Capacity Building in the field of Youth in Sub-Saharan Africa

Overview

The Erasmus+ Programme is launching a funding opportunity titled "Capacity Building in the Field of Youth in Sub-Saharan Africa" (ERASMUS-YOUTH-2026-CB). This initiative aims to enhance the capacities of youth organizations and youth work systems throughout Sub-Saharan Africa through structured partnerships with organizations in EU Member States and associated countries. The total budget allocated for this opportunity is €8,000,000, with individual project funding capped at €450,000.

Eligible applicants include youth organizations, civil society groups, and youth councils from both the EU and Sub-Saharan Africa. However, organizations from Sub-Saharan Africa cannot act as project coordinators, a role that must be filled by a partner from the EU or an associated country. Projects must involve multilateral partnerships, requiring multiple participants to foster international cooperation.

The program targets specific themes related to youth, including youth empowerment, civic participation, non-formal learning, digital and green skills development, media literacy, and mental well-being. The focus is to build capacity and enhance the skills of young people, particularly those from marginalized backgrounds, ensuring they have access to opportunities that promote active citizenship and socio-economic development.

The application process is structured as a single-stage submission, with proposals due by 26 February 2026. Once submitted, applications will undergo an evaluation from March to July 2026, with notifications to applicants in August and grant agreements expected to be signed by December 2026. Each organization can submit only one application as a coordinator in this call to diversify funding allocation.

Although specific success rates for funding applications are not disclosed, previous calls indicate competitive selection processes, suggesting success rates may fall between 10% to 39%. Applicants are expected to demonstrate organizational capacity and sustainability in their proposals.

The opportunity aligns with broader EU strategies for youth, including the Youth Mobility for Africa initiative, and emphasizes co-development of good practices, tools, and methodologies to elevate youth work standards. Proposed projects should aim for transformative impacts, fostering lasting changes within local communities and linking educational outcomes with practical experiences for young people.

Organizations interested in this funding should consult the Erasmus+ Programme guide for more detailed requirements and background, as well as utilize provided resources for proposal submissions.

Detail

The EU Funding Opportunity is the Erasmus+ Programme, specifically the Capacity Building in the field of Youth call (ERASMUS-YOUTH-2026-CB). It aims to improve the capacity of youth organisations, particularly in eligible third countries not associated to the Programme in Region 9 (Sub Saharan Africa). The type of action is ERASMUS-LS, Erasmus Lump Sum Grants. The Model Grant Agreement type is ERASMUS Lump Sum Grant [ERASMUS-AG-LS]. The deadline model is single-stage. The planned opening date is 04 December 2025, and the deadline date is 26 February 2026, 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The expected impact focuses on improving the capacity of youth organisations in Sub-Saharan Africa to contribute to the EU Youth Strategy, European Youth Work Agenda, and the Youth Action Plan in EU external action. This includes improving youth involvement in democratic life, enhancing entrepreneurial and innovative capacities, promoting transnational cooperation, upscaling existing practices, linking results to local communities, demonstrating inclusion, developing new tools and non-formal learning methods, and disseminating results effectively. Youth Exchanges or Youth Participation Activities should empower African youth for sustainable employability and active citizenship, increase policy dialogue, coordination, and valorisation of cooperation between African and European partners.

The objective is capacity-building through international cooperation projects based on multilateral partnerships between youth organisations in the EU and associated countries, and third countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Projects should support international cooperation in youth and non-formal learning, promote youth mobility, and help young people develop competences for life and their professional future. Specific project aims include: raising the capacity of organisations working with young people outside formal learning; promoting non-formal learning, especially for young people with fewer opportunities; supporting the development of youth work; fostering schemes to enhance non-formal learning mobility; contributing to the Youth Mobility for Africa flagship initiative; supporting projects that promote youth participation in society and competence development; fostering interregional cooperation; and enhancing synergies with formal education systems.

Conditions include:

1. Admissibility Conditions: Proposal page limit and layout as described in the ERASMUS+ Programme guide 2026. The page limit for Part B Technical Description of the Application Form is 70 pages.

2. Eligible Countries as described in the ERASMUS+ Programme guide 2026.

3. Other Eligible Conditions as described in the ERASMUS+ Programme guide 2026. Note that an organisation cannot be the coordinator of more than one proposal submitted under this call.

4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion as described in the ERASMUS+ Programme guide 2026.

5a. Evaluation and award: Submission and evaluation processes as described in the ERASMUS+ Programme guide 2026.

5b. Evaluation and award: Award criteria, scoring and thresholds as described in the ERASMUS+ Programme guide 2026.

5c. Evaluation and award: Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement as described in the ERASMUS+ Programme guide 2026. The publication of the call is 28 November 2025. The deadline for submitting applications is 26 February 2026, 17:00 (Brussels time). The evaluation period is March - July 2026. Information to applicants will be available in August 2026, and the signature of the grant agreement is expected in December 2026.

6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants: n/a

Call documents and annexes include: ERASMUS+ Programme guide 2026, Standard application form (ERASMUS BB and LSII), Detailed budget table (ERASMUS LSII), ERASMUS Programme Guide, ERASMUS MGA, Lump Sum MGA, ERASMUS+ Work Programme, ERASMUS Regulation 2021/817, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment, EU Grants AGA Annotated Model Grant Agreement, Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions, Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement, and guidance on how to manage lump sum grants.

The budget overview for 2026 includes:

ERASMUS-YOUTH-2026-CB-NE - ERASMUS-LS: 3,122,000 EUR

ERASMUS-YOUTH-2026-CB-SMC - ERASMUS-LS: 4,800,000 EUR

ERASMUS-YOUTH-2026-CB-SSA - ERASMUS-LS: 8,000,000 EUR

ERASMUS-YOUTH-2026-CB-WB - ERASMUS-LS: 3,490,000 EUR

All are single-stage applications with an opening date of 2025-12-04 and a deadline of 2026-02-26.

There are 5 partner search announcements available. LEARs, Account Administrators, and self-registrants can publish partner requests for open and forthcoming topics.

The submission system is planned to open on the date stated on the topic header.

For help related to this call, contact EACEA-YOUTH@ec.europa.eu. The deadline for addressing queries is 19 February 2026 (eob). Additional support resources include the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, IT Helpdesk, and Online Manual.

In summary, this Erasmus+ call focuses on capacity building in the youth sector, targeting organisations in the EU and Sub-Saharan Africa. It aims to foster international cooperation, promote non-formal learning, and enhance youth mobility, ultimately contributing to the empowerment and development of young people in the region. The call provides lump sum grants to support projects that align with the EU's youth strategy and the Youth Mobility for Africa initiative. Interested organisations should carefully review the Erasmus+ Programme guide 2026 and related documents to ensure their proposals meet the eligibility criteria and contribute to the call's objectives. The call aims to support projects that promote the mobility of young people with a view to promoting their active participation in society as well as to helping them acquire and develop competences for life and for their professional future.

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Breakdown

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are youth organisations from the EU and countries associated to the Programme, as well as youth organisations from third countries not associated to the Programme, specifically those in Region 9 (Sub Saharan Africa). The call aims to foster multilateral partnerships between these organizations.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically an ERASMUS Lump Sum Grant (ERASMUS-LS).

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity requires multilateral partnerships, meaning a consortium of multiple applicants is necessary.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes: EU countries, countries associated to the ERASMUS+ Programme, and third countries not associated to the Programme, with a specific focus on Region 9 (Sub Saharan Africa) for the latter.

Target Sector: The target sector is youth, specifically capacity building in the field of youth projects, non-formal learning, and promoting youth mobility. It also touches upon international cooperation, socio-economic development, education, and the Youth Mobility for Africa initiative.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity focuses on Region 9 (Sub Saharan Africa), EU countries, and countries associated with the ERASMUS+ Programme.

Project Stage: The expected project stage is capacity-building, which implies development, testing, and launching of schemes and programmes. It also involves upscaling existing practices.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary by topic: ERASMUS-YOUTH-2026-CB-NE has a budget of 3,122,000 EUR, ERASMUS-YOUTH-2026-CB-SMC has a budget of 4,800,000 EUR, ERASMUS-YOUTH-2026-CB-SSA has a budget of 8,000,000 EUR, and ERASMUS-YOUTH-2026-CB-WB has a budget of 3,490,000 EUR.

Application Type: The application type is an open call, as indicated by the forthcoming deadline model being single-stage.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of lump sum grants.

Application Stages: The application process is single-stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned in the provided text.

Co-funding Requirement: The text does not explicitly mention a co-funding requirement.

Summary:

This is a call for proposals under the ERASMUS+ Programme, specifically targeting capacity building in the field of youth. The call, named ERASMUS-YOUTH-2026-CB, aims to improve the capacity of youth organizations, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, to contribute to the EU Youth Strategy, the European Youth Work Agenda, and the Youth Action Plan in EU external action. The projects should focus on enhancing international cooperation, promoting non-formal learning, supporting youth work, and fostering youth mobility.

The call is structured around multilateral partnerships between youth organizations in the EU and associated countries, and those in Sub-Saharan Africa. The funding is provided as lump sum grants, and the application process is single-stage. The call is divided into four topics, each with a specific budget: ERASMUS-YOUTH-2026-CB-NE (3,122,000 EUR), ERASMUS-YOUTH-2026-CB-SMC (4,800,000 EUR), ERASMUS-YOUTH-2026-CB-SSA (8,000,000 EUR), and ERASMUS-YOUTH-2026-CB-WB (3,490,000 EUR).

The key objectives of the projects should include raising the capacity of organizations working with young people, promoting non-formal learning, supporting the development of youth work, fostering non-formal learning mobility, and contributing to the Youth Mobility for Africa flagship initiative. The call emphasizes the importance of youth empowerment, active citizenship, entrepreneurial skills, transnational cooperation, and the inclusion of young people with fewer opportunities.

The application deadline is 26 February 2026, and the indicative timeline includes an evaluation period from March to July 2026, information to applicants in August 2026, and signature of the grant agreement in December 2026. The proposal page limit for the technical description is 70 pages. Organizations interested in applying should consult the ERASMUS+ Programme guide 2026 and other relevant documents provided on the Funding & Tenders Portal.

Short Summary

Impact
This funding aims to improve the capacity of youth organisations in Sub-Saharan Africa to contribute to the EU Youth Strategy, European Youth Work Agenda, and the Youth Action Plan in EU external action.
Applicant
Eligible applicants should possess experience in youth work, capacity building, and international cooperation, particularly in non-formal learning contexts.
Developments
The funding will support projects focused on youth empowerment, democratic engagement, and capacity building in the youth sector.
Applicant Type
This funding is designed for organisations active in the field of youth, including youth organisations, civil society organisations, and youth councils from EU Member States and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Consortium
Consortiums are required, with EU-based organisations serving as coordinators and Sub-Saharan African organisations as partners.
Funding Amount
The maximum EU contribution per project is €450,000, with a total budget of €8,000,000 allocated for the region.
Countries
Sub-Saharan African countries are explicitly relevant, including Nigeria, Lesotho, Côte d'Ivoire, Zambia, Botswana, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe, among others.
Industry
The funding targets the youth sector, specifically focusing on capacity building, non-formal learning, and promoting youth mobility.

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