FAQ
WEBINAR 1: GENERAL FAQ
What is the capacity building requirement?
Capacity building is a core and mandatory part of the grant, designed to strengthen your organisation’s ability to implement effective programs and achieve long-term impact. It includes training, support, and resources to enhance skills, leadership, and organisational systems. Each grantee is required to allocate 5% of their grant budget to capacity-building activities. It must be tailored to the organisation’s specific needs, ensuring the activities directly address areas for improvement and enhance overall effectiveness.
What documents can be provided as reference checks?
A referral letter from a funder, a grant award, or a stakeholder recommendation may be required.
What does project sustainability mean?
Sustainability includes financial, operational, and impact continuity beyond the grant period.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
Information on the “youth-led” criteria.
All organisations of the consortium (lead and collaborators) need to be youth-led. In order to be considered youth-led, only young people (18-35 years old) must be the decision-makers and beneficiaries, and at least 70% of the total number of people in the organisation should be below 35 years old by the time of applying.
The decision-makers vary across organisations. In some organisations, decision-making power lies with the board, while in other organisations, decision-making power lies with the staff. This is why we ask for the governance structure of your organisation in the application form.
Having a programme that is youth-led (also known as a youth focused organisation) is not sufficient to meet the eligibility criteria, it is the organisation itself that has to be youth-led, according to the criteria outlined above. The overall objective of the programme is to empower youth (below 35 years old) to develop, scale up and implement initiatives to create positive change in meaningful, active and innovative ways.
Eligibility of organisations (non-profits, for-profits, Company Limited by Guarantee)
This programme aims to give opportunities for youth-led organisations, and cooperation grants focus on non-profit organisations. For-profit organisations are, in general, not eligible to apply for any of the grant types.
A Company Limited by Guarantee (CLG) is not eligible to apply for any grant type of the AU-EU Youth Action Lab since they are not non-profit organisations.
All organisations (lead and collaborators) need to be formal, this means they need to be legally registered in one of the eligible countries, have a bank account and a clear governance structure.
Can the grant activities run in multiple countries?
Yes, a program can be in more than one country, as long as the countries are within the 12 focus countries. For example, you can run a program in both Uganda and Tanzania.
BUDGET AND FINANCES
Information on link & learn event and how to budget for it
The link & learn event will take place in one of the 12 African focus countries, the exact country still has to be confirmed. You will need to budget for up to two people per organisation for a 5-day event (3 days of workshops and 2 days of travel), including travel, accommodation, and subsistence costs. Do not forget to include visa costs, insurance, or any vaccines you might need! Up to two people per organisation can take part in the link & learn event, while one person per organisation is mandatory.
Since you don’t know yet where the link & learn event will happen, and won’t know before submitting your proposal, we recommend that you have a look at the average cost to go to each of the 12 African countries, and budget with a high average. In case you over budget for it, you will be able to move the budget to other budget lines. Therefore, it is better for you to overestimate the costs rather than underestimate them.
Regarding the exact dates and aligning your own project activities with the link & learn event, you will be able to change your project activity’s date if there is a valid reason to do so.
Audit requirements
There is no need to budget for an audit project, the grant will be audited by the Consortium partners auditors. It is strongly recommended to budget Human Resources costs for the time the staff will spend on administrative and finance-related tasks or for a finance officer.
Which exchange rate shall be used?
For the current exchange rate, we advised to use the platform OANDA. The budget is first in your local currency and has to be translated in Euros. As an example, if the local currency is UGX. 1UGX = 0.00026 Euros. Applicants can include in column for exchange rate: 0.00026 Euros, the column total will provide the amount in Euros.
How many staff can be covered by the grant for salaries?
The salaries budget is at the discretion of each organisation. When reviewing your application, reviewers will assess whether the salary allocation is reasonable in relation to the activities proposed.
Where and how can I submit the budget template?
The budget template is available in the funding manual for each grant type. To access it, visit the webpage of the grant you’re interested in and open the funding manual at the bottom of the page. You’ll find the template in the budget section. Once completed, submit it on the ON Grip platform under the ‘Project Budget’ section.
Can I re-submit my application if the one I submitted was incomplete?
It is NOT possible to re-submit an application once it was submitted. However, if your application is not selected in this round, you will be able to apply in the second round for which the timeline still has to be determined.
Is building infrastructure eligible as a cost?
As stated in the funding manuals, the purchase of land or buildings, including the construction of infrastructure, is NOT an eligible cost.
Different currencies and exchange rates between time of application and implementation
The budget will be calculated in EUR based on the figures provided in your budget template.
- If exchange rates change in your favour, you will have more funds to support your activities.
- If your country experiences inflation or an unfavourable rate shift, you may have fewer resources in EUR. In that case, we cannot increase the grant amount, but we may reconsider reducing the number of activities you are required to implement.
APPLICATION TEMPLATE
Clarification on “marginalised” groups
Young people are a diverse group, and everyone has their own lived experience. In this diversity we can identify common elements that can cause exclusion and barriers to the participation of young people at the social, economic, and/or political level. We can think of the role of gender, young people living with disabilities, refugees, or geographical location such as living in a remote rural area.
With marginalised youth we refer to young people that face exclusion because of the mix of their identity, socioeconomic backgrounds, location, and/or any other factors that can play a role.
The programme aims to give opportunities to youth, and particularly marginalised youth, to implement their own ideas and initiatives. Therefore, youth-led organisations represented by marginalised youth are more than welcome to apply, if they fulfil the other eligibility criteria. Moreover, if your organisation is made up of a marginalised group, your application may be given priority in case of competing proposals that are otherwise equally strong. You can find more information in the different funding manuals.
Saving text and character count limit
The platform automatically saves your answers regularly, ensuring your progress is not lost if you encounter connection issues. You can also return to your application later and your answers should still be there. If you prefer, you can download the application form as a Word document to draft your responses and check the character count more precisely. Once finalised, you will need to copy and paste your answers from the Word document into the online form. Most sections of the form have a character count limit, usually mentioned in the information section next to the question. If no limit is specified, there is no restriction, but we encourage you to keep your answers clear and concise.
Clarity on risk analysis
The risk analysis section allows you to identify potential risks to your project. These risks may be internal (e.g. communication challenges within the consortium) or external (e.g. shrinking civic space).
Cooperation Grants FAQ
Cross-continental collaboration & eligible countries
All organisations (lead and collaborators) should be from eligible countries, namely one of the 27 European Union member states or one of the 12 African focus countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia (Somaliland region), Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The cross-continental collaboration only applies to cooperation grants since it is the only grant type that is open to EU organisations and that requires collaboration between organisations between the continents in order to submit an application. Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Representation grants are available for African youth from the 12 African focus countries, and do not require collaboration between organisations.
Note: Somalia (Somaliland region) includes both Somalia and the Somaliland region.
Your consortium must include at least one African and one European organisation, with a maximum of five organisations in total. All organisations, whether lead or collaborators, must be based in one of the EU member states or in one of the 12 African focus countries. Two organisations may be from the same country, as long as both continents are represented.
One of the key focus areas of the Cooperation Grants is cross-continental collaboration. The funding manual states: “Initiatives should promote collaboration between African and European youth, addressing shared challenges such as climate change, gender equality, youth unemployment, among others. Projects should clearly define a shared goal and show how the collaboration benefits all organisations involved, both in achieving the project outcomes and through knowledge exchange. Emphasising the mutual exchange of expertise and skills, the collaboration should show how it strengthens each organisation’s abilities and increases their overall impact.”
We cannot provide a definitive yes or no. Your project must clearly demonstrate mutual benefits for both organisations and maintain a cross-continental focus.
Organisations’ experience & capacity
For Cooperation Grants, the lead applicant needs to have experience working on a least one collaborative project – i.e. experience working on a project with at least one other partner. Collaborators of the consortium don’t need to have previous experience working on collaborative projects.
We also ask about the organisational capacity of organisations to carry out the project, but not for how many years an organisation exists. Therefore, applicants don’t need to have previous experience managing funds. However, we will assess whether your organisation has the capacity to carry out this project.
There is no criteria on how many staff members your organisation should count, but you will have to defend in your application why and how your organisation is able to carry out the project if selected.
Division of budget between lead applicant and collaborator(s)
The lead applicant will have slightly more administrative costs, since they will be the contact point with the donor and responsible for submitting all necessary documents, such as the application and reports. This should be reflected in the budget.
There is no set minimum or maximum amount of how much more the lead applicant should get, but it should be reasonable and justified.
The lead application will receive the grant, and will then be responsible for paying the agreed upon amount to the collaborators.
Consortium creation and database
To form a consortium, you need a minimum of two organisations and a maximum of 5, with at least one AU and one EU organisation. There is no criteria on how many organisations need to be from which continent as long as both continents are represented. Organisations need to submit a joint application and thus collaborate and work on their application together before submitting it.
If you already have a partnership with an organisation (or more) in eligible countries, that’s great! You may check if you can develop a project together. If you don’t know of any organisation, you can fill in this form and register your interest. After submitting the form, you will receive a confirmation message with a link granting you access to a database of interested organisations. You can edit your response in the form at any time, which will automatically change the information in the database. The database is here to help you but it is not mandatory to register to it.
You can then start contacting organisations that match with your interest! You can filter out organisations, check if they want to be lead or collaborator, where they are based, and which topic they want to work on!
In case you want to be lead and are interested in collaborating with an organisation that also wants to be lead, we encourage you to contact and discuss this with them.
Type of eligible activities
By advocacy, we mean speaking up for a cause to create change. Your initiative can take many forms and be translated into plenty of activities, such as:
- Organising policy events with stakeholders.
- Conduct research and sharing findings.
- Facilitating the participation of marginalised youth in policy discussions.
- Hosting events to mobilise support for youth-led projects.
- Launching online campaigns to raise awareness about youth issues.
- Using social media tools to share ideas and work together.
- Connecting youth with EU and AU representatives.
- Create connections with other youth-led initiatives and projects.
- Press releases to engage with the media to spread key messages and project updates.
This is not an exhaustive list, and you are free to deviate from these examples. When you choose differently, please explain clearly why and how this relates to the focus areas of the grant. Namely, policy and advocacy, marginalised groups, cross-continental collaboration, and sustainability. You can find more information in the funding manual.
Moreover, the programme and its activities should be implemented in the eligible AU and EU countries. This means that if you are planning to organise in person activities, they cannot take place outside of the eligible countries.
Timeline and activities implementation
The call for proposals deadline is on 16 March, at 00:00 CET, followed by an application review period of approximately 6 weeks. We aim to contact the selected grantees by the end of April and expect that start dates for the projects will be from May 2025. The process regarding disbursements of funds can take a few weeks, but it might also take longer.
You should take this into consideration when planning your activities’ timeline and anticipate backdating some costs should there be delays.
Eligibility of a tailoring mechanism
If the project involves developing and implementing a mechanism that, for example, enables youth to better engage in policy-making at a local, national, or international level, this could potentially be eligible, if the project aligns with the objective and focus areas of the grant.
If this mechanism refers to internal restructuring or governance improvements, this won’t be eligible. While we emphasise capacity building, this cannot be the sole objective of your project.
What we are looking for in a successful submission
In order to submit a successful application, you will need to meet the eligibility criteria (both hard and soft), as well as clearly show how your projects aligns with the four focus areas of the grants: policy & advocacy, cross-continental collaboration, marginalised groups, and sustainability. You can find more information on this in the funding manual.
Please note that we expect a high number of applications, so not all eligible applications will be successful, even if strong.
Clarification on the first and second cycle
For this first cycle, grants of 50.000 EUR will be allocated to 8 consortiums. Each consortium will be composed of minimum 2 and maximum 5 organisations.
Everyone applying to any of the grant types of the Youth Action Lab (Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Representation, and Cooperation Grants) in this cycle can only apply once. This includes both the lead applicant and the collaborators in the Cooperation grants.
For the second cycle, a new call for proposals will be launched. The exact modalities still have to be decided. Many great applications will probably not be selected during the first cycle. This is why applicants are more than welcome and encouraged to apply to the second cycle. They will be able to submit a completely different application or a similar one that they had the freedom to improve.
Can the project activities cover mobility activities? Does the topic have to be connected strictly on advocacy and policy or can it be also more capacity-building?
Activities must have a clear policy and advocacy focus. Mobility activities are allowed as long as they directly contribute to the objectives of the grant and align with the focus areas.
Matchmaking and higher engagement from African organisations
The AU-EU Youth Action Lab provides grants for organisations to collaborate on advocacy projects and develop cross-continental partnerships. If you already have a partner, great! If not, you can use the database of interested organisations.
Currently, there is higher engagement from African organisations, which can make it easier for European organisations to find a partner but more challenging for African organisations to do so. If you have suggestions on how we can improve the matchmaking in future cycles, please email us at action.lab@aueuyouth.com.
What is the follow-up legal agreement with partners after selection?
After selection, the lead organisation will sign a contract with Oxfam. The lead organisation is then responsible for establishing agreements with each collaborating partner.
Information on how to divide the budget and caps
You must prepare a budget of 50,000 EUR, which should include:
- Link & Learn event: Budget for travel, accommodation, and subsistence costs for up to two people per organisation.
- Capacity development: At least 5% of the total budget.
- Other costs: The remaining budget can cover staff costs and other eligible expenses, following the guidelines outlined in the funding manual.
There are no specific budget caps, but your costs must be reasonable and aligned with the funding manual.
How will the 50.000 EUR budget be divided and what is the timeline?
Each selected consortium will receive 50,000 EUR to be shared among the project partners. It is up to the partners to decide how to divide the funds, ensuring the distribution is fair and reflects the workload. The funds must be used within the 12-month grant period.
Innovation Grants – Additional FAQ
Who can apply for the Innovation Grants?
The grants are available to legally registered non-profit organisations, such as community-based organisations and charities, etc with prior experience in managing grants. Businesses, social enterprises, and start-ups are not eligible. Refugee-led and women-led organisations can apply if they meet all the criteria. Consortiums can apply, provided they have a lead organisation.
Does my organisation need prior funding experience?
Yes, applicants must show proof of managing at least €10,000 in donor funds. The grant is not for start-ups but for scaling youth-led initiatives. Newly registered organisations are not eligible unless they can demonstrate experience in programming and financial management. Audited accounts or any other financial records should demonstrate prior grant management experience of at least €10,000.
What kind of projects are eligible?
Projects must align with global issues such as the SDGs or Agenda 2063 and demonstrate innovation in designing, testing, scaling, or improving activities with long-term impact. For example, Health-related innovations and marginalized youth-focused projects
What is meant by innovation for the Innovation Grants?
Innovation refers to designing, testing, scaling, or improving a new or existing activity aimed at young people in their own context, with a focus on long-term impact. This means the activity should have benefits that extend beyond the duration of the grant, continuing to positively affect your community and peers.
Entrepreneurship Grants – Additional FAQ
What is meant by “enterprise” in the context of the entrepreneurship grant?
In the context of the Entrepreneurship Grant from the AU-EU Youth Action Lab, we define:
Social Enterprise as a business or organisation that primarily exists to address social or environmental challenges while generating revenue. Profits are reinvested into the mission rather than distributed to owners. These enterprises balance financial sustainability with positive social impact, such as job creation, skills training, or environmental sustainability.
Enterprise as a profit-driven business that operates in the market. However, to be eligible for the grant, an enterprise must demonstrate a clear social ambition and impact, such as providing employment opportunities for marginalized youth, integrating sustainable practices, or addressing economic barriers for young entrepreneurs.
Both types must be youth-led (ages 18-35) and legally registered to qualify for the grant.
What’s the difference between skill development and skill training?
The key difference between skills training and skills development is that skills training focuses on technical and job-specific learning, such as teaching young people tailoring techniques, while skills development takes a holistic approach, combining technical skills with entrepreneurship, leadership, and life skills to empower youth for long-term career success and economic independence.
General FAQs – AU-EU Youth Action Lab
AU-EU Youth Action Lab
The AU-EU Youth Action Lab provides the opportunity for youth initiatives in Africa and Europe to apply for funding through the Call for Proposals (CfP) to implement their ideas and solutions linked to global challenges. The Youth Action Lab is funded by the European Union and is part of the ambitions laid out in the EU’s Youth Action Plan!
The AU-EU Youth Action Lab is implemented by a consortium of partners: Oxfam, the European Youth Forum and Restless Development Uganda. Together, they aim to connect young people from both continents, encouraging them to collaborate, share knowledge, and raise their voices to influence policy at all levels, from local to international levels, including the African Union (AU) and European Union (EU).
In the coming 3 years, the Youth Action Lab will launch various call for proposals inviting youth in their diversity to apply. The Youth Action Lab has 4 different grant types – each with a different focus, but all with a similar ambition: Support youth initiatives in a powershifting way!
Focus countries
For your organisation to be eligible to apply for an Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Representation and Cooperation Grants, your organisation needs to be located in Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia (Somaliland region), Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia or Zimbabwe. Cooperation Grants also includes European Union member states.
YAB role
Nothing about youth without youth – the Youth Advisory Board (YAB) of the Youth Action Lab will review and select the proposals to receive funding. The YAB is composed of 12 young representatives, with 10 selected out of the African Union focus countries and 2 from the European Union. Each year we expect that we will work with the 12 YAB members who have been selected through an open call.
APPLICATION PROCESS
How can I submit my application?
On the ON Grip platform only.
Can l revise my application once l submitted it?
No, unfortunately you cannot revise or modify your application once it has been submitted to the online platform.
Can I submit my application in multiple languages?
No, you can only submit your application in one language. You can choose one of the following languages for the Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Representation Grants: English, French and Portuguese. Cooperation Grants are to be submitted in English only.
I have doubt on the application process, how can l be supported?
We will organize an online session before close of applications. We will provide clarity, take questions and provide support and tips on how to write an application. Be on the lookout for the specific dates of each of your grant type on the
Can l apply to two or more grants at the same time?
No, please apply to only one grant scheme with one project.
I missed the deadline; can l still submit my application?
No, we will not accept applications once the deadline is passed, but there will be other grant opportunities in the next 3 years. Keep an eye on the Youth Lab website to stay updated!
If my application is not successful, can l apply again?
Yes, if your application was not successful, you can apply again on the next call for proposal. Please look out for our next opportunities on the Youth Lab website and social channels.
Do l need any matching fund?
No, there is no matching fund nor co-funding obligations.
Evaluation and Selection
- What are the evaluation criteria of my application?
- As these are powershifting funds co-designed by young people for young people, the Youth Advisory Board (YAB) holds decision-making power in the selection process. The process includes the following steps:
- Applications will be screened first based on eligibility criteria-both the hard and soft eligibility tests. This screening will take up to one week, with a possible extension depending on the number of applications received.
- During the longlisting and shortlisting process, the applicants are grouped according to eligibility countries – this is done to ensure that there will be equitable representation across the 12 eligible African countries and European Union member states.
- A detailed assessment will be administered on all the shortlisted applicants by the YAB and these will be scored and ranked. (The YAB will use an Assessment Tool co-designed for this process)
- A Due Diligence and an organisational capacity assessment will be conducted to verify applicants’ governance and accounting protocols.
- The highest-scoring proposals will be notified and selected applicants will be asked to complete forms and provide additional details for contracting.
- Where applicable, site-visits may be undertaken as part of the assessment process to ensure that applicants have minimum governance and accounting protocols and/or to review existing programming. The consortium partners will collaborate with its various country offices for this including on ground support by the YAB members.
When will applicants be notified of the results?
This depends on the grant type you are applying to. In general, the selection process should take 6 weeks after the Call for Proposals closes. Make sure to check the relevant grant type on the website to stay updated.
Can I receive feedback on my application if it is not selected?
Upon request.
PAYMENT OF THE GRANT
Is it necessary to have a separate bank account for the project?
No, it is not needed to have a specific bank account. All payments should be made and to your organisation bank account.
Will the grant be transferred in EUR or in my national currency?
The grant will be transferred in EUR.
How will the payment of the grant be organised?
The grant will be provided in separate payments (usually in two instalments). The first instalment (60% of your total approved grant) will be transferred after signing the grant agreement including all annexures. The second instalment (40% of your grant) is due after the approval of one mid-term progress report, including meeting all required milestones. Be aware that the definition of the instalment payments will be set at the time of contract agreement once your project has been approved.
REPORTING
If my proposal is selected, what would be the reporting requirements?
The frequency of reporting and required documentation will be detailed in the reporting guidelines, which are provided to all grantees, and we will guide you through all the necessary steps during the kickoff meeting. Additionally, we are committed to supporting you throughout the project trajectory, ensuring you have the resources and guidance you need to meet all reporting and documentation requirements.
Which costs are eligible?
- Costs during the project period (while the project is running).
- Costs listed in the project budget (the plan you submitted).
- Necessary, clear, and proven costs (following tax and legal rules).
- Reasonable and justified costs (ensuring good use of funds and efficiency).
Please refer to each funding manuals for specificity.
Are there any costs which are not eligible?
- Expenses outside the project timeline (anything before or after the project).
- Costs not related to the project (like unrelated activities).
- Buying land, buildings and vehicles
- In-kind contributions
Entrepreneurship Grants
Why should I apply?
All Youth Action Lab grant types are created by youth and for youth. This funding addresses the lack of opportunities for youth in Africa and Europe to collaborate, cooperate, develop, implement and scale up their own initiatives. It is designed to support young people to be more engaged, empowered and connected. The grant aims to nurture organisations’ stability, resilience, financial security and organisational capacity with the result aimed at showing impact created at community level with a distinct scale-up potential.
Entrepreneurship Grants focus on youth-led actions that address a three-fold selection of key challenges young people face around the world in their economic participation and taking control of their own future i.e. skills development opportunities, growth of youth-led (social) enterprises, and an enabling environment for young entrepreneurs.
During the first Call for Proposal in 2025, the focus will be on the first topic: SKILLS DEVELOPMENT! We ask interested youth organisations or (social) enterprises to submit their ideas to advance meaningful skills development opportunities for young people!
This grant will also allow you to meet grantees from the three other grant types at the Annual Link & Learn events and through the Power2Voices online platform (accessible beyond the grant period)! Some more good news? Our application and reporting mechanisms are designed in a way that make sense to youth initiatives. Read the full [funding manual – available soon] for more information.
Who can apply?
To apply for Entrepreneurship Grants, your organization must meet the following requirements:
- Your organization is youth-led: young people (age 18 to 35) are the decision makers.
- You are a youth organization that is formal: you are legally registered in your country, have an organization 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.
Can I apply to scale up my entrepreneurship idea?
For this first cohort we are only looking at providing grants that are responding to Skills Development, therefore if your scale up initiative is on skills development, please do apply!
What if l want to apply for an entrepreneurship idea not related to Skills Development- will that be considered?
No, any other idea on entrepreneurship not linked to Skills Development will not be considered for this first call for proposals.
Can you further explain what you mean by Skills Development?
A key barrier for many young people around the world to engage in economic opportunities is the access to skills development that makes sense to them. We have seen a mismatch between skills taught and what young people actually need in their own context to obtain a job or start a business. And, moreover, including a focus on life-skills: to not only develop skills for economic participation but for young people taking control of their own future. Especially young people from marginalized communities can face additional barriers to engage in skills development opportunities for example the lack of access to training facilities in rural areas. We therefore aim to support youth initiatives that have identified a distinct gap in the skills development opportunities for young people in their context and seek to address it! For example, youth-led incubators that implement training modules for young entrepreneurs.
I can’t attend the information session, but I still want to apply for a Innovation Grant. Is that possible?
Yes, of course! The information sessions are organized to help you with your application but are not mandatory.
Can I apply for less than the minimum amount - 30,000 EUR?
NO, grants are minimum of 30,000 EUR and cannot go below that. You cannot therefore apply for grants below the 30,000 EUR or above 50,000 EUR.
How long will my project last?
Your project will be funded for a duration of 12 months, from May 2025 to April 2026.
What is the latest time l can submit my application?
All application are due on the stated date –19 of February 2025 by midnight CET. Applications received later than the stated date and time will not be considered.
When will l be contacted regarding the outcome of my application?
It is expected that the assessment process of applications will take about six weeks, therefore expect to hear from us beginning of April 2025. An announcement will also be made on the Power2Voices platform for you to check your emails.
Representation Grants
Why should I apply?
All Youth Action Lab grant types are created by youth and for youth. They aim to nurture organisations’ stability, financial security and organisational capacity.
Representation grants provide the opportunity for youth initiatives in Africa and Europe to apply for funding through a Call for Proposals (CfP) to implement your ideas and solutions linked to global challenges. They are grants supporting initiatives led by underrepresented and marginalized youth in Africa with the overall goal of enabling young people to deliver the change they wanted in their communities.
Some more good news? Our application and reporting mechanisms are designed in a way that make sense to youth initiatives. Read the [funding manual] for more information.
Who can apply?
To apply for a Representation Grant, your organisation must meet the following requirements:
- Youth led organisations or groups focusing on either underrepresented or targeting the marginalized youth.
- The organisation or group must have young people between 15 – 35 years as the decision makers, founders or at least co-founders must be under 35 years of age.
- At least 75% of the staff must be under the age of 35 years
- Must be registered youth-led group, CSO, networks, alliances, collectives
- Your organisation or group must be based in one of the 12 African countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia (Somaliland region), Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
- The organisation or group must be active at the grassroot, sub national, national, sub regional and regional.
Why is this called a representation grant?
These grants are called representation grants because they aim at supporting initiatives led by underrepresented and marginalized African youth. Youth face numerous barriers that prevent them from engaging meaningful in things that matter to them, empowerment and connection.
Why do you call representation grants power shifting grants?
Representation grants are called powershifting grants because of specifically 3 reasons:
- Nothing about youth without youth – a Youth Advisory Board of the Youth Action Lab will review and select the proposals to receive funding.
- The grants facilitate and nurture stability, resilience, financial security, and organisational capacity.
- Application and reporting mechanisms make sense to youth initiatives.
What is the grant size?
Representation grants are 40 in number, and each will run for a maximum duration of 12 months. Grant sizes will be in three categories; that is, small size of €5,000 will be 10 in number, medium size of €10,000 will also be 10 in number and 20 large (€20,000).
Which interventions are targeted by the representation grants?
- Representation grants will support youth-led initiatives challenging discriminatory acts and promote inclusion – especially among the underrepresented and marginalized young people.
- Support movement building initiatives such as advocacy coalitions and networks right from grassroots;
- Initiatives that are aligned to the national youth plans and the AU agenda 2063
- Supporting development of policy solutions and alternatives towards the wellbeing of young people (Hackathons) and increased participation of young people in decision making processes, policy reviews and formulation.
What do I need to apply for this grant?
- You need to carefully read the funding manual
- You will need to make your application on the ON Grip platform
When do I expect to be contacted regarding the application outcome?
The assessment process of applications will take about six weeks, therefore expect to hear from us after 7th week after application submission.
Innovation Grants
Why should I apply?
All Youth Action Lab grant types are created by youth and for youth. This funding addresses the lack of opportunities for youth in Africa and Europe to collaborate, cooperate, develop, implement and scale up their own initiatives. It is designed to support young people to be more engaged, empowered and connected. The grant aims to nurture organizations’ stability, resilience, financial security and organizational capacity with the result aimed at showing impact created at community level with a distinct scale-up potential.
The Innovation Grants aim to provide support to youth organizations that seek to innovate in their own context in response to a global challenge! The grant supports youth led organisations innovative solutions and thereby increases opportunities for youth to take the lead and create positive change at scale. The grant provides organisations with an opportunity to work with other youth to share their solutions to peers and decision-makers at the continental and inter-continental level.
This grant will also allow you to meet grantees from the three other grant types at the Annual Link & Learn events and through the Power2Voices online platform (accessible beyond the grant period)!
Some more good news? Our application and reporting mechanisms are designed in a way that make sense to youth initiatives. Read the full [funding manual – available soon] for more information.
Who can apply?
To apply for Innovation Grants, your organization must meet the following requirements:
- Your organization is youth-led: young people (age 18 to 35) are the decision makers.
- You are a youth organization that is formal: you are legally registered in your country, have an organization 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.
Does innovation mean a technological design?
That’s a great question! Simple answer is NO- we do not see innovation as being about a technological design. An innovation is a broad term and is often mistaken as only something that is completely new or perhaps something focusing on new technologies. While this could be the case, innovations are so much more! Our working definition is that 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.
What do we mean by innovations addressing global challenges?
We mean a challenge or opportunity in a certain context that finds its ‘root-cause’ in a challenge faced in diverse contexts at a global scale, for example climate change or lack of youth participation in decision-making. A challenge that is recognizable across contexts and allows for sharing and learning from experience.
Can you further explain what you mean by innovations around intersectionality?
This is an innovation that works on the nexus of different thematic areas and global challenges for example, an innovation that addresses the gendered impact of climate change in a given context. It could also mean grantees that work on intersectionality by connecting diverse young people in a joint youth-led solution. We aim this way to fund innovations that can experience more difficulty in obtaining funding as they are often not fitting ‘siloed’ funding modalities.
I can’t attend the information session, but I still want to apply for a Innovation Grant. Is that possible?
Yes, of course! The information sessions are organized to help you with your application but are not mandatory.
Can I apply for less than the minimum amount of 30,000 EUR?
NO, grants are minimum of 30 000 euro and cannot go below that. You cannot therefore apply for grants below 30 000EUR or above 50 000EUR.
How long will my project last?
Your project will be funded for a duration of 12 months, from May 2025 to April 2026.
What is the latest time l can submit my application?
All application are due on the stated date –19 of February 2025 by midnight CET. Applications received later than the stated date and time will not be considered.
When will l be contacted regarding the outcome of my application?
It is expected that the assessment process of applications will take about six weeks, therefore expect to hear from us beginning of April 2025. An announcement will also be made on the Power2Voices platform for you to check your emails.
Cooperation Grants
Why should I apply?
All Youth Action Lab grant types are created by youth and for youth. They aim to nurture organisations’ stability, financial security and organisational capacity.
Cooperation Grants provide financial support as well as training and resources to help you understand how to effectively engage with government institutions and influence policy. This grant will also allow you to develop new cross-continental partnerships and meet grantees from the three other grant types at the annual link & learn events through the Power2Voices online platform (accessible beyond the grant period)!
Some more good news? Our application and reporting mechanisms are designed in a way that make sense to youth initiatives. Read the [funding manual – available soon] for more information.
Who can apply?
To apply for a Cooperation Grant, your organisation must meet the following requirements:
- Be a formal youth-led organisation: legally registered, with a bank account and governance structure, young people (aged 18-35) are the decision makers;
- Be located in one of the 27 European Union member states OR be located in one of the following 12 African countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia (Somaliland region), Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
- At least one of the cooperating organisations must have prior experience working on a project with at least one other partner.
How can I form a consortium to submit a joint application?
To form a consortium, you must partner with at least one organisation from an eligible country on the other continent: So, if your youth organisation is based in one of the eligible African countries, you need a partner from a European Union member state. If your organisation is in the European Union, you need a partner from the participating 12 African countries. A consortium must include at least two organisations and maximum five. It doesn’t matter how many organisations come from Europe and how many from Africa, as long as the two continents are represented. Unfortunately, organisations that are registered in countries other than the 27 EU Member States and the 12 African counties listed above are not eligible to apply for this grant, even as part of a bigger consortium.
I don’t know any organisation on the other continent, what can I do?
Don’t worry, many organisations are in the same situation! This is why we created this form for you to fill out and get access to a database of potential partner organisations interested in this grant.
I can’t attend any of the information sessions, but I still want to apply for a Cooperation Grant. Is that possible?
Yes, of course! The information sessions are organized to help you with your application but are not mandatory.
Can I apply to less than 50,000 EUR?
No, all Cooperation Grants are 50,000 EUR per consortium. It is up to you to decide how to split the money between the consortium partners. Please bear in mind that the lead partner may want to receive a slightly higher amount than the collaborators as they will be our main contact person and responsible for submitting reports, which requires additional resources. But this, of course, depends on your consortium’s plans and division of roles.
How do we decide which organisation is the lead partner?
The lead organisation needs to have experience working on at least one collaborative project. For the rest, it’s up to you to decide who will lead. However, keep in mind that the lead organisation will have more responsibilities and slightly more work. Therefore, make sure the lead applicant has capacity to lead on this!
How do I choose the topic that my consortium will cooperate on?
You are free to choose any topic you want to work on as long as it aligns with the four focus areas of Cooperation Grants, namely:
- Policy and advocacy: your project needs to focus on advocacy and policy influence and be aligned with one or more Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- Cross-continental collaboration: your project needs to promote collaboration between African and European youth and address shared challenges. You will need to demonstrate a clear common goal and explain how this cooperation is beneficial for both.
- Marginalised youth: make sure your project has a strong emphasis on benefitting marginalized groups while reflecting on how your organisation is suited to work with these groups.
- Sustainability: you will have to explain the continuity of your project after the end of the grant period. In other words, how you foresee your activities to continue or for the results of your activities to create change after the project period ends.
Please read the [funding manual – available soon] for more information.
How long will my project last?
Your project will be funded for 12 months maximum, from May 2025 to April 2026.
What is the latest time l can submit my application?
All application are due on the stated date 16 March 2025 by midnight CET. Applications received later than the stated date and time will not be considered.
When will l be contacted regarding the outcome of my application?
It is expected that the assessment process of applications will take about six weeks. Therefore, you can expect to hear from us during May 2025. An announcement will also be made on the Power2Voices platform for you to check your emails.
Need more information on Grants?
How can I request additional clarifications about the AU-EU Youth Action Lab?
For additional clarifications, you can contact us at action.lab@aueuyouth.com. Before reaching out, we kindly ask that you review the funding manuals and FAQ, as our team has limited capacity to handle inquiries. To further support applicants, webinars will be organised for each grant to address common questions and provide detailed guidance.
