Is your organisation eager to take your innovative solution to a global challenge to the next level?
The energy and ideas of young people around the world drives solutions and helps to create opportunities to key challenges in communities and beyond. The Innovation Grants aim to provide support to youth organisations that seek to innovate in their own context in response to a global challenge!
The Innovation Grants provide grants opportunities between 30.000 and 50.000 EURO for which individual youth organisations and consortiums of youth organisations can apply to.
What do we mean with innovations?
We define innovation as designing, testing, scaling or improving a new or existing activity for young people in their own context with long-term impact. In other words, an impact that will benefit your community and your peers also after your grant project ends!
What can you expect when you receive a grant?
- Your organisation will receive financial support to implement your innovation in your own community and beyond
- Your organisation will become part of a platform for you to share your solution with peers, decision-makers and other stakeholders across Africa and Europe
- You will benefit from mentorship and other forms of capacity development support according to the needs of your organisation
When is your organisation eligible to apply?
- Your organisation is youth-led: young people (age 18 to 35) are the decision makers.
- You are a youth organisation that is formal: you are legally registered in your country, have an organisation bank account and a clear governance structure.
- You are located and registered in one of the 12 African Youth Action Lab focus countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia (Somaliland region), Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
- Your proposed activity takes place in one or more of the above 12 countries.
- Your annual budget or grants managed in the past should be a minimum of 10.000 EURO.
What kind of activities can you propose?
Your proposal can have a diversity of activities that build upon each other. We are excited to receive your ideas!
As general guidance, we can identify three broad types of activities:
Meaningful youth participation in decision-making
For example: a new methodology for young people to monitor the commitment of decision-makers to increase access to quality education.
Implementation of a youth-driven solution
For example: implementation of a new climate resilience approach in each context.
Sharing and scaling of a distinct activity with other youth organisations beyond their own context
For example: development of an online learning product
The activities you propose can be a mixture of the broad types of activities above and do not need to ‘fit in one box’.
How to apply
- Carefully read the funding manual. (English | French | Portuguese)
- Make sure you meet the eligibility criteria.
- Develop your proposal as individual organisation or in collaboration with other youth organisations.
- Deadline for applications: 19th of February
Need help with your application? Join our webinars in January and February for Question-and-Answer sessions (dates to be confirmed very soon)!
Want to connect with other youth organisations and stay up-to-date on the latest info about the grants? Sign up to our online community on the Power to Voices Platform in two steps:Step 1: Sign up to the Power to Voices Platform by making an account: Sign Up Here
Step 2: Go to the AU-EU Youth Action Lab Community and click on ‘follow’ to become a member of the group, via this link: AU-EU Youth Action Lab Community | Power to Voices
