The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie has launched the 5th edition of its "La Francophonie avec Elles" Fund to promote the economic and social autonomy of women through concrete initiatives on the ground, thereby contributing to sustainable development.

The "La Francophonie avec Elles" fund is a solidarity initiative aimed at strengthening the economic and social autonomy of women in vulnerable situations with a view to development.

The first four editions of the "La Francophonie avec Elles" Fund have confirmed, through their concrete results, the relevance and usefulness of this mechanism. By supporting 254 projects, the Fund has had a significant impact on the lives of almost 57,000 girls and women in more than 34 countries in the French-speaking world. French. Initially created to support women during the Covid-19 health crisis, the 124th session of the Permanent Council of La Francophonie refocused the Fund's mandate on the economic and social empowerment of women in vulnerable situations.

The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) is thus pursuing its commitment to the socio-economic emancipation of girls and women, with the aim of achieving gender equality, eradicating poverty and promoting inclusive growth.

Objectives

• The "La Francophonie avec Elles" fund aims to strengthen the economic and social autonomy of women in vulnerable situations, with a view to sustainable development.
• The Fund's specific objectives are as follows
  • Improving the participation and inclusion of women in economic and social life ;
  • Improving women's access to vocational training ;
  • Support women to develop income-generating activities and facilitate their access to economic opportunities.
• For this 5th edition of the "La Francophonie avec Elles" Fund, particular attention will be paid to projects targeting women's employability and entrepreneurship.
• In addition, project proposals from small island countries are strongly encouraged.
• The "La Francophonie avec Elles" Fund supports grassroots initiatives run by locally-based French-speaking civil society organisations (associations, cooperatives, NGOs, etc.).

Priority themes

• Priority themes are defined by region in order to take into account the issues facing women and the contexts in which they operate. These themes are guidelines for civil society organisations and not eligibility criteria.
  • West Africa : formalising income-generating activities ;
  • Central Africa: access to economic opportunities in agriculture, forestry, livestock farming, fishing, and the development and processing of non-timber forest products (NTFPs), particularly for displaced women;
  • North Africa and Middle East : increase the participation of women, including migrant and refugee women, in the labour market through vocational training;
  • Asia-Pacific : access to vocational training geared towards integration into the world of work, and entrepreneurship ;
  • Caribbean : strengthening the entrepreneurial capacities of women and girls in sustainable agriculture, forestry, livestock farming and fruit and vegetable processing;
  • Central and Eastern Europe : access to vocational training with a view to creating income-generating activities (IGAs) or sustainable integration into employment;
  • Indian Ocean and Djibouti : access to economic opportunities in sustainable agriculture, the blue economy, local crafts and services.

Information on funding

• The projects selected will receive a grant which will be paid in two instalments. The first instalment, representing 80 % of the total amount of the grant, will be awarded as soon as the grant agreement protocol has been signed. The second instalment, representing the remaining 20 %, will be awarded on presentation of supporting documents verified and accepted by IOF (technical implementation report, financial report, invoices, etc.) once the project has been implemented. Failure to capitalise on IFM support may result in the reduction or even reimbursement of the grant.
• Grant applications must comply with a number of rules:
  • The grant requested must not exceed the applicant organisation's annual financial capacity, i.e. the budget managed by the organisation in 2023 ;
  • The grant requested must be expressed in euros and must be between a minimum of €15,000 and a maximum of €100,000;
  • La grant requested from the IOF must not represent more than 80% of the total cost of the project. The remaining 20 % must come from grant(s) and/or the organisation's own contributions (promotion of expertise, material/imaterial assets, volunteers, etc.).
  • Operating costs may not exceed 20 % of the total cost of the project. These costs include expenditure relating to the running of the organisation's head office (rent, electricity/water bills, internet connection charges, bank charges, etc.) as well as expenditure relating to staff (salaries of managers, project leaders, accountants, monitoring and evaluation officers, etc.). However, all expenditure related to the implementation of the project (salaries of facilitators and trainers, training materials, micro-credits, kits, communication costs) are not considered as operating costs. etc.).
  • Le budget must devote between 5 % and 7 % of expenditure to visibility actions (creation of posters, writing of articles, dissemination on social networks, production of promotional videos, participation in media events, community gatherings, 8 March day, etc.) and provide between 15 % and 20 % of expenditure linked to the monitoring and evaluation of the initiative (compilation of results indicators, monitoring of training and professional integration of women, etc.).
• The Management Committee reserves the right to request adjustments to projects in line with the Fund's priorities, and to modify the amount of the grant awarded.

Eligible projects

To be eligible, the project must meet all the following conditions:

• Align with the Fund's general objective while targeting at least two of the three specific objectives defined and propose activities that meet the Fund's indicators set out in the questionnaire;
• Primarily and directly benefit women and young women (although men can benefit from awareness-raising initiatives designed to make them agents of change in favour of gender equality);
• Integrate gender issues into all stages of the project, from needs assessment to implementation of activities;
• Be implemented on the territory of one or more of the 54 full member states and governments of the OIF;
• Propose a new project for the structure. No grant will be awarded for a project that is in the process of being implemented;
• Have a total duration of 36 months, including 18 months of initial implementation, followed by ongoing support for 18 months after the end of the activities (which will make it possible to ensure that the women beneficiaries have continued their actions, that they are managed to find other funding, etc.);
• Start project activities once the grant agreement protocol has been signed;
• Apply for a grant in euros of between €15,000 and €100,000, representing a maximum of 80% of the total cost of the project (For example, if the overall project budget is €100,000, you cannot apply for a grant of more than €80,000 (€100,000 x 80%).
• Project activities must not be used for religious or political propaganda.
• Each organisation may submit a maximum of 2 applications.

The eligibility of the applicant organisation and the project will be examined by the IOF on the basis of an eligibility grid created on the basis of the above-mentioned criteria.

Target audience

The projects supported by the Fund mainly benefit women, particularly those living in poverty and vulnerability, at the intersection of several forms of discrimination (young women - aged 15-35), elderly women, migrant and refugee women, single mothers, women living with HIV, disabled women, women from sexual minorities, etc.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible, the applicant organisation must meet the following conditions:

• Be a civil society organisation (CSO): CSOs include non-governmental organisations, foundations, humanitarian associations, economic interest groups, cooperatives, private research institutes and partners. Individuals, public universities, companies and local authorities are not considered CSOs;
• Have been registered and officially recognised by the authorities of one of the 54 full member states and governments of the OIF for more than two years;
• Demonstrate functional, transparent and democratic governance (regular meetings, general assemblies and events or activities related to its corporate purpose; existence of a board of directors, possibility of acquiring new members; production of regular reports on its activities and finances);
• Have annual financial capacity equal to or greater than the amount of the grant requested (for example, a civil society organisation with an annual budget of €50,000 cannot apply for a grant of more than €50,000).

Selection criteria

Eligible applications will be judged on the basis of the following criteria:

• The support organisation is locally based and of modest size and resources;
• The lead organisation has expertise, experience and added value in terms of the Fund's objectives;
• The lead organisation relies on partner civil society organisations and the involvement of local public authorities to implement its project;
• The project responds to one or more needs identified jointly with the beneficiaries. It is relevant and adapted to the local context;
• The project mainly targets women, young women and girls (aged 15-35) in situations of poverty and vulnerability;
• The project is being implemented with respect for multilingualism. The use of French is encouraged as well as that of local languages for the proper implementation of the project;
• The project's activities take into account the negative externalities that could hinder the participation of women beneficiaries (childcare, transport costs, etc.);
• The project takes account of the fight against climate change across the board;
• The project proposes clear short- and medium-term objectives as well as quantitative and measurable results and impact indicators;
• The project describes a sustainability strategy to ensure that the actions and results are sustainable following the financial support from the IOF;
• The project is innovative (for example, targeting a sector of activity where women are less present, such as sport or science);
• The project clearly describes the communication actions that will be deployed with beneficiaries, partners and the general public to promote IFM's support.

Eligible projects will be rated by the Fund's operational team.

For more information, visit the the OIF.