U.S. Department of State, Bureau of NEA/AC to Promote Innovative Entrepreneurship Program

Deadline: 6 May 2019

The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs Office of Assistance Coordination (NEA/AC) and the United States Embassy in Tunisia, Assistance Unit announce a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to support the goals of the Tunisian Start-Up Act, which was passed by the country’s Parliament in 2018 and intends to address unemployment and boost technology by fostering more innovative, creative, and scalable start-ups.

This opportunity aims to advance US foreign policy in Tunisia by increasing employment opportunities and supporting economic governance reform through technical assistance to the Government of Tunisia (GoT) to create a regulatory environment that allows Tunisian startups to emerge, blossom, and thrive.

NEA/AC and the Tunis Assistance Unit seek proposals that:

Support efforts to adopt a modified regulatory framework that assists in the implementation of newly issued regulations and promotes innovative entrepreneurship and a startup-friendly environment
Reduce the administrative burden of the Start-Up Commission, allowing it to better serve Tunisia’s emerging start-ups

Funding Information

Estimated Total Program Funding: $1,000,000
Award Ceiling: $1,000,000
Award Floor: $500,000

Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants include:
- U.S. or foreign
  - Non-profit organizations;
  - For-profit organizations;
  - Private institutions of higher education;
  - Public or state institutions of higher education;
  - Public international organizations;
Small businesses with functional and regional experience in the areas of regulatory policies and reforms, entrepreneurship, economic governance, and organization strengthening in the MENA region
NEA/AC and Embassy Tunis strongly encourage applications from organizations headquartered in the Middle East and North Africa region. International non-governmental organizations with principal bases of operations outside the Middle East and North Africa are also encouraged to apply, but the percentage of total budget actually spent in the region through local partners will be among the elements of evaluation for this competition.
NEA/AC and Embassy Tunis are committed to an anti-discrimination policy in all of its programs and activities. NEA/AC welcomes applications irrespective of an applicants’ race, ethnicity, color, creed, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability. They encourage applications from organizations working with underserved communities, including women, people with disabilities, and youth.