Type of project: Melania is an organisation of volunteers dedicated to helping enterprising women in Asia, Africa and Latin America to improve their situation and increase their independence. It does this through start-up grants to women’s group to whom credit from within their own countries would be otherwise unavailable. Most of Melania’s projects are a combination of an income-generating activity and a training (vocational, business, resilience training). Melania’s work is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations in 2016, in particular goals 1, 5 and 8. An application should clearly describe: the situation of the area/country and the aim of the project, target group, their participation in initiating, executing and sustaining the project, proposed activities, available resources and local contribution, nature, duration, and budget of the project.
Location: Asia, Africa and Latin America
Eligibility: Groups that, preferably, are officially registered and can manage the financial resources for the project themselves. In Africa, the applicants are mainly existing, registered women’s groups. In Asia, project applications have always been submitted by a local NGO on behalf of a women’s group. In Latin America, these are almost always existing women’s groups. The applications are sometimes submitted by the group itself, sometimes by a local NGO or intermediary person.
Grant size: Up to €5,000. In 2023, €154,714 in new projects was financed, averaging €2,763 per project.
Apply: https://melania.nl/english-summary/