Small Grants Facility

NILALEG Small Grant Facility




The NILALEG Project small grant facility aims to enhance collaborative sustainable solutions for biodiversity and people. This will be done through funding under the three (3) investment windows, namely; Sustainable Crop and Rangeland Management, Agroforestry and Nature-based Enterprises.


  • Beneficiaries
  • The targeted beneficiaries are the following Community Based Organizations (CBOs) from the focal landscapes.

    • Gazetted/Registered Communal Conservancies and Community Forests
    • Farmer's Associations
    • Women's Groups
    • Youth Groups
    • Informal Groups [groups not formally registered with any government agency] are eligible to apply
  • Sustainable Crop and Rangeland Management
  • Projects funded with grants under this window will support sustainable crop and rangeland management interventions for the maintenance and recovery of natural ecosystems.

    • Sustainable utilization of grasslands and shrubs
    • Improvement in degraded soil and/or conservation of soil
    • Bush control
    • Drought planning
    • Climate-smart agriculture
  • Agroforestry
  • Projects funded with grants under this window will support forest management and agroforestry practices for sustainable land and forest management.

    • Sustainable harvesting
    • Forests and soil interventions that support regulatory function within the water cycle in the context of water scarcity due to decreasing rainfall and longer dry seasons
    • Pastures and forests that protect communities from enhanced soil erosion
    • Forest restoration as carbon sinks
  • Nature-based Enterprises
  • Projects funded with grants under this window will support ventures that can be exploited to support biodiversity utilization, conservation, and equitable benefit sharing.

    • Sustainable income generation connected to biodiversity conservation
    • These may include tree-planting activities, sustainable enterprise development from bush encroachment, use of medicinal herbs/nutraceuticals, production of handicrafts, timber products and ecotourism.

    Grant sizes: USD 40,000.00 – USD 46,000.00

    Grant duration: 2 years

  • Eligibility Criteria
    • Any infrastructure development must comply with the Environmental Management Act
    • Interventions need to be linked to sustainable livelihoods through integrated landscape management of natural resources
    • Demonstrate sound financial management experience
    • Experience in managing grant funds
    • Well established accounting and financial reporting systems, auditing requirements
    • Adherence to the implementation of Environmental and Social Safeguard system
    • Demonstrate gender mainstreaming and youth empowerment