EUR 31,500 Youth Entrepreneurship Grant

Organization: AU-EU Youth Action Lab

Type: Grant

Location: Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia (Somaliland region), Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Deadline: September 23, 2026

Funding: Fully Funded

The AU-EU Youth Action Lab is a European Union funded programme run by Oxfam, the European Youth Forum and Restless Development Uganda. Its Entrepreneurship Grants give youth-led non-profits EUR 31,500 to spend over twelve months, and this third and final round wants one thing: advocacy that changes the conditions young entrepreneurs actually work under. Eleven grants are available to organisations registered in twelve African countries. **What you get:** - EUR 31,500 for a twelve month project, the same fixed amount for every grantee, paid in two instalments - Mentorship and capacity development shaped around your organisation's needs, with at least 5 percent of the budget reserved for it - A named Oxfam grants and MEAL coordinator as your point of contact for the life of the project - A place in a cross continental grantee network on the Power2Voices platform, with monthly learning exchanges - Flights, accommodation and per diems for two representatives at the in person Link and Learn event, budgeted inside the grant **What you'll do:** - Design and run advocacy that tackles a specific barrier facing young entrepreneurs in your local, national or regional context - Push for policy and regulatory reform, and for young entrepreneurs to be heard in economic planning and public decision making - Bring marginalised young entrepreneurs into the work as leaders and decision makers, not only as participants - Build coalitions with government institutions, financial institutions, private sector actors and other youth-led organisations - Share results and evidence with youth actors beyond your own context, and join monthly online progress calls **Key dates:** - Applications close 23 September 2026 at 13:00 Central African Time - Review by Oxfam and the Youth Advisory Board, plus due diligence, runs 24 September to 20 November 2026 - Results announced and grant agreements signed in December 2026, with all applicants notified by January 2027 at the latest - Projects run January 2027 to December 2027 - In person Link and Learn event around June 2027, in one of the twelve focus countries **More information:** - The full Funding Manual is published on the programme page in English, Portuguese and French - Applications go through the ON Grip system, which requires creating an account and setting a password before you can start - A compulsory budget template and workplan template must be used; applications in another format are not considered - Questions on this grant go to entrepreneurship@aueuyouth.com, and general queries to action.lab@aueuyouth.com - Unsuccessful applicants are notified and may request short feedback on their application

AU-EU Youth Action LabGrant

EUR 31,500 Youth Entrepreneurship Grant

This one has closed

Archived

Opportunity type

Grant

Funding

Fully Funded

Location

Global

Deadline

Archived

About this opportunity

What you get:

EUR 31,500 for a twelve month project, the same fixed amount for every grantee, paid in two instalments
Mentorship and capacity development shaped around your organisation's needs, with at least 5 percent of the budget reserved for it
A named Oxfam grants and MEAL coordinator as your point of contact for the life of the project
A place in a cross continental grantee network on the Power2Voices platform, with monthly learning exchanges
Flights, accommodation and per diems for two representatives at the in person Link and Learn event, budgeted inside the grant

What you'll do:

Design and run advocacy that tackles a specific barrier facing young entrepreneurs in your local, national or regional context
Push for policy and regulatory reform, and for young entrepreneurs to be heard in economic planning and public decision making
Bring marginalised young entrepreneurs into the work as leaders and decision makers, not only as participants
Build coalitions with government institutions, financial institutions, private sector actors and other youth-led organisations
Share results and evidence with youth actors beyond your own context, and join monthly online progress calls

Key dates:

Applications close 23 September 2026 at 13:00 Central African Time
Review by Oxfam and the Youth Advisory Board, plus due diligence, runs 24 September to 20 November 2026
Results announced and grant agreements signed in December 2026, with all applicants notified by January 2027 at the latest
Projects run January 2027 to December 2027
In person Link and Learn event around June 2027, in one of the twelve focus countries

More information:

The full Funding Manual is published on the programme page in English, Portuguese and French
Applications go through the ON Grip system, which requires creating an account and setting a password before you can start
A compulsory budget template and workplan template must be used; applications in another format are not considered
Questions on this grant go to entrepreneurship@aueuyouth.com, and general queries to action.lab@aueuyouth.com
Unsuccessful applicants are notified and may request short feedback on their application

Who can apply

Your organisation must be a non-profit operating as a Trust, Community Based Organisation, NGO, Civil Society Organisation or Cooperative with a clear social or environmental mission
Youth-led governance: 100 percent of those with primary decision-making power are aged 18 to 35, and more than 80 percent of those designing and delivering activities are aged 18 to 35
Youth-led project: 100 percent of the staff working on the project must be aged 18 to 35
Formally registered in your country, with an organisation bank account, a clear governance structure, and at least twelve months of operating history
Located and registered in one of the twelve African focus countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia (Somaliland region), Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe
Your proposed activities must take place in one or more of those twelve countries
One application per organisation per call. If multiple are submitted only the first is considered, and an organisation that already won a Youth Action Lab grant cannot apply again
Applications are accepted in English, French or Portuguese

AI Verification

✓ AI Verified

Our AI read the official sources and cross-checked the key facts. Here is what held up, and what it could not confirm.

This opportunity is run by an established organization, and we confirmed its key details against the official source. As always, never share sensitive personal or financial information until you are sure a request is genuine.

LOT Verification ScoreStrong

Cross-checked 18 of 18 key facts

Confirmed Our best read Not stated

Good to know

+EUR 31,500, and it is a fixed sum rather than a ceiling: grants cannot be awarded above or below it.
+Eleven grants are available, and applications are grouped by country when shortlisting, so you compete within your own country.
+Proposals are scored by a Youth Advisory Board of young people who hold the final decision.
+Free to apply, funded by the European Union and run by Oxfam, the European Youth Forum and Restless Development Uganda.
+The closing time and the full selection timeline through to December 2027 are published up front, so you know when you will hear.
+A sixteen page funding manual is published in English, Portuguese and French.

Worth checking yourself

!This funds advocacy and systems change, not businesses. Seed capital, loans, revolving funds and start up costs are all explicitly ineligible.
!It closes at 13:00 Central African Time on 23 September, mid afternoon rather than end of day, and you must create an account and set a password before you can start.
!Eligibility is a hard list of twelve African countries. Despite the AU-EU name, no European country qualifies for this particular grant.
!For Somalia, eligibility covers the Somaliland region only.
!Not all of the EUR 31,500 reaches your project. At least five percent must go to capacity development, and you must budget flights, accommodation and per diems for two people to attend a shared learning event.

Sources checked

AUaueuyouth.comApplyAUaueuyouth.comApplyAUaueuyouth.comApplyAUaueuyouth.comApplyAUaueuyouth.comApplyAUaueuyouth.comApplyAUaueuyouth.comApplyAUaueuyouth.comApplyONon-grip.tfaforms.netOfficial

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