Deadline: 15-Aug-2025
SecFin Africa has launched a call for proposals to fund and support civil society initiatives in East and Southern Africa aimed at raising public awareness, strengthening transparency, promoting accountability, and advocating for action against illicit financial flows (IFF) and organized crime. The goal is to enhance civil society’s role in promoting transparency and holding states accountable to combat IFFs and organized crime, contributing to the broader fight against these issues in the region.
This Call for Proposals aligns with SecFin Africa’s strategic objective to support initiatives by civil society organizations (CSOs) at national and local levels, as well as research institutes at the regional level. The focus is on increasing public awareness, promoting transparency, and urging states to take effective action against illicit financial activities and organized crime.
The general aim of SecFin Africa is to combat illicit financial flows linked to transnational organized crime, money laundering, and terrorist financing to ultimately boost domestic resource mobilization, stabilization, and security in Sub-Saharan Africa. The project works on multiple levels — national, regional, and civil society — to strengthen law enforcement and judicial capacities in preventing and countering IFFs, ensure compliance with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards, enhance cooperation and information sharing across regions, and increase public awareness to promote transparency and accountability.
Key priorities include reinforcing the capacity of civil society organizations in Eastern and Southern Africa to fight IFF through research, monitoring public policies, advocacy, and cooperation with public institutions. It also aims to raise regional and national awareness about the impact of IFFs through sensitization campaigns and advocacy. Additionally, the initiative seeks to strengthen the skills of investigative journalists in the region to conduct and publish investigations on financial crimes. A transversal priority focuses on exploring the links between gender and illicit financial flows.
The total funding available is €1,090,000. Civil society organizations can apply for grants ranging from €50,000 to €70,000, while research institutes may request between €100,000 and €150,000.
The initiative targets civil society organizations actively engaged in combating IFF, corruption, and financial crimes in Sub-Saharan Africa. These CSOs often play crucial roles in advocacy, policy influence, and capacity building to strengthen anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) frameworks. Ideal CSOs include those involved in legal aid, public awareness campaigns, advocacy, financial crime research, and empowerment programs addressing IFF impacts.
Investigative journalists are also key beneficiaries, as they expose financial misconduct, money laundering schemes, and illicit networks. However, journalists in Sub-Saharan Africa often face challenges such as limited funding, weak legal protections, and lack of technical expertise for complex financial investigations.
Whistleblowers hold a unique position by exposing IFF activities from within organizations, governments, and corporations. The initiative aims to provide these individuals with protection, legal guidance, and knowledge to mitigate risks to their safety and careers.
Research institutions are valued for generating empirical evidence, policy recommendations, and analytical tools to combat IFF in the region. Those with expertise in financial crime analytics, regulatory impact assessments, and illicit trade networks are expected to influence policy at national, regional, and international levels.
Projects must be implemented in one or more countries within the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) membership. Eligible countries include Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Djibouti, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Eligible applicants include well-established national and local civil society organizations with a proven role in fighting illicit financial flows. These CSOs should have the capacity to train networks of local CSOs or journalist consortia on AML/CFT topics, a shared vision aligned with combating IFFs and promoting transparency, and strong organizational, technical, and reporting capabilities. Experience in advocacy, particularly related to the 21 predicate offenses linked to financial crimes, and regional networking is required. Commitment to raising awareness and advocacy on IFFs is essential.
Research labs are also eligible and should focus on original research about the fight against IFFs in Sub-Saharan Africa. Proposed research topics may include identifying specific AML/CFT typologies, innovative anti-IFF measures, and evaluating the efficiency of AML/CFT reforms. Desired criteria for research labs include publications in peer-reviewed journals, a minimum of five academic articles related to financial crimes with at least half focused on Sub-Saharan Africa, and involvement of African researchers with a presence in the region.
For more information, visit SecFin Africa.
