Deadline: 31-Mar-21
The U.S. Consulate General Public Affairs Section in Lahore is soliciting proposals for Women Entrepreneurs Program. The implementer will be legally recognized non-profit and non-governmental organizations that meet the U.S. and Pakistani technical and legal requirements to develop and implement public diplomacy programs.
Punjab women entrepreneurs are equipped with the appropriate skillsets and networks to overcome local barriers to participation in the start-up ecosystem and emerging and established incubation centers in Lahore and South Punjab are interconnected facilitators of success.
Project Objectives
- Develop a network for female entrepreneurs in Punjab which includes alumni of U.S.G. sponsored grant programs focused on entrepreneurship in Punjab such as ATX-PAK, D2Pak, IVLP exchanges, and Fulbright alumni with a focus on individuals who are working in incubation centers, start-ups, SMEs, the venture capital sphere, communications coaching, university instruction, chambers of commerce, and foreign investments within the Punjab.
- Develop a formal mentor-mentee and sponsorship program within the network.
- Develop a virtual course on communication, allyship, sponsorship, and mentorship for and by female entrepreneurs.
- Develop a secure environment in which women entrepreneurs can operate, such as a co-working space within an incubation center.
- Develop a relationship between an incubation center in Lahore and an incubation center in South Punjab to improve the transfer of knowledge and exposure to incubator techniques.
- Develop a social media networking page, using LinkedIn if appropriate, for participants to continue growing their network after programs have completed.
- The implementing partner should meet the following benchmarks in participant numbers:
- Number of participants: at least 150
- Virtual Incubation: 150 women entrepreneurs
- Mentorship with 100 out of the 150
- Incubation with 50 entrepreneurs
- Co-working space provided to 25 out of those 50 who participate in the virtual incubation
Funding Information
- Anticipated Award Amount: The award floor is $175,000 and the award ceiling is $250,000.
Eligibility Criteria
- Audiences: Women ages 20 – 35 living in the Punjab province of Pakistan
- Eligible Applicants:
- Eligibility is open to international non-profit organizations.
- Organizations may sub-award or subcontract with other entities, but only one non-profit organization can be the prime recipient of the award.
- Pakistan government entities are not eligible to apply.
- For-profit entitles are not eligible to be the prime recipient of an award under this NOFO.
- When sub-awarding or subcontracting with other entities, the responsibilities of each entity must be clearly defined in the proposal.
- The applicants must submit proof of their non-profit status with their proposal submission (e.g. proof of 501(c) (3) status, Pakistan NGO license).
- Applications that do not include proof of non-profit status will not be considered for an award.
- Individuals are not eligible for an award under this NOFO.
- U.S.-based or registered organizations should provide proof of registration to operate in Pakistan or have a documented agreement with a partner organization registered to operate in Pakistan.
- Other Eligibility Requirements:
- There is more than one project(s) described in this NOFO. Organizations may not submit more than one proposal per project. Any organization that submits more than one proposal per project will be considered ineligible for funding.
- To be eligible to receive an award, all organizations must have a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number from Dun & Bradstreet.
- Previous federal award recipients who are not/were not in compliance with the terms of their financial and program reporting requirements are ineligible to apply.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=331179