Call for Proposals: Prevention Envelope of the Transition Support Facility

The Prevention Envelope represents an important shift in the TSF funding strategy, aligning with the AfDB’s 2022-2026 Strategy for Addressing Fragility and Building Resilience in Africa. It adopts a results-driven approach that focuses on preventive interventions to address fragility and conflict, aiming for scaled up results and greater impact for lasting resilience.

This CfP aims to foster partnerships and finance innovative high-impact projects across the thematic areas at the humanitarian-development-peace nexus, both to scale up results and fund new initiatives to prevent fragility promote lasting peace and resilience in Africa. The CfP will also seek to equip countries with requisite all-round capacities and resources and support them ease pressures from drivers of fragility and build resilience and stability for long-term sustainable development.

Themes and Priorities

• The CfP under the TSF Prevention Envelope focuses on three strategic thematic areas:
  • Gender Equality, Women’s Empowerment, and Youth Employment
    • This thematic area aligns with the AfDB’s 2021-2025 Gender Strategy and the AfDB’s Jobs for Youth in Africa Strategy and recognizes the catalytic effect of gender equality, women’s empowerment, and youth employment in building social cohesion and creating the conditions for lasting peace and resilience, in support of the Women, Youth Peace and Security agenda.
    • Proposals should focus on scaling up gender-marked interventions and enhancing access to productive resources, financial services, markets, and entrepreneurship opportunities for women and youth. This can be achieved through skills development, capacity building, and support for women and youth-owned businesses.
    • Additionally, proposals can address gender-based violence and discrimination through awareness campaigns, legal reforms, and support services.
    • The promotion of active participation of women and youth in decision-making processes can be integrated in proposals through training, mentorship, and advocacy.
  • Climate Change Adaptation and/or Mitigation
    • This thematic area aligns with the AfDB’s 2022-2026 Climate Change and Green Growth Strategic Framework, acknowledging the climate-security nexus. Proposals are encouraged to create synergies with other internal instruments such as the AfDB’s Climate Action Window (CAW), mobilize additional climate finance from external sources, and scale up the results of high-performing existing climate-related investments.
    • Priority should be given to measures that enhance resilience to shocks, promote climate change adaptation and climate-smart agriculture, green infrastructure, renewable energy, and ecosystem restoration and biodiversity conservation.
    • It is essential to integrate climate change considerations throughout the project cycle, adopt innovative approaches, facilitate technology transfer, and invest in capacity building to strengthen climate resilience.
  • Catalyzing Private Sector Development
    • This thematic area aligns with the AfDB’s 2021-2025 Private Sector Development (PSD) Strategy and emphasizes the importance of upstream and midstream activities to unlock the potential of private sector growth. It complements the AfDB’s risk participation and investments in both public and private projects. Proposals under this area should promote innovative approaches to support private sector activities, such as facilitating pipeline development and capacity building of local businesses.
    • They should also seek to enhance investments through other Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and private investors and promote platforms for investment and reform in alignment with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
    • Additionally, proposals should prioritize supporting entrepreneurship, innovation, and business linkages, providing capital and expertise to start-ups, and fostering partnerships with financial intermediaries and financing platforms.
    • It is essential for proposals to integrate measures that address challenges in the business environment, enabling ease of start-up and overcoming regulatory bottlenecks for existing businesses specially for SMEs.
• These themes are mutually reinforcing, aligned with the AfDB’s strategic frameworks, and emphasize holistic approaches to achieve lasting resilience and stability. In this context, this CfP encourages project proposals to adopt an integrated design that addresses these themes collectively, particularly at the nexus of climate, gender, youth, and private sector, with an explicit intention of addressing fragility and building resilience.

Funding Information

• The TSF Prevention Envelope for the 2023-2025 period is supported by a total allocation of approximately UA 300 million from ADF-16 resources. For this 2023 CfP, up to half of this amount, equivalent to UA 150 million (indicatively US$ 199 million / Euro 186 million), can be made available. Each project proposal can request up to UA 20 million (indicatively US$ 26 million / Euro 25 million), regardless of the number of beneficiary countries involved.

Eligible Countries

• Benin (Loan), Burkina Faso (Loan)*, Burundi (Grant)*, Cameroon (Loan), Central African Rep. (Grant)*, Chad (Grant)*, Comoros (Grant)*, Congo, Dem. Rep. (Loan)*, Cote d’Ivoire (Loan), Djibouti (Grant), Eritrea (Grant)*, Ethiopia (Grant), The Gambia (Grant)*, Ghana (Grant), Guinea (Loan), Guinea-Bissau (Grant)*, Kenya (Loan), Lesotho (Loan), Liberia (Loan)*, Madagascar (Loan)*, Malawi (Grant), Mali (Loan)*, Mauritania (Loan), Mozambique (Grant)*, Niger (Loan)*, Rwanda (Loan), Sao Tome & Principe (Grant)*, Senegal (Loan), Sierra Leone (Grant), Somalia (Grant)*, South Sudan (Grant)*, Sudan (Grant)*, Tanzania (Loan), Togo (Loan), Uganda (Loan), Zambia (Loan) and Zimbabwe (Grant)*.
• * represents Transition state (the CfP promotes project proposals with a regional focus, particularly those involving transition states, allowing to foster holistic solutions and cross-border cooperation).

Project Proposal Requirements

• The CfP prioritizes mature project proposals that clearly demonstrate positive impact and are designed to amplify the results of high-performing projects. Proposal should incorporate a fragility-sensitive theory of change; align with the ‘Do No Harm’ principle; and establish well-defined peacebuilding and conflict prevention objectives. Additionally, they should have the potential to drive meaningful results, facilitate transformative change, and significantly expand their impact.
• Strong preference will be given to project proposals that are supported with formal request letters or evidence demonstrating the endorsement of beneficiary countries and alignment with the priorities of relevant national and/or regional priorities.
• Particularly in insecure and challenging operating environments, including de facto situations, project proposals should outline potential risks, mitigation measures, and highlight how the proposed implementation arrangement will contribute to the long-term development of resilient, effective, and legitimate national institutions.
• These requirements aim to ensure that the selected proposals not only deliver positive results but also maximize their potential and effectively prevent the root causes of fragility and conflict, making a lasting impact.

Selection Criteria

• A selection process will evaluate proposals based on the following criteria to identify projects that have the potential to generate impactful results and effectively prevent fragility and conflict, promote resilience, and foster social cohesion and sustainable development.
  • Relevance to Fragility and Conflict – While aligning with the thematic areas, proposals should align with the objectives of the TSF Prevention Envelope and clearly contribute to building resilience and preventing the root causes of crises.
  • Impact and Transformative Potential – Proposals should showcase the potential for transformative change and have a significant impact on the target communities, institutions, and/or regions. It should outline clear result indicators that can be achieved, leading to sustainable development, peacebuilding, and inclusive growth.
  • Integrated and Community-based Solutions – Project proposals that adopt an integrated approach across the three thematic areas will receive priority consideration. Additionally, projects emphasizing a strong community-based approach to address fragility and conflict in border areas of hotspot regions will be viewed favorably. A successful proposal should highlight how the project promotes collaboration among multiple countries, leverages partnerships, and fosters regional stability and cooperation.
  • Sustainability and Scalability – A successful proposal should demonstrate a long-term vision and sustainability beyond the initial implementation phase. It should outline strategies for scaling up the project’s results and ensuring its continuation beyond the funding period.
  • Partnerships and Stakeholder Engagement – Proposals that emphasize partnerships and engagement with relevant stakeholders, including governments, regional organizations, civil society, private sector, and local communities, will be favored. The proposal should showcase the commitment and involvement of these stakeholders and their contributions to achieving the project’s anticipated results.
  • Financial Viability – A successful proposal should include a detailed budget and financial plan that demonstrates the efficient use of funds. It should also highlight any additional co-financing or leveraging of resources from other sources to maximize the project’s impact.
  • Monitoring and Evaluation – A successful proposal should outline a robust monitoring and evaluation framework to assess progress, measure results and ensure accountability. It should include clear and realistic indicators, data collection methods, and a plan for regular reporting on project performance.
  • Risk Assessment and Mitigation – The proposal should identify potential risks and challenges, including insecurity, associated with project implementation and outline effective strategies for risk management and mitigation. This includes addressing security concerns, ensuring transparency, and adhering to ethical and governance standards.

For more information, visit African Development Bank Group (AfDB).