Deadline: 19-Jun-23
The Public Diplomacy Section (PDS) of the U.S. Mission Afghanistan is pleased to announce an open competition for eligible organizations to submit applications to carry out a program to support women in Afghanistan who face significant challenges and barriers to economic progress, including limited access to employment opportunities, capital, financial services, and education.
Empowering women in Afghanistan for economic progress requires a comprehensive approach that addresses the complex challenges facing women and girls in the country. PDS seeks proposals for projects that should address at least one or more of the following areas to help empower women in Afghanistan:
- Entrepreneurship and Employment: Supporting women to start and run their own businesses, to join other women-led enterprises, or to acquire the skills necessary to start or participate in women-led enterprises, with the goal of creating employment opportunities for women, improving access to capital for women, maintaining the visibility of women in the workforce and economy, maintaining the visibility of women’s contributions to economic growth, and creating pathways for products and services offered by women-led enterprises to domestic and/or export markets.
- Programs that support these objectives could target women-led enterprises and workforce participation in a variety of economic sectors, including but not limited to:
- Manufacturing
- Handicrafts
- Information technology and technology services
- Educational services
- Provision of health services
- Food service
- Business services
- Home-based businesses
- Viable programs could address women’s entrepreneurship and participation in any economic sector, except the following two areas where the U.S. Mission to Afghanistan is providing resources through other mechanisms:
- Media and Journalism
- Higher Education
Project Goal
- The goal of the project is to empower women in Afghanistan through entrepreneurship, employment opportunities, and training opportunities such as apprenticeship.
Program Objectives
The project objectives can include:
- Promote women’s entrepreneurship by providing support for small business development, access to capital, and market linkages.
- Increase women’s access to economic opportunities, including training, mentorship, and employment matchmaking services.
- Provide infrastructure to cultivate the skills and intellectual capital of Afghan women. The infrastructure will reflect the current operating environment in Afghanistan and may take the form of providing raw materials for production, technology platforms and other means to access instruction, mentors, instructors, and markets, and face-to-face training in the form of apprenticeships.
- Build the capacity of project beneficiaries to advocate for and promote women’s participation in the economy.
- Address cultural and social barriers to women’s economic participation and social empowerment, including discriminatory social norms and stereotypes.
Funding Information
- Length of performance period: At least 18 months
- Number of awards anticipated: Two or more
- Award amounts: awards may range from a minimum of $ 250,000.00 to a maximum of $500,000.00 for each award.
- Total available funding: $ 1,00,000.00
Participants and Audiences
- The primary audience and beneficiaries of this project are women between the ages of 18 and 50 in Afghanistan who want to start their own businesses, partner with other women entrepreneurs, or seek employment in women-led enterprises.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligibility is open to all types of applicants except for individuals.
- Organizations may sub-award/contract with other entities, but only one entity may be the prime recipient of the award. When sub-awarding/contracting with other entities, the responsibilities of each entity must be clearly defined in the proposal.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.