Call for Proposals: AU-EU Youth Lab Innovation Grants

The AU-EU Youth Lab Innovation Grants provide €42,000 per organisation to youth-led non-profit organisations in 12 eligible African countries to implement innovative solutions addressing global challenges in their communities. Selected organisations also receive mentorship, tailored capacity development, and opportunities to share their innovations with stakeholders across Africa and Europe.

What Are the AU-EU Youth Lab Innovation Grants?

The AU-EU Youth Lab Innovation Grants support youth-led organisations developing creative and practical solutions to pressing social and global challenges.

The programme focuses on innovations that can create tangible community impact, strengthen systems or policies, and continue delivering benefits after the grant period ends.

Supported organisations can use the funding to implement innovations that are being designed, tested, adapted, scaled, or improved.

The programme combines financial support with mentoring and organisational capacity development to help youth-led organisations strengthen and expand their solutions.

How Much Funding Is Available?

Each selected organisation will receive:

Grant amount: €42,000
Mentorship: Tailored guidance to support implementation
Capacity development: Support designed around the organisation’s needs
Peer learning: Opportunities to share solutions with other organisations
Networking: Engagement with decision-makers and stakeholders across Africa and Europe

The grant is intended to help organisations move innovative ideas into practical implementation and strengthen their potential for longer-term impact.

What Types of Projects Are Supported?

The programme is intended for innovative projects that address pressing global challenges at the community level.

Strong proposals should demonstrate:

A clearly identified community challenge
An innovative solution
Tangible benefits for young people or communities
Potential for sustainable impact
Potential for replication or scaling
Contribution to broader systems or policy change
A clear implementation approach

Projects do not need to be limited to a single sector, provided the proposed innovation addresses a relevant challenge and has clear social impact.

What Does “Innovation” Mean in This Programme?

Innovation does not necessarily mean creating a completely new technology or invention.

An innovative solution may involve:

Developing a new approach to an existing problem
Testing and improving an existing model
Adapting a successful solution to a local context
Scaling an initiative that has already demonstrated potential
Creating new community-based approaches
Developing solutions capable of influencing systems or policies

Applicants should clearly explain what is innovative about their approach and why it can produce better or more sustainable results.

Who Is Eligible?

The Innovation Grants are open to youth-led non-profit organisations legally registered in one of the programme’s 12 focus countries.

Eligible countries are:

Ethiopia
Kenya
Mozambique
Nigeria
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Somalia, specifically the Somaliland region
Tanzania
Tunisia
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe

Eligible organisations may include:

Trusts
Community Based Organisations (CBOs)
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)
Civil Society Organisations (CSOs)

The organisation must have a clear social mission and operate on a non-profit basis.

Youth-Led Organisation Requirement

A key eligibility condition is that organisations must genuinely be youth-led.

Young people aged 18 to 35 must hold governance and decision-making roles within the organisation.

In addition, all project staff must be between 18 and 35 years old.

Applicants should therefore be able to demonstrate that young people are not simply beneficiaries of the project but are actively responsible for its leadership, management, and implementation.

Why the AU-EU Youth Lab Matters

Young people play an important role in developing solutions to social, economic, environmental, and community challenges across Africa.

However, youth-led organisations can face barriers such as limited access to funding, technical expertise, networks, and institutional support.

The AU-EU Youth Lab addresses these barriers by combining:

Direct innovation funding
Mentorship
Capacity development
Peer learning
Regional networking
Engagement with policymakers and decision-makers

The programme also encourages innovations that can continue beyond the initial grant, creating opportunities for long-term sustainability, replication, and systems change.

How to Apply

Step 1: Confirm Organisational Eligibility

Before preparing the proposal, confirm that your organisation:

Is legally registered in one of the 12 eligible countries.
Is a non-profit organisation.
Has a clear social mission.
Is youth-led.
Has people aged 18–35 in governance and decision-making positions.
Can ensure that all project staff are aged 18–35.

Step 2: Identify the Community Challenge

Clearly define the problem your organisation wants to address.

Explain:

Who is affected?
Where does the problem occur?
Why does it matter?
What evidence demonstrates the need for action?
Why are existing approaches insufficient?

A clearly defined problem provides the foundation for a strong innovation proposal.

Step 3: Present Your Innovation

Describe the proposed solution in practical terms.

Explain:

What the innovation is
How it works
Who will benefit
What makes it different
Whether it has already been tested
How it will be implemented or improved

If the innovation has already been tested, provide evidence of results and explain how the grant will help take it to the next stage.

Step 4: Demonstrate Local Impact

Show how the project will create tangible benefits for young people and communities.

Applicants should identify measurable results rather than relying only on broad statements about social impact.

Step 5: Explain Long-Term Potential

The programme looks beyond short-term project delivery.

Explain how the innovation could:

Continue after the grant
Be replicated elsewhere
Be scaled to reach more people
Influence systems
Contribute to policy change
Attract additional resources or partnerships

Step 6: Prepare for Mentorship and Capacity Development

Successful applicants will receive more than financial support.

Be prepared to participate in mentorship, capacity development, peer learning, and knowledge-sharing activities as part of the programme.

Tips for a Strong Application

Applicants should:

Make the innovation clear: Explain exactly what is innovative about your approach.
Use evidence: Support the identified problem and proposed solution with relevant data or experience.
Focus on youth leadership: Demonstrate meaningful youth participation in governance and implementation.
Show measurable impact: Identify specific changes the project expects to achieve.
Think beyond the grant: Explain how the innovation can become sustainable.
Demonstrate scalability: Show whether and how the model could be replicated in other communities.
Connect innovation with systems change: Explain whether your work can influence institutions, policies, or wider practices.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Applicants should avoid:

Applying when the organisation is not legally registered in an eligible country.
Describing young people only as beneficiaries rather than decision-makers.
Including project staff who fall outside the required age range.
Presenting a conventional project without explaining its innovative element.
Focusing entirely on short-term activities.
Failing to explain how the solution will continue after funding ends.
Providing vague statements about community impact.
Neglecting opportunities for replication, scaling, or policy influence.

Key Grant Details

Programme: AU-EU Youth Lab Innovation Grants
Grant amount: €42,000 per selected organisation
Applicant type: Youth-led non-profit organisations
Eligible entities: Trusts, CBOs, NGOs, and CSOs
Eligible countries: 12 African countries
Youth leadership age range: 18–35
Project staff: Must be aged 18–35
Focus: Innovative solutions to global challenges
Impact focus: Local impact, systems change, policy change, sustainability, and replication
Additional support: Mentorship and tailored capacity development
Networking: Africa-Europe peer and stakeholder platform

Frequently Asked Questions

How much funding does the AU-EU Youth Lab provide?

Each selected organisation receives a €42,000 Innovation Grant to implement its proposed innovation.

Which organisations can apply?

Eligible applicants are legally registered non-profit, youth-led organisations such as Trusts, Community Based Organisations, NGOs, and Civil Society Organisations with a clear social mission.

Which countries are eligible?

Organisations must be registered in Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia (Somaliland region), Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, or Zimbabwe.

What does youth-led mean?

Young people aged 18–35 must hold governance and decision-making roles within the organisation. All project staff must also fall within this age range.

What kinds of innovations are eligible?

The programme supports solutions that address pressing global challenges and can be designed, tested, adapted, scaled, or improved to create meaningful community impact.

Can an organisation propose a solution that has already been tested?

Yes. The programme can support innovations at different stages, including solutions that are being tested, adapted, improved, or scaled.

Does the programme provide support beyond the grant?

Yes. Selected organisations receive mentorship, tailored capacity development, and opportunities to share their solutions with peers, decision-makers, and stakeholders across Africa and Europe.

Conclusion

The AU-EU Youth Lab Innovation Grants provide youth-led African non-profit organisations with €42,000 in funding, alongside mentorship, capacity development, and regional networking opportunities. Organisations seeking to apply should demonstrate genuine youth leadership, a clearly defined community challenge, an innovative and practical solution, measurable local impact, and strong potential for sustainability, replication, scaling, or systems and policy change.