EC: Embracing Empowerment of Women Entrepreneurs in Somalia

Deadline: 16-Apr-24

The European Commission is seeking applications to contribute to past and future efforts by development players aimed at empowering women economically in order to reduce poverty and achieve inclusive and sustainable growth in Somalia.

This call also aims to contribute to creating an enabling environment for women’s economic activities and growth of women-owned businesses to micro- to small- and medium-sized enterprises. The call also aims to boost women’s leadership and increase their bargaining power in economic and household-decision making and social dialogue, contributing to strengthening women’s rights in Somalia.

Objectives and Priority 

• The global objective of this call for proposals is to contribute to economically empowering women and girls in Somalia through a gender transformative approach.
• The specific objectives of this call for proposals are:
  • To enhance women’s perspectives in business dialogue;
  • To facilitate equal access to financial products for women entrepreneurs, formalise saving and lending associations and support non-banking financial regulation.
• The priorities of this call for proposals is/are:
  • Enabling women, in all their diversity, gain collective bargaining power in cooperatives and business associations to better negotiate and gain equal access to resources necessary for their work;
  • Increasing capacity of VSLAs/SHGs to reach out to the more remote or risky borrowers, including women living in the most vulnerable situations;
  • Completing groundwork for the adoption of enabling policy and regulations that support non-banking financial institutions to expand access to credit and other support to female entrepreneurs.

Funding Information

• The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 7,500,000. The contracting authority reserves the right not to award all available funds.
• Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts
  • minimum amount: EUR 7,000,000
  • maximum amount: EUR 7,500,000
• Duration: The initial planned duration of an action may not be lower than 36 months nor exceed 48 months.
• Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum percentages of total eligible costs of the action:
  • Minimum percentage: 75% of the total eligible costs of the action.
  • Maximum percentage: 95 % of the total eligible costs of the action.

Eligibility Criteria

• Lead applicant
  • In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:
    • be a legal person and
    • be established in  a Member State of the European Union Union or eligible non EU Member States as established in Regulation (EU) 2021/947 establishing the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe.
  • The lead applicant may act individually or with co-applicant(s).
• Co-applicant(s)
  • Co-applicants participate in designing and implementing the action, and the costs they incur are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the lead applicant.
  • Co-applicants must satisfy the eligibility criteria as applicable to the lead applicant himself.

For more information, visit European Commission.