Type of project: Income-generating, self-employment projects to small, grassroots women’s groups that do not have access to other adequate funding. Our grants are for micro-enterprise, self-employment projects. We help with seed money and training so that a group can begin a revolving loan fund for members to take loans to begin their own small businesses. It is important to us that the women work together in self-help groups and use the RSWR resources to help themselves grow into independent and strong groups.
Location: Sierra Leone.
Eligibility: In Sierra Leone, all groups must be self-directed by the women beneficiaries themselves. The leadership and management must come from within the group. The group cannot be formed or managed by outside coordinators. Additionally, the group must be registered with the local authorities and have a bank account, and the signers on the bank account must be three women who are members of the group. Groups should be less than 20 years old and have an annual budget of less
than $4,000.
Grant size: Up to US $5,500
Deadline: We accept proposals from the Western and Northern Provinces of Sierra Leone from January 1 to June 30 and from the Eastern and Southern Provinces from July 1 to December 31. We strongly recommend that proposals be received by us at least a month in advance of these deadlines.