Opportunity Information: Apply for AFADD 21 02
The Accelerating Social Entrepreneurship in Ethiopia (ASE) 2021 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is a discretionary grant program from the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Mission to Ethiopia, designed to strengthen and expand the social entrepreneurship ecosystem in Ethiopia. The opportunity focuses on supporting practical, realistic, and measurable projects that can clearly show how they will help social entrepreneurs start, refine, and scale businesses that deliver positive social impact. In plain terms, the Embassy is looking for implementers that can run high-quality entrepreneurship programming, reach entrepreneurs who have not had strong access to training or networks, and produce results that can be tracked and evaluated.
Projects are expected to include as many of the program elements listed in the NOFO as possible. A core priority is developing a targeted accelerator program that reaches previously underserved populations, especially in places where little or no entrepreneurship training is available. The accelerator content should build critical skills needed to grow social enterprises, such as improving business models, validating ideas, strengthening operations, understanding customers, planning for scale, and positioning a social business to attract partners or investment. In addition to training, the NOFO encourages applicants to conduct a competition to identify the most impactful business ideas and then support them in an equitable way, including the option of providing seed funding grants if needed to help promising ventures move from idea to implementation or to reach the next stage of growth. The program also emphasizes ecosystem-building, including establishing a network of social entrepreneurs that can function as a platform for sharing resources, skills, and opportunities, rather than treating each cohort as a one-time activity. Sustainable mentorship is another key element, meaning proposals should go beyond one-off guest speakers and instead outline how mentors will be recruited, matched, supported, and retained in a way that lasts beyond a single event. Finally, the Embassy signals a strong preference for proposals that include impact analysis and/or solid monitoring and evaluation, with clear indicators that show whether the program is actually improving entrepreneurs skills, business performance, and social outcomes.
There are important location and implementation requirements. All proposed activities must take place in the priority regions and within U.S. Embassy public engagement venues known as American Spaces Ethiopia (ASE). This means applicants need to plan their trainings, competitions, networking events, mentorship sessions, and related programming around those designated venues and the geographic priorities described by the Embassy. Because the program is meant to be delivered in partnership with Embassy-supported spaces, applicants should be prepared to coordinate logistics and scheduling to ensure activities align with those venues capacity and operating conditions.
The NOFO also makes it clear that applicants must have the organizational capacity to manage U.S. government grant funding responsibly. That includes financial controls, documentation, and compliance capability, along with the practical ability to design and deliver trainings and events and to effectively recruit and engage entrepreneurs. The Embassy is not just funding ideas; it is funding implementers who can run a structured program, handle funds appropriately, and demonstrate credible experience working with entrepreneurs, especially in environments where access to support has been limited.
Equity and inclusion are explicit expectations. All programming must be non-discriminatory, and proposals should include concrete strategies to ensure participation and integration regardless of religion, gender, disability, race, or ethnicity. In practice, that means applicants should think through outreach and selection processes, accessibility of venues and materials, accommodations for participants with disabilities, gender-inclusive participation targets, and steps to ensure fair access to competitions, mentorship, and any seed funding components.
Because the NOFO was released in the COVID-19 era, every proposal must include a contingency plan in case health restrictions continue or return. This is more than a brief statement; it implies applicants should show how the program could pivot to hybrid or fully remote delivery if necessary, how they would protect participant safety during in-person sessions, and how they would keep mentorship, networking, and training outcomes on track despite changing conditions.
In terms of basic funding details, the opportunity number is AFADD 21 02 under CFDA 19.040. The program was posted July 26, 2021, with an original application closing date of August 26, 2021. The award ceiling is $40,000, and the Embassy anticipated making two awards. Eligible applicants are listed broadly as "Others" with further clarification referenced in the eligibility section of the full announcement, suggesting the program is open to a range of organizational types as long as they can demonstrate strong capacity and compliance readiness.Apply for AFADD 21 02
- The Department of State, U.S. Mission to Ethiopia in the other (see text field entitled explanation of other category of funding activity for clarification) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Accelerating Social Entrepreneurship in Ethiopia (ASE) 2021 NOFO" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.040.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jul 26, 2021.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 26, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $40,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 2 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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