Deadline Date: May 19, 2026
The Expertise France is inviting applications to support innovative and sustainable solutions to address the environmental, economic and public health challenges caused by sargassum influxes in the Caribbean.
The focus areas and priorities include strengthening private-sector participation in sargassum value chain development, promoting climate-resilient and low-carbon economic opportunities, supporting circular-economy business models, accelerating technological and environmental innovations, ensuring gender equality and social inclusion, supporting knowledge production on sargassum, improving understanding of its impacts on human health, biodiversity, and coastal ecosystems, fostering collaboration among scientists, and encouraging participatory science.
The programme supports two main categories of projects. The first targets private sector entities and civil society organisations engaged in developing and implementing sustainable sargassum value chain initiatives, including feasibility studies, early-stage technology development, and high-potential pilot and scale-up projects. The second focuses on Caribbean-based scientists and research institutions working on knowledge production, dissemination, and application related to sargassum management, valorisation, and health impacts.
The total funding available under this call is €1,600,000. Grant amounts vary depending on the type of project. For private sector and civil society initiatives, grants range from €150,000 to €600,000, with specific categories such as feasibility studies receiving between €150,000 and €300,000, and pilot or scale-up projects receiving up to €600,000. For research and knowledge-based projects, grants range from €150,000 to approximately €380,000 depending on the project focus.
Eligible projects must be implemented in specific Caribbean and related regions, including Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mexico, Belize, and the Dominican Republic. Projects should last between 12 and 18 months and demonstrate innovation, economic viability, environmental sustainability, and positive social impact.
Eligibility criteria require the lead applicant to be a legal entity directly responsible for project preparation and management. Applicants may apply individually or with partners, and must not act as intermediaries. For private sector and civil society projects, applicants must be organisations capable of implementing value chain initiatives. For research-focused projects, applicants may include legally registered research centres, universities, laboratories, or individuals working in partnership with such institutions.
For more information, visit Expertise France.
