Application Deadline: 23rd of September 2026 at 13.00 PM Central African Time.
Applications are now open for the 2026 AU-EU Youth Action Lab Entrepreneurship Grant. The Entrepreneurship Grants aim to provide support to youth actors that work on strengthening the economic opportunities for young people! The Entrepreneurship Grants provide grants opportunities for 31,500 EURO to which individual youth-led organisations can apply.
The 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:
- Access to skills development opportunities that are according to the needs of young people and local economic realities and support the start-up of new youth-led enterprises.
- The responsible growth of youth-led (social) enterprises that consider social and environmental boundaries.
- Advocating for an enabling environment for young entrepreneurs to start and grow their business.
Eligibility 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) or Cooperative with a clear social/environmental mission. The social enterprise activity exists to sustain and advance that mission, not as a side business.
- 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 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, a clear governance structure and has been operating for at least 12 months.
- 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.
How to Apply
- Carefully read the Funding Manuals: English, Portuguese, French.
- Make sure you meet the eligibility criteria;
- Develop your proposal as individual organisation or in collaboration with other youth organisations;
- Submit your application by the 23rd of September 2026 at 13.00 PM Central African Time.
For questions on this grant, please refer to the FAQ below, if your query is not found below, please email: [email protected]
For More Information:
Visit the Official Webpage of the AU-EU Youth Action Lab Entrepreneurship Grant
