Deadline: 10-Jul-21
The U.S. Embassy in Cameroon announces an open competition for applications to carry out a program to enhance the capacity of Cameroonian youth in starting and/or developing a business.
The aim of this project is to assist young entrepreneurs seeking to launch or expand and grow their businesses and activities. Proposals must demonstrate knowledge of Cameroon’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and propose training modules with the goal of moving seed stage entrepreneurs to the intermediate and expansion stage.
As a result of the training, participants should turn their business ideas into concrete project or have measurable increases in sales, employment and capitalization of their start-up enterprises, increased access to capital, and/or marketing planning. Proposals should include follow-up activities after the training to assist participants in applying knowledge acquired to produce results in launching their start-ups or scaling up and expanding existing ones, and to measure impact of the program.
Objectives
- Enhance entrepreneurship, leadership, and communication skills of Cameroonian youth
- Provide a deep understanding of the business environment in Cameroon
- Introduce participants to state and private institutions support systems and resources for emerging businesses
- Equip participants with strategies to overcome the hurdles of doing business in Cameroon and to increase resilience in a challenging environment
- Train participants in business plan development, financial management, market segmentation, product marketing, and other related skills
Funding Information
- Length of performance period: 6 to 12 months
- Number of awards anticipated: 1 award
- Award amounts: $15,000 to $20,000
- Total available funding: $20,000
Audience: Participants should be drawn from all 10 regions of the country. The target audience is Cameroonian entrepreneurs, ages 20-35, with clear and well-defined business ideas in the “seed stage” or “early stage startup” categories of business development. Each workshop should include a manageable number of participants to ensure quality, interactive learning and retention of content.
Ineligible Activities
The following types of activities are not eligible for funding:
- Scholarships for study in the United States or to fund conference attendance or study tours to the United States
- Activities that are inherently political in nature or that contain the appearance of partisanship
- Construction activities
- Programs that support specific religious activities
- Fund-raising campaigns
- Cash prizes for participants
Eligibility Criteria
PAS encourages applications from the United States and Cameroon:
- Registered not-for-profit organizations, including think tanks, community associations, and civil society/non-governmental organizations with programming experience
- Individuals
- Non-profit media organizations
- Professional trade organizations
- Non-profit or governmental educational institutions
- For-profit or commercial entities are not eligible to apply.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=333832