West Africa Democracy Fund

Description

1) Objective 

The aim of the WADF is to contribute to expanding the democratic and civic spaces in West Africa by strengthening opportunities for citizens’ voices to be included in defining the norms for the governance of their countries. The WADF seeks grant proposals that will operationalise the concept of reimagining governance outcomes for citizens by thinking outside the box about approaches, strategies and tactics that would help the priority countries and region to leapfrog into the promise offered by democracy. Consequently, the WADF uses the notion of reimagination as a starting point. From a democratic standpoint, reimagination may include the following actions.

• Engaging young people to reconstruct and create new narratives that shape daily lives in their societies by teaching them leadership skills and supporting their proactive engagement on the issues affecting their societies;
• Generating and implementing new ideas on how to make democracy more resilient, responsive and inclusive;
• Develop and strengthen safeguards for key public institutions to prevent them from being eroded or captured by interest groups or elected officials who may seek to use them for their own advantage;
• Developing indigenous knowledge systems and practices (such as ubuntu, reparative justice and others) that can help reposition politics and governance in the region.

2) Eligibility 

Applications are invited from organisations that are legally registered to operate or have programs in any of the following countries: Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo. Regional organisations with work in these countries or at ECOWAS level are also encouraged to apply.

3) Location 

Actions must take place in West Africa.

4) Budget 

Applications can be submitted for small grants (minimum $50,000), medium size grants (up to $250,000) and large grants (up to $500,000); can be submitted by a single organisation, a consortium or a network; can be for local, national, or regional level activities and may be implemented over a period of 12 to 24 months. Applications for large grants for the purposes of regranting or subgranting, are particularly invited.

5) Application

The deadline for the applications is April 30, 2026.