FAQ

Applicants are invited to first refer to the Funding Manuals for each grant type and carefully read the Call for Proposal Text and any related documents published on the Youth Lab website. Questions, likely to be relevant to all applicants, can be found in this regularly updated document, classified by themes.

Need help on how to submit your application? View our guide here.

General FAQs – AU-EU Youth Action Lab – GRANTS

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).

The Youth Action Lab will launch a total of 3 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!

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.

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. From the start, they have steered and shaped the program together with the consortium partners (Oxfam, Restless Development, European Youth Forum).

We define youth-led organisations where young people (aged 18-35) represent the organisation’s governance and have primary decision-making power over the organisation’s direction and programmes (100% is aged 18-35) and are directly involved in designing and carrying out activities (>80% is aged 18-35). If you apply for funding, we expect that your project is youth-led as well: all staff (100%) working on implementing the project should be young people (aged 18-35). We only fund youth-led organisations to address the lack of opportunities for youth in Africa and Europe to collaborate, cooperate, develop, implement and scale up their own initiatives.

APPLICATION PROCESS

No, to apply for a grant your organisation should be formally registered in one of the 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, OR if you are applying for a cooperation grant they can be registered in the European Union as well.

On the ON Grip platform only. Click here for instructions on how to use ON Grip.

No, unfortunately you cannot revise or modify your application once it has been submitted to the online platform.

No, you can only submit your application in one language. You can choose one of the following languages for the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Grants: English, French and Portuguese.

We will organise two online sessions before closing 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 Youth lab website.

No, please apply to only one grant type  with one project. Please also only register for one grant type on ON Grip.

For the Entrepreneurship and Innovation grants you can only apply with one organisation for one grant.

No, we will not accept applications once the deadline has passed and this is the final Call for Proposals of the Youth Action Lab. Keep an eye on the Youth Lab website to stay updated!

No, this is the final Call for Proposals for this programme.

No, there is no matching fund nor co-funding obligations.

What are the evaluation criteria of my application?

As these are powershifting grants 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.
  • 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
  • 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 organizational 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.

We expect to notify you no later than January 2027. Make sure to check the relevant grant type on the website to stay updated.  An announcement will also be made on the Power2Voices platform for you to check your emails.

Yes, Upon request.

PAYMENT OF THE GRANT

No, it is not needed to have a specific bank account.  All payments should be made from and to your organisation bank account.

The grant will be transferred in EUR.

The grant will be provided in separate payments (usually in two instalments). The first instalment (70% of your total approved grant) will be transferred after signing the grant agreement including all annexures. The second instalment (30% 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

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.

  • 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 manual for specificity.

  • 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

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, a webinar will be organised for each grant to address common questions and provide detailed guidance.

FAQs for Entrepreneurship Grants

All Youth Action Lab grant types are created by youth and for youth. This funding addresses the lack of opportunities for young people in Africa and Europe to collaborate, develop, implement and scale up their own initiatives. It is designed to support young people and their ideas, create connections, and support in capacity building. 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.

During the third and final Call for Proposal in 2026, the focus will be on Advocating for an enabling environment for young entrepreneurs to start and grow their business.We ask interested youth led organisations to submit their ideas to advance meaningful strategies for an enabling environment for young entrepreneurs!

This grant will also allow you to meet grantees from the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Grant type at the Annual Link & Learn event and through the Power2Voices online platform! 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 for more information.

To apply for Entrepreneurship Grants, your organisation must meet the following requirements:

  1. Your organisation must be a non-profit, operating as a Trust, Community Based Organisation (CBO), or as a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO)/Civil Society Organisation(CSO).
  2. Your organisation must be youth-led: young people (aged 18-35) represent the organisation’s governance and have primary decision-making power over the organisation’s direction and programmes (100% is aged 18-35) and are directly involved in designing and carrying out activities (>80% is aged 18-35)
  3. Your project must be youth-led: all staff (100%) working on implementing the project should be young people (aged 18-35)
  4. Your organisation is formally registered in your country, has an organisation bank account, a clear governance structure and has been operating for at least 12 months.
  5. 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.
  6. Your proposed activities take place in one or more of the above 12 countries.

Yes, the focus of the second Call for Proposals is on the responsible growth of youth-led social enterprises that combines its social or environmental mission with income-generating activities. If your idea is to scale ideas related to this, you are welcome to apply!

Yes, of course! The information sessions are organized to help you with your application but are not mandatory.

No, all grants are 31 500 euro and cannot go below or above that.

We will award a total of 11 Entrepreneurship grants during the third and final Call for Proposals.

Your project will be funded for a duration of 12 months, from January 2027 to December 2027.

All applications for the entrepreneurship grants are due on 23 September 2026 by 13.00 PM Central African Time. Applications received later than the stated date and time will not be considered.

It is expected that the assessment process of applications will take around three months, therefore expect to hear from us in January 2027 latest. An announcement will also be made on the Power to Voices platform for you to check your emails.

If you have any questions or need further clarification, please contact us using the email address below. We will do our best to respond as soon as possible. However, due to the high number of enquiries and limited capacity, we are unable to guarantee response times.

Requests for additional clarifications can be sent to the following email: action.lab@aueuyouth.com.

FAQs for Innovation Grants

All Youth Action Lab grant types are created by youth and for youth. This funding addresses the lack of opportunities for young people  in Africa and Europe to collaborate, 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 young people 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 other grant type at the Annual Link & Learn events and through the Power2Voices online platform.

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.

To apply for Innovation Grants, your organisation must meet the following requirements:

  • Your organisation must be a non-profit, operating as a Trust, Community Based Organisation (CBO) or as a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO)/Civil Society Organisation (CSO) with a clear social mission.
  • Your organisation must be youth-led: young people (aged 18-35) represent the organisation’s governance and have primary decision-making power over the organisation’s direction and programmes (100% is aged 18-35) and are directly involved in designing and carrying out activities (>80% is aged 18-35)
  • Your project must be youth-led: all staff (100%) working on implementing the project should be young people (aged 18-35)
  • Your organisation is formally registered in your country, has 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 activities take place in one or more of the above 12 countries.

That’s a great question! Simple answer is NO- we do not see innovation as being about a technological design. We define innovation as designing, testing, adapting, scaling or improving a new or existing activity, approach, campaign, or collaboration that creates positive and lasting change for young people and their communities. For example, your innovation could be adapting and piloting an innovative campaign to shift narratives around climate action.

With a global challenge we mean an issue that is faced by young people and their communities around the world. For example, the impact of climate change, or the limited representation of young people in decision-making processes. While in each context and for everyone the impacts of a particular challenge can be different, they often are linked to the same root-causes. We are looking for innovative ideas to tackle intersectional and global challenges.

This means recognising that young people’s experiences are shaped by multiple and overlapping factors, such as gender, disability, geographic location, socioeconomic status, migration status, ethnicity, or other forms of identity and lived experience. As such, the Innovation Grants will focus on youth activities that have an intersectional approach. For example, an activity that addresses the impacts of climate change on access to education of young people. It can also be an activity that brings together young people from various diverse backgrounds and lived experiences. We aim to fund activities that do not fully ‘fit’ into one thematic area and can experience additional barriers to apply for funding.

Yes, of course! The information sessions are organised to help you with your application but are not mandatory.

No, you cannot apply for grants below 42,000 EUR as grants are being offered for the full 42,000EURO. You also cannot go above 42,000 EUR as that is the maximum amount.

Your project will be funded for a duration of 12 months, from January 2027 to December 2027

All applications for the innovation grants are due on 23rd of September 2026 by 13.00 PM Central African Time.

Applications received later than the stated date and time will not be considered.

We will award a total of 13 Innovation grants during the third Call for Proposals.

It is expected that the assessment process of applications will take around three months, therefore expect to hear from us by January 2027. An announcement will also be made on the Power to Voices platform for you to check your emails.

If you have any questions or need further clarification, please contact us using the email address below. We will do our best to respond as soon as possible. However, due to the high number of enquiries and limited capacity, we are unable to guarantee response times.

Requests for additional clarifications can be sent to the following email: action.lab@aueuyouth.com

AU-EU Youth Voices Lab – Power of the Collective

The AU-EU Youth Voices Lab – Power of the Collective is a four-year initiative co-funded by the European Union, designed to foster a more inclusive and youth-responsive society across Africa and Europe. As part of the AU-EU Youth Lab programme, this initiative envisions a future where enhanced youth engagement, empowerment, and connection actively shape policies, partnerships, and decision-making processes. It is implemented by a consortium of five organisations with expertise in youth-led and youth-informed work: Oxfam, Restless Development, Search for Common Ground, Youthmakers Hub, and ComDev Africa. Together, these partners are united in their commitment to driving meaningful change for young people across both continents.

The AU-EU Youth Voices Lab – Power of the Collective aims to:

  1. Engage young people in accessing information, action planning, and accountability through youth-led initiatives.
  2. Empower youth to participate actively in civil society through collective self-care and agency.
  3. Connect young individuals among themselves and with decision-makers by enabling intergenerational dialogues and cross-continental partnerships.
  4. Assist policymakers in collaborating on youth-responsive policymaking and improve their accountability towards young people.
  5. Support the development or improvement of youth-responsive policies.

The AU-EU Youth Voices Lab – Power of the Collective targets:

  1. Young people aged 15 to 35 from all 54 African countries, including those in hard-to-reach areas and those not in education, employment, or training.
  2. Youth civil society groups from Africa and Europe, as well as organisations led by the African Diaspora in Europe.
  3. Decision-makers, institutions, and policymakers, including, among others, the African Union, the European Union, national governments, civil society organisations, and corporate actors.

Here’s how you can engage with the AU-EU Youth Voices Lab – Power of the Collective:

  1. Enter the online community by following us on Social Media.
  2. Subscribe to our Newsletter to receive exclusive updates and opportunities.
  3. Participate in digital and in-person training sessions and workshops (we announce them in the website section Events).
  4. Attend our intergenerational dialogues and other events.
  5. Apply for funding opportunities through the Youth Voices Third-Party-Funding Mechanism (for eligibility criteria, see question n.5).
  6. Utilize the upcoming AU-EU Youth Voices Lab App for free access to learning resources, providing feedback about the mobile app, and networking opportunities.

The Youth Voices Third-Party-Funding Mechanism provides microgrants ranging from €1,000 to €10,000 to youth-led groups from Intervention Countries and the youth diaspora (various criteria apply; read the Funding Manuals once published for more details). It aims to support youth-led advocacy initiatives to strengthen local and continental advocacy through research, training, and accountability mechanisms. Throughout the four years of the AU-EU Youth Voices Lab – Power of the Collective, there will be three rounds of applications for the Youth Voices Third-Party-Funding Mechanism grant.

The upcoming AU-EU Youth Voices Lab App is designed as the virtual mirror of the collective. It will engage 10,000 young people who will contribute to building the app by participating in consultations and sharing their needs, priorities, and solutions. The app will offer free access to information, training courses, collaborative workshops, networking opportunities, and resources optimized for low data usage and available in multiple languages. The AU-EU Youth Voices Lab App will launch in early 2025.

The Intervention Countries in Africa are:

  1. Burkina Faso
  2. Burundi
  3. Cameroon
  4. Ghana
  5. Kenya
  6. Nigeria
  7. Senegal
  8. Sierra Leone
  9. South Sudan
  10. Tanzania
  11. Tunisia
  12. Uganda
  13. Zambia
  14. Zimbabwe

The Intervention Country in Europe is:

  1. Belgium

The AU-EU Youth Voices Lab – Power of the Collective operates continent-wide, engaging youth and decision-makers from all 54 African countries. However, it targets 14 intervention countries in Africa and 1 in Europe (see question n. 7), which are prioritized for key interventions, including in-person training activities and eligibility to receive grants through the Youth Voices Third-Party-Funding Mechanism.

The intervention countries were selected based on the following criteria:

  1. Subregional Representation: ensure fair inclusion of countries from all five regions of Africa and at least one country from Europe.
  2. Youth Policy Success: select countries with different levels of success in developing and implementing youth policies to encourage peer learning and the exchange of best practices.
  3. Youth Organizing Potential: prioritize countries with active youth-led groups that are ready to engage in advocacy at both continental and cross-continental levels.
  4. Consortium Presence: choose countries where Consortium members are already active to build on existing initiatives and address specific contextual challenges.
  5. Youth Advocacy Challenges: target countries where youth face difficulties voicing their demands on subregional or regional platforms.
  6. Development and Stability: include a diverse mix of countries, ranging from developing and thriving countries to those in fragile or post-conflict contexts.
  7. African Union Integration: Balancing the selection of countries that are fully integrated into AU institutions with those currently excluded.
  8. Government Support for Youth: include countries with strong policies supporting youth, as well as those facing political or economic challenges in addressing youth’s needs.

The AU-EU Youth Voices Lab – Power of the Collective plans to train 24,000 young people on advocacy-related skills, including policy advocacy, leadership development, and community engagement. These trainings aim to empower youth to advocate for their concerns and priorities effectively within the AU-EU partnership. The trainings are held both online and in person. For updated information, consult our website at the Events section.

The AU-EU Youth Voices Lab – Power of the Collective hosts various events, including Youth Power Hackathons, training sessions, and intergenerational dialogues. These events aim to engage, empower, and connect young people across Africa and Europe. Upcoming events are regularly updated on the AU-EU Youth Voices Lab – Power of the Collective website in the section Events. Dissemination material from events, training, and any other updates are regularly shared in the website section News.

No, the AU-EU Youth Voices Lab – Power of the Collective does not have its own offices, as it is implemented by a Consortium of partner organisations (see question n.1). However, the respective organisations are physically present in most African countries. At the same time, associates and representatives of the programme, such as the Youth Advisory Board Members, are located in the Intervention Countries.

The Youth Advisory Board is a group of young people from the Intervention Countries whose role is to assess the programme’s impact on local communities and advise the Consortium on the next steps. Our goal is to give power to young people from marginalized and vulnerable communities who often experience barriers to accessing power and resources. The selected members of the Youth Advisory Board will keep their positions until the end of the programme in February 2028.

The main actions for young people include:

  1. Training sessions, hackathons, and capacity-building activities.
  2. The AU-EU Youth Voices Lab App.
  3. The Youth Voices Third Party Funding Mechanism.
  4. Youth consultations on the challenges of advocacy.
  5. Support for youth representatives in joining intergenerational and cross-continental decision-making spaces.

The main actions for institutions include:

  1. Involvement in intergenerational dialogues with youth representatives.
  2. Youth audits to assess the involvement of young people in decision-making.
  3. Policy recommendation on the involvement of young people.

To contact the AU-EU Youth Voices Lab – Power of the Collective, you can send an email to info@aueuyouthvoiceslab.eu or reach out on our social media, available the following links:

  1. LinkedIn
  2. X
  3. Instagram
  4. Facebook
  5. TikTok
  6. YouTube

To stay informed about the latest updates, activities, and events related to the AU-EU Youth Voices Lab – Power of the Collective, you can:

  1. Subscribe to our Newsletter to receive updates directly in your inbox.
  2. Join the WhatsApp channel to be involved in the online community updates.

Visit our website in the News section for the latest announcements, event highlights, and more.

Newsletter

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Stay connected

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This website has been prepared with the financial assistance of the European Commission. The views expressed herein are those of the consultants and therefore in no way reflects the official opinion of the European Commission.

Newsletter

Sign up to know about the programme’s opportunities and events.

Stay connected

Follow us and get involved!

This website has been prepared with the financial assistance of the European Commission. The views expressed herein are those of the consultants and therefore in no way reflects the official opinion of the European Commission.

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