RFAs: Women Entrepreneurial Opportunity Facility Project in South Sudan

Deadline: 31 March 2025

The international Rescue Committe and Open Capital, in partnership with South Sudan’s Ministry of Gender, Child, and Social Welfare and UN Women, has launched the Women Entrepreneurial Opportunity Facality.

South Sudan Women’s Social and Economic Empowerment Project (SSWSEEP), is an initiative designed to provide support to women-owned businesses, provide services for survivors of Gender-based Violence, and strengthen the institutional environment for women’s empowerment.

The program empowers women entrepreneurs in Juba through traning, taliored business development support, and financing to help thier business grow.

Key Pillars

Seed Lab
- The Seed Lab supports emerging micro and small women-owned businesses in South Sudan through two key interventions:
  - Bootcamp: A 5-day training on basic business skills and financial literacy, with daily sessions lasting 2-3 hours. Participants will develop pitch memos and compete for a spot in the Accelerator. Participants are not eligible for business grants.
  - Accelerator: A 3-month in-depth training for selected businesses from the Bootcamp, covering 10 dedicated sessions with weekly sessions of 2-3 hours.
Growth Lab
- The Growth Lab supports medium and large women-owned businesses in South Sudan through three key interventions:
  - Tailored business development support: designed to address the unique needs of your business, such as supporting your long-term growth plans, sales and marketing function, financial management, or investment readiness
  - One-on-one coaching: provided to your senior management team by experienced business consultants, helping you think through some of your most critical business decisions
  - Catalytic grants: targeted to address your immediate short- to medium-term financing needs

Funding Information

Seed Lab: Participants will be eligible for catalytic grants of USD 2,000 – 4,000.

Eligibility Criteria

Seed Lab
- To be eligible for the Seed Lab, your business must meet the following criteria:
  - Annual revenue: USD 2,000 – 99,000
  - Location: Juba
  - Business owner nationality: South Sudanese
  - Business owner age: 18-60 years
  - Business ownership: Women-owned
  - Business team size: At least 2 employees/workers
  - Business existence: Minimum 12 months of operations.
Growth Lab
- To be eligible for the Growth Lab, your business must meet the following criteria:
  - Revenue: Annual revenues over USD 100,000 in your last financial year (i.e. 2024 or the last 12 months of operations)
  - Location: Located anywhere in Juba
  - Business owner nationality: South Sudanese
  - Business ownership: Women-owned
  - Business owner age: 18-60 years
  - Employees number: At least 5 employees or workers
  - Business duration: At least 1 year of operations

Application Requirements

Seed Lab
- Brief business profile
- Certificate of business registration or trading license issued by the Local Government
- Bank Account Statements or financial records/mobile money transaction evidence
- Tax payment receipt from the Local Government/revenue authority
- List of employees and their details
- A copy of the business owners’ South Sudan National Identification Card
Growth Lab
- Brief business profile
- Certificate of Incorporation from the South Sudan Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs
- Membership Certificate from the South Sudan Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture
- Operation License from the Ministry of Trade and Industry
- Retained business and financial records, including past bank statements for the last 6 months and at least one year of financial statements or management accounts
- Tax identification number
- Tax clearance certificates
- List of business staff (including Name, Job Title, Gender, Mobile Number, Employment status i.e. full or part-time)
- South Sudanese National ID