BUJUMBURA June 7th (ABP) – Civil society organizations are invited to submit projects to be funded. The appeal was launched on Monday, June 5, 2023, by the Advisor for Cooperation and Cultural Action at the French Embassy to Burundi, Mr. Gilles Ganivet, during an information session on the criteria and procedures required to be eligible.
That session was organized for all civil society actors.
Mr. Ganivet explained that the first applications is for projects that will concern three themes: the environment, youth and sport, and culture and heritage. About ten selected projects will benefit from financing up to a maximum of BIF 20,000,000 for each of them, over a maximum period of one year.
Criteria such as: the relevance of the project proposal, the capacity of the organization on the adequacy of the proposed activities and the areas of its expertise and the sustainability of the project will be decisive, according to Mr. Ganivet.
“Innovative Projects of Civil Societies and Coalition of Actors” (PISCCA) is the second project application. Mr. Ganivet explained that this is the main support tool for local civil society organizations by the French Embassy to Burundi. Promoting the social and economic empowerment of women and youth will be the theme on which the proposed projects will be designed. A dozen projects will also be selected for funding of a maximum of BIF 120,000,000 for each project; the deadline for submission is set for June 26, and the maximum duration of the project is 15 months.
According to the presentation of the cooperation and cultural action adviser of the French Embassy to Burundi, that fund is intended for associations, federations, unions, producer organizations and others.
Three main eligibility criteria for civil society organizations have been set out.
The first criterion is the financial statements, that is to say, presenting the last three years of activity and the co-financing of the project up to a minimum of 10%.
The second is the geographical situation: the projects to be presented must be implemented “outside the red zones” excluding the provinces of Cibitoke and Bubanza, and the third is the organizational level, that is to say that the facilities must be able to manage the grants paid.
Among the ineligible projects are humanitarian projects, infrastructure construction projects or purely commercial and lucrative ones, one-off actions (grants, invitations).