Grounded in its global mandate for gender equality and women's empowerment, UN Women, with support from the Government of Iceland, is implementing the project "Empowering Communities Through Gender-Responsive Local Governance: Building Institutional Capacity for Inclusive Service Delivery" in Sierra Leone. Under Output 2.3, the intervention addresses structural barriers that hinder local economic growth by targeting women, youth, and persons with disabilities across five districts: Bonthe, Moyamba, Kambia, Port Loko, and Western Rural. To achieve this, UN Women is seeking to partner with qualified Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hubs capable of delivering integrated business development services and unlocking economic opportunities at the district level.

The selected partner will design and execute an integrated enterprise development package to transition informal and subsistence activities into competitive, growth-oriented businesses. Key responsibilities include conducting district-level enterprise diagnostics, delivering tailored business coaching and digital literacy training, supporting formalization and regulatory compliance, and enhancing productivity through modern technologies. Additionally, the partner will actively facilitate market access and financial inclusion by connecting entrepreneurs with private-sector buyers, financial institutions, Local Councils, the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities, and community networks, such as Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs).

The overall programming spans three core pillars: enhancing gender-responsive governance, strengthening community protection and GBV response systems through digital platforms, and operationalizing women’s economic empowerment. To be eligible as a Responsible Party, interested organizations must be registered in Sierra Leone, possess an established presence in at least two target districts, and demonstrate solid expertise in gender-responsive programming, local context analysis, and robust institutional capacity for monitoring and evaluation. It is in this context that this CFP is launched.

Grounding itself in the United Nations Charter, UN Women works globally to eliminate discrimination against women and girls and promote gender equality as a central priority across development and peacebuilding efforts. Under the framework of the "Empowering Communities Through Gender-Responsive Local Governance" project (2026–2028), a Responsible Party will be selected to implement Activity 2.2.6. This initiative focuses on strengthening community-based response systems to gender-based violence (GBV) by identifying, refurbishing, equipping, and operationalizing survivor-centered safe homes across three high-risk districts in Sierra Leone: Bonthe, Moyamba, and Kambia.

Building upon the national Safe Home Assessment findings and leveraging previous Spotlight Initiative investments, the selected partner will carry out technical evaluations, manage rehabilitation works, install necessary furniture, ICT, and security systems, and establish local management governance structures. Beyond physical infrastructure, the intervention aims to fortify district-level referral mechanisms by directly linking safe homes with Family Support Units, healthcare facilities, legal aid providers, social welfare services, and local councils, while delivering structured training to operating personnel and documenting best practices for future scaling.

Local Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) will play a strategic role in driving grassroots mobilization, social accountability, advocacy, and monitoring across gender-responsive governance, community protection, and economic empowerment pillars. Eligible candidate organizations must be registered in Sierra Leone with an established presence in at least two target districts, possessing demonstrated technical expertise in GBV programming and the institutional capacity to deliver high-quality interventions. It is in this context that this CFP is launched.

UN Women invites proposals from eligible young women-led organizations to strengthen the leadership, civic participation, and governance engagement of young women and young persons with disabilities in Kenya. The partnership will support mentorship, leadership development, digital and civic engagement, youth-led accountability, and safe participation in governance ahead of the 2027 General Election. Activities will be implemented in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Isiolo, and Turkana from August 2026 to February 2027

Violence against women and girls is a critical issue in Sub-Saharan Africa. In South Africa, Gender Based Volence rates are among the highest globally. South Africa’s femicide rate is five times the global average. Despite legislative progress, implementation gaps and limited institutional capacity persist. Recognizing this challenge, UN Women will engage responsible parties to mobilize partnerships across sectors to shift social norms, strengthen institutional responses, use mutlimedia and interpersonal approaches to engage communities to prevent GBV and support respectful relationships at the community level.

UN Women seeks qualified civil society organizations, networks, coalitions and consortiums operating at continental, regional, sub-regional or multi-country levels in Africa to implement interventions under the Spotlight Initiative Africa Regional Programme (SIARP) 2.0. The CFP supports initiatives on ending violence against women and girls, harmful practices, SRHR, survivor-centred services, policy accountability, social norms transformation, and strengthening women’s rights and youth-led movements.