, theatre, poetry etc), fairs, feasts
- Cultural Infrastructure: Physical infrastructure, digital infrastructure
- Visual Arts and Crafts: Fine arts, photography, crafts
- Books and Press: Books, newspapers and magazines, other printed matter, e-books , physical libraries, virtual libraries, book fairs
- Audio Visual and Interactive Media: Film, TV, radio, podcasting, vlogging, video games , Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and new media
- Design and Creative Services: Fashion, apparel and accessories design, interior design and decorative home, graphic design, architecture
- Creative and Cultural Education: Training, workshops, curriculum development
- Intangible Cultural Heritage: Oral traditions and expressions, rituals, languages, social practices, food and cuisine practices, hair, beauty and cosmetic practices