New Dutch funding facility ‘Leading From the South’ open for proposals

The Hague, 3 February 2017
The Netherlands has launched its ‘Leading From the South’ funding facility for women’s organizations in the Global South. This new facility supports Southern women’s organizations and networks striving for the political, social and economic empowerment of women. It will be active in Africa, the Middle East, the Asia-Pacific region, Latin America and the Caribbean. The ‘Leading From the South’ facility – which is being managed by well-established women’s funds in these regions – is now open for proposals.

‘Leading From the South’ (LFS) contributes to two Dutch development policy priorities: Advancing women’s rights and gender equality and strengthening civil society organizations. Southern women’s organizations and networks play a key role in influencing governments, leaders, communities, businesses and other actors to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls (Sustainable Development Goal 5). The LFS promotes cooperation across borders and links grassroot organizations to networks and movements at the national, regional and global level.

LFS works through grant-making, capacity building and lobby & advocacy, thus providing organizations with tools to influence policies, tackle unequal power relations and reduce exclusion, discrimination, violence and unequal treatment. The LFS facility funds amount to 40 million Euro’s in total and runs from 2017 to 2020. LFS is managed by the South Asia Women’s Fund (SAWF) for the Asia-Pacific, the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) for Africa and the Middle East, the Fondo Mujeres del Sur (FMS) for Latin America and the Caribbean, and the International Indigenous Women’s Fund Ayni (FIMI) for indigenous women across the Global South.

Calls for proposals for the Asia-Pacific region and for Africa and the Middle East are currently open and online. Calls for proposals for Latin America and the Caribbean for indigenous women across the Global South will open respectively on 13 and 20 February 2017.

Information about the ‘Leading From the South’ facility and related criteria for application for proposals can be found on the websites of the respective funds:

Africa and MENA region: http://africlub.net/awdf/
Latin America: http://mujeresdelsur.org/sitio/
Asia-Pacific: http://www.sawf.info/
Indigenous women’s groups: http://www.fimi-iiwf.org/