Deadline: 17-Apr-24
U.S. Embassy in Kigali, under the auspices of OES, is pleased to welcome proposals for the FY 2024 Scalable Wins Initiative to support one-time, low-cost interventions that promote women’s and girls’ crucial role in green and blue economic solutions.
The Scalable Wins Initiative is an initiative by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of OES. OES is committed to supporting work at the nexus of gender equality and Environmental, Science, Technology, and Health issues. As part of this effort, and with Gender Equity and Equality Action (GEEA) Fund support, OES is leading Scalable Wins, the first-ever gender-focused grants program. The GEEA Fund advances economic security for women and girls by increasing their access to resources, services, and leadership opportunities and by addressing the barriers that limit their ability to participate fully in the economy. Scalable Wins will promote women’s green and blue economic empowerment opportunities related to climate solutions, reducing plastic pollution, and promoting ocean conservation and sustainable fisheries. Scalable Wins will promote women’s and girls’ green and blue economic futures and lead to “win-win” solutions, such as improved livelihoods and family health while also protecting the environment, among others.
Focus Areas
- Gender Equality and the Climate Crisis: Strong proposals will focus on bringing more women and girls into the climate discussion, connecting them to related economic opportunities (whether in their communities or in corporate board rooms), and encouraging them to seek leadership roles (locally or at a higher level) in the clean economy, including the energy sector, and allow for the creation of green economic opportunities while addressing the climate crisis. Women and girls are developing innumerable climate-smart solutions, as seen from girls advocating for greater global ambition in climate mitigation, to women selling clean cookstoves and solar lamps in their communities, and to women working on sustainable agriculture (e.g., solar irrigation for crops). Women and girls are disproportionately impacted by the effects of climate change and climate-related crises. They face an increased risk of encountering conflict and instability, gender-based violence, food insecurity, and loss of educational and livelihood opportunities. Moreover, women and girls are often the informal managers of natural resources and are at the forefront of observing and feeling scarcity and environmental degradation. Evidence shows that when women are empowered, they contribute to the creation of more resilient and sustainable communities, driving progress in areas such as renewable energy and conservation.
- Program example: The Women Entrepreneurs in the Green Economy trained forty entrepreneurs in India advancing businesses related to renewable energy, pollution reduction technologies, energy-saving devices, and emission reduction. Selected women-led startups received coaching in entrepreneurial skills, mentorship, and support to attract investors.
- Gender Equality and Plastic Pollution: According to the UN Environment Program (UNEP), plastic waste accounts for at least 85 percent of total marine waste. In many parts the world, the informal waste sector is a critical part of plastic waste management. Globally, women predominate in the informal waste sector; for example, women in the Philippines own approximately one of every three junk shops, small-scale businesses that sell previously used materials to larger aggregators and recyclers. Additionally, in some cities in Vietnam, women make up 65 percent of waste collectors and over 70 percent of junk shop owners. Women’s work in solid waste management, recycling, and reuse is a green economic opportunity and is essential to keeping such waste out of the environment and reducing its discharge to the ocean.
- Program example: To address widespread plastic pollution in Siffoe, Gambia, program implementer Women Initiative Gambia trained sixteen local women in the collection of plastic waste, storage techniques, and shredding and weaving techniques to turn the waste into marketable products. The women then returned to their communities where they trained over one hundred more women on the impacts of plastic pollution and the recycling techniques they learned. Each woman raised her yearly income by $300 USD and was directly responsible for the recycling of plastic litter.
- Gender Equality and Ocean and Fisheries Work: While women only make up 15 percent of fish harvesting jobs, when including pre-and post-harvest activities (such as gutting, canning, and marketing), women account for 50 percent of the global fisheries’ workforce. In developing countries, women may comprise as much as 90 percent of the secondary fishing sector. As an essential part of traditional and artisanal fisheries, women possess critical knowledge about local fish stocks, often making them the first to notice when ecosystem changes occur. Despite these contributions, in many parts of the world, women’s labor, both in ocean-based livelihoods and conservation efforts, is invisible. And compared to their participation in the fisheries sector at-large, women are severely underrepresented across government and corporate leadership positions. Similar trends are seen in other ocean economies, including shipping, tourism, and other ocean harvesting industries.
- Program example: USAID’s Central American Regional Program on Management of Aquatic Resources and Economic Alternatives partnered with the El Rosaria cooperative, a women’s collective, to improve green economic opportunities related to the harvest of black cockles (or black clams). USAID assisted in securing a rights-based concession of mangrove to conduct cockle harvesting, finding capital financing, and building marketing capacity. Together, the cooperative increased cockle value by 1,100 percent by transforming the resource into appetizers for sale, increasing incomes without increasing harvesting.
Funding Information
- The award amount limit is $100,000 per project.
Eligibility Criteria
- Proposals should describe how implementers will conduct a gender and inclusion analysis and integrate an intersectional approach throughout program design with informed inclusion of men and boys, Indigenous peoples, and youth.
- Grant proposals should identify clear metrics to determine a successful outcome. This includes targets and indicators that can be tracked for results through the life of the project. All person-level indicators must at minimum be disaggregated by gender. All proposals must track the total number of individuals reached by the intervention, disaggregated by gender.
- Grant proposals should include the development of a short video (no more than 1-3 minutes) to highlight the program and build public awareness about women’s and girls’ crucial role in a green economic future.
- Organizations are requested to submit proposals under one of three focus areas. An eligible organization may submit up to three proposals.
For more information, visit U.S. Embassy in Rwanda.