EU Action Grants for Civil Society in Botswana – €1.47M for Green & Digital Transformation 2025 (Deadline: 26 September, 2025)

Are you part of a civil society organisation in Botswana working on environmental sustainability or digital innovation? The European Union Action Grants programme is offering a total of €1.47 million to strengthen civil society’s role in green transformation and digital transformation. Grants are open to non-profit entities including NGOs, public sector operators, and local authorities. The funding aims to empower organisations to drive climate advocacy, promote circular economy entrepreneurship, boost digital skills, and foster inclusive participation in Botswana’s digital future. Applications close 26 September 2025.

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Objectives of the Programme and Priority Issues

Global Objective

“To enhance civil society’s contribution in the development of the green and digital transformation in Botswana.”

Specific Objectives

1. Green Transformation (Lot 1)
   Improve civil society’s active involvement in policy development and advocacy to support green transformation in Botswana and/or support the transition to a circular economy through community-based innovation and entrepreneurship.

2. Digital Transformation (Lot 2)
   Enhance civil society’s contribution to digital transformation in Botswana by strengthening citizens’ awareness, readiness, and participation in the digital transformation process.

Priorities of the Call for Proposals

Proposals are expected to address the priorities listed below.
Note: There is no minimum or maximum number of priorities that must be addressed per concept note in each chosen lot.

Lot 1 – Support to Green Transformation in Botswana

1. Strengthen civil society’s role to:

   • Advocate for stronger climate policies and carbon reduction targets.

   • Monitor government commitments to international climate agreements.

   • Develop public education campaigns on climate change, renewable energy, and sustainable practices.

2. Foster the inclusion of women and youth in entrepreneurship initiatives on the circular economy through capacity building and skills development.

Lot 2 – Support to Digital Transformation in Botswana

1. Strengthen citizens’ awareness and capacity to participate in Botswana’s digital transformation, increasing their knowledge of processes, benefits, and risks.

2. Support and strengthen skills development aligned with SmartBots’ principle of “Leaving no one behind”.

3. Support and develop online educational materials and/or online services for communities, students, and citizens, emphasizing collaboration and dissemination via existing connected spaces (e.g., libraries, community centres).

4. Strengthen the capacity and expertise of young people and/or minorities for inclusive professional growth in adapting to new opportunities and challenges of digital transformation.

Financial Allocation Provided by the Contracting Authority

• Total indicative amount: EUR 1,476,000.00
• The contracting authority reserves the right not to award all funds.

Indicative allocation by lot:

• Lot 1 – Green Transformation: EUR 738,000.00
• Lot 2 – Digital Transformation: EUR 738,000.00

If the allocation for a lot cannot be used due to insufficient quality or number of proposals, the contracting authority may reallocate the remaining funds to another lot.

Size of Grants

• Minimum amount: EUR 180,000.00

• Maximum amount: EUR 246,000.00

Percentage of eligible costs:

• Minimum: 50% of total eligible costs.

• Maximum: 90% of total eligible costs.

The balance must be financed from sources other than the EU general budget or European Development Fund.

Rules for this Call for Proposals

These guidelines follow the Practical Guide (PRAG), available here:
https://wikis.ec.europa.eu/display/ExactExternalWiki/ePRAG

Eligibility Criteria

There are three sets of eligibility criteria:

1. Actors (Section 2.1.1)

   • Lead applicant (entity submitting the application).

   • Co-applicant(s).

   • Affiliated entity(ies).

2. Actions (Section 2.1.3)

   • Types of actions eligible for funding.

3. Eligible Costs/Results (Section 2.1.4)

   • For reimbursement-based grants: eligible cost types.

   • For results-based financing: eligibility conditions.

Eligibility of Applicants

The lead applicant must:

• Be a legal person.
• Be non-profit-making.
• Be one of the following:

• • Non-governmental organisation (NGO).

  • Public sector operator.

  • Local authority.

• Be established in:

  • A Member State of the European Union, or

  • The Republic of Botswana.

• Be directly responsible for preparing and managing the action.

• Not be in situations listed in Section 2.4 of PRAG.

Additional Rules:

• A lead applicant in Botswana may act alone or with co-applicants.
• A lead applicant outside Botswana must partner with at least one co-applicant in Botswana.
• If awarded the contract, the lead applicant becomes the Coordinator, the main contact point for the contracting authority.

Co-Applicants:

• Must meet the same eligibility criteria as the lead applicant.
• Must sign the mandate in Annex A.2 Section 5.
• Become beneficiaries along with the coordinator if awarded the contract.

Location:
Actions must take place in Botswana.

Ineligible Actions

• Individual sponsorships for events.
• Individual scholarships.
• Activities violating human rights or causing significant environmental harm.
• Projects consisting mainly of capital expenditure.
• Support for political parties.
• Pure research sponsorship.
• Discriminatory actions based on gender, sexuality, political/religious belief, or ethnicity.

Types of Activities

Lot 1 – Green Transformation

• Promote civil society participation in environmental policy-making.
• Capacity building of CSOs and citizen awareness on climate change.
• Capacity building on circular economy practices.
• Support to SMEs and local associations for 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) projects.
• Socio-economic/environmental impact analysis of natural resource exploitation.
• Community-based innovations and entrepreneurship in circular economy.
• Educational campaigns for youth on circular economy practices.

Lot 2 – Digital Transformation

• Basic inclusive digital skills training, especially for persons with disabilities and minorities.
• Awareness campaigns on digital transformation benefits and risks.
• Creation of online learning materials and services for communities.
• Skills and capacity development for youth and minorities to adapt to digital economy challenges.

2.2. How to Apply

Step 1 – Provide Organisation Information:

• Lead applicants, co-applicants, and affiliated entities (other than natural persons) must register in PADOR:
  https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/pador

Step 2 – Registration Requirements:

• Lead applicants: register at concept note stage.
• Co-applicants/affiliated entities: register at full application stage.
• If online registration in PADOR is impossible, submit the PADOR registration form with the full application.

Step 3 – Participant Register (Mandatory):

• All applicants must register in the European Commission’s Participant Register to get a PIC (9-digit number).

• Registration link:
  https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/how-to-participate/participant-register

Application Deadline

• 26 September at 12:00 Brussels time

(in order to convert to local time, click here.)

The lead applicant is strongly advised not to wait until the last day to submit its concept note, since heavy Internet traffic or a fault with the Internet connection (including electricity failure, etc.) could lead to difficulties in submission. The contracting authority cannot be held responsible for any delay due to such afore-mentioned difficulties.

How To Apply

• To apply to this call for proposals organisations must register in PADOR and submit their application
  in PROSPECT (see section 2.2.2 of the guidelines).
• Sign up/log in and start submission.

Contact

• Preparation: Information session and user manuals: To help applicants familiarise themselves with the system before the online submission, an information session has already been organised on Tuesday 5 August 2025 at 14:00hrs (local date and time) online via Webex. (Should you be interested in this session, please send an email by 29 July 2025 to delegation-botswana-cfp@eeas.europa.eu, indicating: name, surname, nationality and email address of the persons who are going to participate as well as their organisation (max. two participants per organisation). No costs incurred by the applicants for attending this information session are reimbursable.)
• Questions may be sent by e-mail no later than 21 days before the deadline for the submission of concept notes to the address(es) below, indicating clearly the reference of the call for proposals: E-mail address: delegation-botswana-cfp@eeas.europa.eu. The contracting authority has no obligation to provide clarifications to questions received after this date.