Opportunity Information: Apply for SFOP0005119
The grant opportunity titled "Strengthening Women's Contribution to the Economy in the Middle East and North Africa" (Funding Opportunity Number SFOP0005119) is a U.S. Department of State initiative run through the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, Office of Assistance Coordination (NEA/AC). It is designed to support projects that advance women's economic empowerment across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region by improving how governments, employers, and other economic stakeholders understand and respond to the factors shaping women's participation in the workforce. The underlying premise is that MENA continues to rank last worldwide on the overall gender gap index, with the widest gap specifically in economic participation and opportunity, as highlighted by the World Economic Forum's annual Global Gender Gap Report. The opportunity frames this gap not only as a social issue but as an economic one, suggesting that better data and more targeted understanding of country-specific gender dynamics can help unlock greater participation and productivity.
A central focus of the program is building a clearer, more comparable picture of how women contribute to the economy across different MENA countries. The description emphasizes analyzing women's economic roles by sector, profession, and education level, implying a need to map where women are currently active, where they are missing or underrepresented, and what barriers or incentives are influencing those patterns. By producing information that is comparable across the region, the program aims to give economic stakeholders practical insight they can use to design better recruitment, retention, and promotion approaches for qualified women, particularly in the formal sector. In other words, the opportunity is geared toward closing knowledge gaps and turning that knowledge into strategies that help women enter and advance in paid, formal employment rather than being limited to informal work or excluded from the labor market.
The long-term objectives of the project are clearly defined in three parts. First, it seeks to increase women's contribution to the economy in the MENA region, which points to measurable outcomes such as improved workforce participation, better job access, higher retention, advancement, and potentially stronger representation in higher-skilled and higher-paying roles. Second, it aims to empower women to take a more active role in the economy and society, indicating that the program views economic participation as linked to broader agency and civic or social standing. Third, it intends to increase the knowledge of economic stakeholders about gaps, possibilities, and opportunities to expand women's workforce participation. That stakeholder group can include employers, industry associations, policymakers, workforce development actors, and others positioned to influence hiring practices, workplace culture, and policy decisions. The overall logic is that when decision-makers have better, more nuanced information about women's economic engagement, they can create more effective initiatives and policies that address real constraints rather than relying on broad assumptions.
From an administrative standpoint, this opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding and uses a cooperative agreement as the funding instrument, which typically signals a more hands-on partnership model where the agency may remain actively involved in implementation compared to a standard grant. The CFDA number is 19.500. Eligibility is limited to nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status (excluding institutions of higher education), signaling that the Department of State is looking for experienced civil society implementers rather than universities as lead applicants. The award ceiling is $1,500,000, with one expected award, suggesting a single, fairly sizable regional project rather than multiple smaller awards. The opportunity was created on May 21, 2018, with an original closing date of July 10, 2018, which provides context on the timeline and indicates it was a competitive, time-bound solicitation. Overall, the grant is structured to support a substantial initiative that helps diagnose and address the specific, country-level and sector-level dynamics keeping women from fully participating in the formal economy, and to translate those insights into actionable strategies that employers and other stakeholders can use.Apply for SFOP0005119
- The Department of State, Assistance Coordination in the other (see text field entitled explanation of other category of funding activity for clarification) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Strengthening Women's Contribution to the Economy in the Middle East and North Africa" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.500.
- This funding opportunity was created on May 21, 2018.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 10, 2018. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,500,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.
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