Ignite Culture extends open call deadline to 23 December

Ignite Culture’s first open call was launched in August 2021 and awarded grants to a cohort of 19 organisations in 2022. 

The grant is implemented by HEVA Fund in partnership with the British Council Kenya, with the financial contribution of the European Union, and further support from the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (OACPS).

It is designed to enable organisations to successfully develop new ventures, programmes and projects for their target communities and demographics, which will go a long way to make their own work and the work of their target communities more sustainable.

Grants of up to a maximum of €180 000 (about $188 000) for the support of creative and cultural industries (CCIs) in 14 countries in Eastern Africa will be awarded.

The countries are Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

‘Organisations’ in this case means associations, businesses, NGOs, public or government institutions, local authorities, universities, cultural institutes, museums, art centres, agencies, collectives, consortia, and more, provided that they demonstrate legal and administrative autonomy. 

This grant will also enable recipients to design, implement and engage in any suitable activities that:

• Strengthen the creative and cultural ecosystem in which practitioners and organisations operate in Eastern Africa.
• Improve the access and visibility of the diverse creative and cultural sectors in Eastern Africa.
• Promote economic growth of the creative sector and cultural sector in the Eastern African region. 

Through grant financing of between €30 000 and €180 000, prospective applicants should direct any financial support toward the following activities:

• Increasing the quality and /or quantity of creative and cultural goods and /or services.
• Improving visual literacy of audiences, visibility of makers and access to new markets for creative and cultural goods and services from Eastern Africa.
• Building appropriate, industry-ready skills and capacity for young people entering the cultural and creative sectors. 
• Improving the capacity and knowledge of Eastern Africa’s creative and cultural practitioners on policy, legal and financing frameworks impacting the sector and increasing their ability to advocate for more supportive policy and legal structures. 

Read more details about these four project focus areas here.

Eligibility

Applicants may apply for grant funding of between € 30 000 to € 180 000.

For application, this is divided into three tiers:

• Tier 1: Applicants can apply for a fixed amount of €30 000.
• Tier 2: Applicants may apply for an amount between €31 000 and €90 000.
• Tier 3: Applicants may apply for an amount between €91 000 and €180 000.

Eligible organisations/individuals need to be registered no later than 31 December 2017 and must have audited statements either for half year period or a full-year period for the years 2017 and/or 2018.

However, if an organisation was registered after 31 December 2017 and is still interested in Ignite Culture, they can apply as part of a group with an organisation that was registered on or before 31 December 2017.

The call for applications opened on 22 November and will close on 23 December 2022. 

Interested organisations can view the original call here and apply here.