Asia Gender Equality Fund
Advancing women’s economic empowerment in Asia through unrestricted funding
WITH SUPPORT FROM
About the fund
The Asia Gender Equality Fund, is a transformative initiative catalysed by AVPN with support from Fondation CHANEL, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, The Target Foundation and members of AVPN’s Asia Gender Network which will invest in women’s economic empowerment across the Asia Pacific region. The fund aims to make lasting change in the lives of women and girls in Asia, particularly those from under-served and marginalised communities.
Women and girls continue to face staggering rates of fatalities linked to food insecurity, malnutrition, poverty and gender-based violence. That’s why we’re committed to raise and deploy US $25 million within the next five years to support initiatives and solutions by non-profit organisations focused on improving economic outcomes for women and girls in Asia.
We take a strategic approach and will work with organisations that have the greatest potential for impact and sustainability, so that we can transform key systems and make them more equitable and inclusive.
SelecteD GRANTEES
8 NPOs to Improve Economic Outcomes for Women and Girls in Asia
AVPN has selected eight exceptional non-profit organisations (NPOs) across South Asia, South East Asia, North East Asia as the recipients of the Asia Gender Equality Fund. The following NPOs have demonstrated a steadfast commitment to advancing gender equality, showcasing their dedication through intersectional solutions, including enhancing girls and women's education and skills, advocating for labour rights, addressing human trafficking, and enabling women from marginalised backgrounds to become self-reliant.
testimonials
What do our selected grantee say about the Asia Gender Equality Fund?
Chief Functionary, Azad Foundation
Director of International Programs, Nomi Network
Executive Director, Badabon Sangho
Executive Director, Enrich HK
Head of Social Inclusion, Kenan Foundation
Nepal Country Director, dZi Foundation
Chairperson, Sindh Community Foundation
CEO and CSIO (Chief Social Impact Officer), KSIF
Who is eligible to apply?
Organisation Status
- Registered Non-Profit Organisation / Charity / Intermediary (Non-Profit) working with impact organisations within the focus area of this fund.
- Operates in at least one of the 12 target markets, which are: Japan, South Korea, China, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and India. (For India, the NPO would have to be FCRA-registered)
- Should NOT be the following:
- Religious organisation (e.g. church, synagogue, mosque etc.)
- Consortium (only single application is allowed)
- Included in the US or EU sanctions list, nor blacklisted by any UN or international agency
Impact Areas
- Non-profit impact organisations working towards the economic empowerment of women with interventions which would include but not restricted to:
- Providing decent work opportunities for women
- Enabling and supporting women's entrepreneurship
- Digital inclusion
- Financial inclusion
- Vocational & life skills acquisition
- Access to markets
- Access to education
- Access to affordable child/elderly/disability care
- Others
- Non-profit Intermediaries that are working on galvanising systems-change efforts in advancing women’s economic empowerment through approaches such as, but not limited to:
- Supporting the organisational development, capability and effectiveness that would help impact organisations scale and unlock additional funding
- Providing strategic guidance, expertise and infrastructure to empower impact organisations to innovate, pilot and test initiatives within the focus area
- Enabling connections between impact organisations and the funding community
- Field-building through coordination and between local and regional stakeholders aimed at collectively advancing women’s economic empowerment in Asia
Governance & Ask
- Track record of financial accounts (audited accounts preferred, if available)
- Track record of default, tax payment.
- Has an annual operating revenue of over USD 250K (includes other grant funding)
- Minimum grant ask of USD 100K and maximum USD 500K
Grant application timeline
JANUARY - MARCH 2023
Information Session
- 19th January 2023 (this session has ended)
- 9th March 2023 (view session recording here)
21st FEBRUARY 2023
Open Call for Application
31st march 2023
Closing Date for Application
Application will be closed at 23.59 SGT (GMT+8)
MARCH-MAY 2023
Selection and Announcement of Grantees
Frequently Asked Questions
general
The Asia Gender Equality Pooled Fund is a transformative initiative catalysed by AVPN with support from the Fondation Chanel, The Gates Foundation, Target Foundation and members of the Asian Gender Network, that aims to make lasting change in the lives of women and girls in Asia, particularly those from under-served and marginalised communities. Through this fund, AVPN aims to raise and deploy USD $25 million within the next five years to provide unrestricted funding towards initiatives and solutions by non-profit organisations focused on improving economic outcomes for women and girls in Asia.
Funding that is not restricted and can be used for core support (indirect, overhead costs). However, organisations need to demonstrate how receiving the funding can further their mission aligned to the funds’ thematic areas.
Even though the fund is unrestricted in nature, the grantees will have to demonstrate how the unrestricted funds will support their organisation’s work in aligning with the thematic area of the fund.
Some examples of core support include:
- Infrastructure support activities i.e. investing in fundraising capacity
- Organisational capacity building
- Human Resource
- Office rent
- Transportation
- Others
For this round, the Asia Gender Equality Fund is focused on the following markets; Japan, South Korea, China, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and India.
The Non-Profit organisation can be registered in any country, as long as they have operations in the priority markets of the fund.
Yes, additional funding from other sources are allowed to scale your organisation.
ORGANISATIONAL ELIGIBILITY
- For this round, the fund will only be supporting non-profit organisations. If you are a legally registered non-profit organisation, and meeting the eligibility criteria of the fund, you will be eligible to apply.
- For this fund, you are required to verify your organisation’s Non-Profit Status by retrieving a validation token from the TechSoup Global Network, and submitting this token to us through the Non-Profit Verification Form. Refer to the Verification Form for further instructions.
Partnerships are a key criteria when we assess your application. While only a single entity can apply for the fund, we encourage applicants to demonstrate how they have built or have plans of building strong strategic partnerships with governments, impact organisations, CSOs, intermediaries etc, as long as the jurisdiction in which they operate allows for such partnerships.
If you are a legally registered non-profit intermediary with operations in the target markets of the fund, you are eligible to apply. In your application, you will be required to state how you are working with other organisations that you support and how their work is contributing towards improving women’s economic empowerment in the target markets. Additionally you will be asked to articulate how the funds will aid in your efforts to continue to build and grow these organisations.
If your organisation is a registered Non-Profit organisation, then you will be eligible to apply. Please evaluate if your organisation fulfils this criteria before proceeding to apply for this fund.
Legal documentation verified by national authorities of your country is accepted as proof.
The grant period ranges from one to three years. If you are chosen as a recipient of the grant, we will work with you to determine any necessary reporting requirements and milestones and provide assistance as needed.
The fund aims to provide single and multi-year funding for up to three years. This will be determined based on the needs, scaleup plans, and internal deliberation of the application.
IMPACT AREAS
Non-Profit Impact Organisations working at the forefront of women’s economic empowerment with sub thematics which could include but not limited to the following: .
- Providing decent work opportunities for women
- Enabling and supporting Women’s Entrepreneurship
- Digital Inclusion
- Financial Inclusion
- Vocational & Life Skills Acquisition
- Access to Markets
- Access to Education
- Access to affordable child/elderly care
- Others
Non-profit Intermediaries that are working on galvanising systems-change efforts in advancing women’s economic empowerment through approaches such as, but not limited to:
- Supporting the organisational development, capability and effectiveness that would help impact organisations scale and unlock additional funding.
- Providing strategic guidance, expertise and infrastructure to empower impact organisations to innovate, pilot and test initiatives within the focus area.
- Enabling connections between impact organisations and the funding community.
- Field-building through coordination and between local and regional stakeholders aimed at collectively advancing women’s economic empowerment in Asia.
Women and girls from the following target markets-Japan, South Korea, China, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and India.
application process
The call for applications will be open from 21 February, 2023 and closes on 31 March, 2023 23.59 SGT (GMT+8).
Before applying, you are required to verify your organisation’s Non-Profit Status by retrieving a validation token from the TechSoup Global Network, and submitting this token to us through the Non-Profit Verification Form. Refer to the Verification Form for further instructions.
You can apply for the fund via the Application Portal.
New Users on the Application Portal
- Register for a new Account Here.
- Login to your account, and create a Business Account.
- Click on the Asia Gender Equality Fund: Apply for the fund
- Fill up the form as complete as possible.
Existing Users on Application Portal
- Login to your existing account Here.
- If you forget your password, you may reset it by clicking the
- “Forgotten your Password” link.
- Click on the Asia Gender Equality Fund: Apply for the fund
- Fill up the form as complete as possible.
Please create an organisation account on the portal.
You will be able to upload all necessary documents through the online application portal.
Applications are evaluated by internal and external reviewers within the AVPN member community representing different markets and bringing in technical expertise within Gender as well. The applications will be assessed along the following lines
Impact
Whether the project will improve women’s economic empowerment through the proposed solution
Innovation
Whether the project will tackle the issue it seeks to address in a new and creative way
Reach
How the project will impact women if successful and the extent of the impact on their economic empowerment and growth
Scalability
If successful, the expected outcomes of the project in 5 years and whether the project can serve as a model for other communities
Feasibility
Whether the project has a well-developed, realistic plan of execution; Whether you have identified the right partners for implementation.
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION / IP
Please note that AVPN will not be taking any ownership or responsibility for your intellectual property. Hence, it is advised that you avoid including any confidential or proprietary information in your application.
Implementation Partners
The application portal, EnQuire™, is powered by our digital partner Tactiv.
