The project
Strengthening economic empowerment and the power to act of women, LGBTQIA+ people and feminist CSOs
The ‘Feminism, Action and Mobilisation for an Inclusive Economy’ (FAME) project is part of a joint initiative by the French Development Agency (AFD) and the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) to develop French feminist diplomacy as part of the Support Fund for Feminist Organisations (FSOF) created in 2019.
The aim of this initiative is to strengthen the capacity of feminist CSOs to act in the long term, to ensure their sustainability and the effectiveness of their actions. The project includes organisational and technical strengthening of CSOs based on their needs, easier access to funding, and the development of an international feminist network to encourage the sharing of good practice and mutual reinforcement of CSOs across borders.
The project targets 10 countries (Morocco, Benin, Togo, Guinea, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Ecuador, Bolivia, Dominican Republic) for a total budget of €10 million over 4 years: 50% of the funds will be allocated to feminist CSOs in these countries via sub-grants. The main objective of the project is to strengthen the economic empowerment of women, LGBTQIA+ people and feminist CSOs in the South. The project began in January 2024 and will end in December 2027.
What is FAME ?
The main aim of the project is to strengthen the economic empowerment of women, LGBTQIA+ people and feminist CSOs in the South, by providing both financial and technical support to CSOs working for the economic empowerment of women and LGBTQIA+ people, and by structuring a dynamic and influential ecosystem for an ecological and inclusive economic transition.
The FAME project’s intervention logic is based on three key principles:
- Access to financial resources for women and LGBTQIA+ people who are members of groups, networks, cooperatives or associations, in order to develop and strengthen their economic activity
- Strengthening the power of local feminist CSOs to act on the levers of economic empowerment for women and LGBTQIA+ people in order to contribute to fairer societies that are free of GBV, resilient and sustainable.
- Structuring an ecosystem that encourages the sustainability and growth of local feminist CSOs working for the economic empowerment of women in the three target regions.
For whom ?
The project aims to support CSOs working for the economic empowerment of women and LGBTQIA+ people in a variety of ways and forms.
These organisations may be associations or NGOs promoting gender equality and/or the emancipation of women or girls, and/or the defence of rights, national feminist foundations and funds, multi-actor thematic platforms, coalitions, networks or national alliances of feminist CSOs, community savings organisations, associations, confederations or groupings of women in an economic sector (crafts, textiles, domestic work, agri-food, sex work, etc.), trade unions, associations defending and supporting the development of certain groups from marginalised communities, activist collectives, and many others. .), trade unions, associations for the defence and support of the development of certain groups from marginalised communities, activist collectives, and many others…
Feminist associations
Cooperatives and groups
Feminist foundations and funds
Networks and coalitions
Theme-based platforms
Trade unions
What I will gain from FAME
- Equipping myself
- Structuring myself
- Strengthening my skills
The Consortium
The FAME project is a project carried out in consortium by 6 organizations based on 4 continents. Led by Geres, it is also made up of CARE, CONLACTRAHO (Confederación Latinoamericana y del Caribe de Trabajadoras del Hogar), Empow’Her Global, SAWDF (South Asian Women Development Forum), and from WACSI (West African Civil Society Institute).
Empow'her
Empow’Her is an international network of organisations dedicated to the social and economic empowerment of women. Since our beginnings, we have rallied around a common vision: one of more inclusive entrepreneurship, a source of empowerment for women and a catalyst for transformation.
Geres
Created in 1976, Geres is a development NGO which works in Europe, Africa and Asia to improve living conditions and which fights against climate change and its impacts. As players in the field, the energy transition is a major lever in our action in favor of greater climate solidarity.
Care
CARE International is a 78-year-old global confederation working to fight poverty and social injustice around the world, with a specific focus on the empowerment of women and girls. We work closely with communities to understand the root causes of poverty and find innovative, locally-led solutions. CARE seeks to demonstrate the results and methodologies used in our projects to ensure transparency and accountability and improve the quality of our work.
WACSI
We empower civil society to serve as a catalyst for change within West and Central Africa, enabling it to engage more effectively with governments, the private sector, and other stakeholders. Our aim is to foster accountable and responsive governance, strengthen institutions both within and beyond the public sector, promote a favorable and sustainable global environment, and establish an equitable international development system.
Conlactraho
The Latin American and Caribbean Confederation of Domestic Workers – CONLACTRAHO is a regional trade union organisation that fights for the rights of domestic workers throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, working together with its affiliates for the empowerment and defence of the human rights of paid domestic workers, based on social justice, decent work and a world of work free of violence and harassment.
We excel in promoting training and capacity building for women leaders in the paid domestic work sector in order to raise awareness and strengthen the trade union movement in Latin America.
Analysing the problem of labour in general, women’s work in the capitalist world and reflecting on care work and the situation of paid domestic work in Latin America.
SAWDF
SAWDF has been officially granted regional status and is accredited by the UN Economic and Social Council. As a consortium of women entrepreneurs’ federations, chambers, and institutions across the South Asian region, our organization actively champions the empowerment of women entrepreneurs, particularly in Nepal and South Asia. Our work is closely aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), promoting gender equality and fostering women-led enterprises across the region.
Contact
Do you have a question about the project? About the partners? Write to the helpdesk in your country of operation to get answers.
Funding
Supported by the Agence Française de Développement and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the FAME project: Féminismes : Actions et Mobilisations pour une Économie Inclusive is being implemented over a 4-year period (2024-2027) by 6 organisations in 10 countries: Geres and WACSI in Benin, Togo, Guinea and Morocco; SAWDF in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka; CARE and Conlactraho in Ecuador, Bolivia and the Dominican Republic; and Empow’Her across the board. The restricted calls for expressions of interest will be reissued several times during the course of the project.
The FAME project aims to support civil society organisations working for the economic empowerment of women through grants to finance :
- Field projects aimed at strengthening women’s economic activities (Window 1)
- Women’s organisations seeking to build their capacity (Window 2)
- Collective national or regional advocacy projects for an ecological and inclusive transition (Window 3)
This call for expressions of interest is restricted: it is reserved for organisations pre-selected by the FAME programme following a mapping exercise and a survey of the needs of organisations working to empower women economically.
Frequently Asked Questions
I am a CSO from one of the ten countries targeted by the project. Can I access funding from the FAME project?
If I am a feminist CSO, and whose governance is predominantly female, I could be eligible to apply for the FAME project’s restricted calls for projects. I can contact the FAME project team in my country to learn more about the eligibility criteria and the process to apply.
I am a CSO from one of the FAME project's target regions. What support can I receive?
If you are part of an organisation in one of the regions/countries targeted by the project, you will be able to access the future FAME digital platform, which will contain numerous tools and capacity-building activities to help you develop your organisation. For more information, see the TRAINING page.
