Call for Proposals: Promoting Women’s Economic Empowerment in ACP Countries

1. The ICR Facility is calling out to all public and private sector organizations in African, Caribbean, or Pacific (ACP) countries to submit proposals for free technical assistance to advance Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE). Don’t miss out on this amazing opportunity!

2. Hurry up and secure your spot for the live webinar on Market Research and Fundraising by the ICR Facility. They can help you unleash the potential of women as entrepreneurs, workers, and investors in ACP countries.

3. The ICR Facility is dedicated to breaking down legal and regulatory barriers that hinder Women’s Economic Empowerment. They provide support to policymakers, government agencies, and stakeholders to update existing laws and regulations to make it easier for women to operate businesses and have equal rights to property and collateral for credit access.

4. The ICR Facility also promotes gender-responsive policies to help women-owned businesses and workers thrive. They ensure that economic policies, public procurement processes, and Government budget processes consider the needs of women as entrepreneurs and workers.

5. Closing the Gender Gap in Business: Their mission is to close the gender gap in business by providing technical assistance to organizations that are committed to promoting Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) through business environment reforms. They aim to achieve this by supporting organizations in generating and analyzing gender-disaggregated data, promoting women’s participation in public-private dialogue processes, and assisting private sector organizations in making WEE an integral part of their strategic support for SMEs.

6. Boosting Women’s Engagement in Investment Climate Reform Processes: Our goal is to empower women and ensure their voices are heard in the decision-making processes that shape investment climate policies. We actively encourage the participation of women employees, women business owners, and women business associations in public-private dialogue (PPD) processes. Moreover, we strive to equip women’s organizations with the necessary skills and resources to effectively engage in PPD discussions. Empowering Private Sector Organizations to Promote Women’s Economic

7. Empowerment: We understand the crucial role played by private sector organizations, such as chambers of commerce and business associations, in driving women’s economic empowerment. That’s why we provide tailored support to these entities, helping them integrate women’s economic empowerment (WEE) into their strategic initiatives for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Together, we can create a business environment that fosters gender equality and inclusive growth.

Submit Your Proposal Today: If your organization is committed to promoting WEE, they want to hear from you! Submit your proposal online and let them support you in achieving your goals. Your proposal should include a description of the technical assistance you are seeking and the results you want to achieve, as well as the expected outcomes and benefits for women in your country or location. Let’s work together to bridge the gender gap in business!

Eligibility criteria

• To be eligible for the Investment Climate Reform (ICR) Facility, you must be a sub-regional, national or regional government entity, development finance institution, or public-private dialogue mechanism.
• Business associations, cooperatives, chambers of commerce, clusters, and organizations or networks of business support are also eligible as long as they are involved in a dialogue process with governmental entities.
• However, single private for-profit companies or actors without a formal representation role are not eligible.
• Requests must come from an entity based in a member state of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and must aim to improve the business and investment climate, particularly to support women or youth economic empowerment.
• The requests must be part of a wider medium/long term strategy, reform process, or PPD mechanism and respond to targeted and specific needs under an ongoing initiative in an ACP country or region.
• The proposed intervention can be implemented under a maximum of 90 expert days. For more information, visit the ICR Facility website.