Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) 2025

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About Academy for Women Entrepreneurs

The U.S. Embassy in Cameroon is seeking proposals to implement the 2025 Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) in Cameroon! AWE is looking for innovative organizations to design an export-focused program that empowers women entrepreneurs across Cameroon.

The U.S. Embassy in Cameroon announces an open competition for organizations interested in submitting applications to implement the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) 2025 in Cameroon. AWE is a U.S. Department of State initiative that supports gender equity and equality by advancing economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs and providing them with the knowledge, networks, and access they need to launch and grow successful businesses.

The Public Diplomacy Section (PDS) of the U.S. Embassy in Yaoundé invites proposals to design and implement an export-focused AWE cohort to support the mission’s goals of strengthening economic ties between Cameroon and the United States of America and supporting women entrepreneurs. This specialized program will provide six months of training during the summer or fall of 2025 to 50 women business owners. Training will focus on improving product quality, export compliance, and U.S. market entry strategies. The program will leverage Thunderbird’s “100 Million Learners” platform, complemented by specialized workshops on U.S. FDA regulations, USDA requirements, packaging best practices, and export compliance procedures. The program will culminate in an “AWE Alumni Trade Show and Export Forum.” This targeted approach aims to create a pool of export-ready businesses run by women in Cameroon.

1.    Goals and Objectives

• Equip participants with knowledge and skills to improve the quality of their products and meet U.S. export standards.
• Expand participants' understanding of international trade regulations and compliance.
• To foster participants’ capacity to promote economic opportunities for women and increase the number of women-led businesses in high-potential sectors. Proposals should specifically address one of the following two themes:

Project Activities

Phase 1: Development and Recruitment

• Develop a training program and training materials.
• Identify, recruit and train facilitators and mentors from the U.S. Government alumni community, the U.S. Embassy, ​​USAID, the American-Cameroonian Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) and the African Women's Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP) network.
• Announce, conduct awareness-raising activities and recruit participants.
• Produce an export preparation standard operating procedure (SOP) for entrepreneurs wishing to export products to the United States. Proposals should provide a strategy for recruiting target participants and specify the Embassy’s involvement.

Phase 2: Formation of the Cohort

• Organize a 3-day Bootcamp on export preparation in parallel with the official launch ceremony in Yaoundé.
• Facilitate training for DreamBuilder or Thunderbird's 100 Million Learners online courses through weekly virtual or in-person sessions to discuss challenges, share best practices, and receive guidance from facilitators
• Organize activities that integrate localized content to complement DreamBuilder or Thunderbird's 100 Million Learners online courses.
• Establish a support network among participants to foster peer learning and collaboration. Proposals are encouraged to incorporate a variety of interactive activities, workshops, field trips, case studies and other learning experiences to help participants develop their export readiness skills.

Phase 3: Final Stages

• Organize a 2-day final gathering themed “AWE Alumni Trade Show and Export Forum” in Douala to showcase AWE participants’ and alumni’s businesses, connect them with potential investors and US buyers, and increase their access to financing and export opportunities.

The AWE Export Readiness Bootcamp will include a comprehensive training program designed to enable women entrepreneurs to expand their businesses internationally. Sessions will provide strategic insights and practical skills, focusing on global export market development. The program will cover key areas including:

• A diagnostic assessment of the current export potential of the participants' products.
• Strategic positioning in the US market, detailed advice on compliance and documentation requirements.
• In-depth financial management techniques and digital marketing strategies tailored to international business.
• Additionally, a targeted social media campaign will highlight the remarkable success stories of AWE participants, showcasing their entrepreneurial achievements and creating visibility for women-led businesses looking to penetrate global markets.

Proposals are encouraged to include ideas for follow-up activities after the implementation of the program. Please note that this grant will not cover the costs of these follow-up activities, which will be subject to additional funding resources.

Organizations interested in competing for AWE 2025 must submit their proposals to [email protected] by January 10, 2025 at 5:00 p.m.

Please follow all instructions below carefully.

• Sponsor Organisation: U.S. Department of State

Benefits of Academy for Women Entrepreneurs

• This program is free.

Academy for Women Entrepreneurs Requirements

1.    Eligible candidates

PDS encourages applications from the United States and Cameroon:

• Registered non-profit organisations, including think tanks, community associations and civil society organisations/non-governmental organisations with experience in project programming;
• Former participants in U.S. government exchange programs;
• Non-profit media organizations;
• Professional and commercial organizations;
• Non-profit or government educational institutions;
• Private educational institutions.

For-profit or commercial entities are not eligible.

2.    Co-financing or counterpart

Co-financing is NOT mandatory.

3.    Other eligibility requirements

All organizations must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) issued through SAM.gov and a valid registration on SAM.gov. Please see Section D.3 for more information. Individuals are not required to have a UEI or be registered on SAM.gov.

 

Organizations must commit to equal employment opportunity practices and non-discrimination against beneficiaries, regardless of race, religion, ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation or political affiliation.

Participants and Target Audiences

The AWE 2025 program will include 50 dynamic Cameroonian women entrepreneurs, including AWE alumni, who:

• Resident in Cameroon.
• Have social enterprises or businesses with demonstrable export potential in the US market.
• Have a proven business history of 2-5 years, indicating operational maturity and entrepreneurial resilience.
• Demonstrate advanced digital literacy, including computer literacy and reliable internet connectivity.
• Demonstrate a commitment to business growth and expansion into international markets.
• Have innovative business models with scalable export potential.

Substantial involvement

• The beneficiary will propose for the Embassy's opinion:

• Details of the content and design of the program
• The participant selection strategy
• List of speakers and former participants
  • The beneficiary may request assistance from the Embassy for:
• Share promotional content of the project on the social media platforms of the United States Embassy in Cameroon
• Invite the press
  • The Grant Officer must provide final approval on the following items prior to any grantee action:
• Keynote Speakers, Facilitators and Participants
• Promotional materials
• Date and place

Application Date and Process

Content and format of the application

[Please follow all instructions below carefully]Proposals that do not meet the requirements of this call or fail to comply with the stated conditions will be declared ineligible.

Content of the application

Make sure:

• That the proposal clearly addresses the objectives and goals of this funding opportunity
• That all documents are in English
• That all budgets are in US dollars
• That all pages are numbered
• That all documents are formatted to fit 8 ½ x 11 paper
• That all Microsoft Word documents are single-spaced, 12-point Calibri font, with margins of at least 1 inch

The following documents are [required].

1. Mandatory application forms

• SF-424 (Application for Federal Assistance – Organizations) or SF-424-I (Application for Federal Assistance – Individuals) at https://www.grants.gov/forms/forms-repository/sf-424-family 
• SF424A (Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs) at https://www.grants.gov/forms/forms-repository/sf-424-family 
• SF424B (Insurance for Non-Construction Programs) at https://www.grants.gov/forms/forms-repository/sf-424-family (Note: The SF-424B is only required for individuals, organizations exempt from registration, and organizations not required to fully register on SAM.gov )

2. Summary page (optional)

Cover page indicating the name and organization of the applicant, the date of the proposal, the title of the program, the proposed program period (start and end date), and a brief purpose of the program.

3. Proposal (15 pages maximum)

The proposal should contain enough information so that someone unfamiliar with the proposal can understand exactly what the applicant wants to do. You can use your own proposal format, but it must include all of the following:

• Proposal Summary : Short narrative introducing the proposed project, including project objectives and anticipated impact.
• Introduction of Applicant Organization or Individual : A description of past and current operations, demonstrating capacity to carry out the program, including information on all previous grants from the Department of State and/or U.S. Government agencies.
• Problem Statement : A clear, concise, and well-supported statement of the problem to be solved and why the proposed program is needed.
• Project Objectives: “Objectives” describe what the program is supposed to accomplish. “Outcomes” refer to intermediate achievements along the way to the objectives. These should be achievable and measurable.
• Project Activities: Describe the program activities and how they will contribute to achieving the objectives.
• Project Methods and Design : A description of how the program should work to address the identified problem and achieve the objective. Include a logic model if appropriate.
• Proposed Project Schedule and Timeline : The proposed schedule for program activities. Include dates, times, and locations of planned activities and events.
• Key personnel : Names, titles, roles and experience/qualifications of key personnel involved in the program. What proportion of their time will be devoted to supporting this program?
• Project Partners: List the names and type of involvement of key partner organizations and sub-grantees.
• Project Monitoring and Evaluation Plan:This is an important part of successful grants. Throughout the grant period, how will activities be monitored to ensure they are occurring in a timely manner, and how will the program be evaluated to ensure it is meeting the grant objectives?
• Future Funding or Sustainability : Applicant's plan to continue the program beyond the grant period, or availability of other resources, if applicable.

4. Narrative Budget Justification

After completing the SF-424A Budget (above), use a separate file to describe each budget expenditure in detail. See Section I. Other Information: Guidelines for Budget Submissions below for more information.

5.    Attachments 

• One-page Curriculum Vitae (CV) or CV of key personnel proposed for the program
• Letters of support from program partners describing the roles and responsibilities of each partner
• If your organization has a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) and includes NICRA fees in the budget, attach your most recent NICRA as a PDF file.
• Official authorization letters, if required for program activities.

 

Submission Requirements and Deadlines

• Address for Requesting the Application File

Required application forms are available on the Embassy website or at grants.gov.

• State Department Contacts

For questions about the application process, please contact: [email protected].

Application Deadline

10 January, 2025

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