Responses to clarifying questions – Uganda Specific

Yes. We are also keen on targeting other segments of youth like refugree youth / female youth.

Yes, the concepts are encouraged to come from a lead applicant who is a private sector entity and we also do emphasize that in a case of a consortium, there’ll be a detailed due diligence process on all members of the consortium.

You can email us on Uganda@cfye.nl if you wish to receive a word version of the Concept Note template.

Yes if the scaling means creating, improving or matching jobs. We are looking for businesses that are sustainable and scalable.

That’s a criteria to demonstrate the absorption capacity of your project, to check the traction of the company and to prove that the business can deliver what they’re saying that they want to deliver. Given that we have a very short timeline for creation of these jobs (2-3 years), we need to have comfort that companies are applying within their reasonable capacity.

Yes, job matching solutions providers are eligible. They are encouraged to demonstrate off take of jobs to show that they’re going to match a number of youth to a number of companies. We expect that within your consortium you have two or more private sector partners that would guarantee (Through signed MoUs) that once you’ve upskilled a certain number of youth, they will hire them.

Multinational companies are also encouraged to apply if they have a local operating presence in Uganda : demonstrate that they have operated in Uganda for at least two years or have Ugandan partners. The purpose is to show that you understand the context and challenge of unemployment in Uganda.

Yes, only applications received through our CFYE portal will be considered

Your co-funding can consist of a maximum of 30% of in-kind contribution, the remainder should be a cash contribution. There is further guidelines on the in-kind contributions and financial information available in the Concept Note Guidance.

“Our definition and classification of jobs follows the International Labor Organization guidelines. This means that we recognize part time jobs, full time jobs, jobs in the gig economy, self-employment etc.
Any jobs or dependent self-employment should require no more than 48 hours/week of work and be maintained for at least six months. “

This is a very critical criteria so It is best to keep the cost per job at a minimum. You should aim to keep your cost per job approximately  under €500.

Once your project is accepted, a contract is signed followed by a period of onboarding and inception. Implementation typically runs over 3 years and results and outcomes are expected from as early as end of year 1 (from the moment the grant is awarded).

The selection process is very thorough and goes through different levels of selection and evaluation. We bring on an evaluation committee made up of different representatives from the consortium members, independent experts as well as specific experts knowledgeable about specific areas such as finance, M&E and social impact. We have developed an automated scoring / voting system to ensure that our process is fair. When the selection committee feels deems that there isn’t enough information to make a judgment on applications, we organise interviews with applicants.
At the business case stage, our steering committee develops detailed feedback for all rejected applications which is then shared with applicants via email.

We recognize that the contextual challenges in Uganda make it difficult to define income. We welcome wage propositions that are representative of the living cost in your area.

Yes. We are following the ILO guidelines around jobs creation so self-employment is one of the eligible categories.

You can apply as a private company or as part of a consortium of partners. Partners within the consortium should all be eligible to apply for CFYE funding, have a clearly defined role within the consortium and clearly show their added-value in achieving the project results.

The categories of employment we are looking at are: paid employment, self- employment and dependent self employment.

Scale-up projects are considered eligible to apply, given the projects meets the minimum criteria for acceptance. There is further guidance available on capital investment in the Concept Note Guidance.

Yes, project revenue is considered as a financing source. There is further guidance available on co-financing in the Concept Note Guidance.

As long as the employment targets to create, match or improve jobs are covered as indicated in the minimum eligibility criteria.

Our Fund would cover business development services if these were clearly articulated in your application and directly linked to job creation. However, some aspects may not be covered like significant fixed assets: Equipment, Land and Property. There is further guidelines on financial information available in the Concept Note Guidance.

On minimum wage, we have some guidance on our website but this varies depending on the area where the person works. CFYE has also developed a pilot study on living wage in eastern Uganda, and we’ve concluded that for an individual minimum wage is about $60.00 a month and for a family of two adults and 2, 1/2 children, it is about $350.00. These figures are only indicative.

Yes, this should be considered as dependent self-employment, especially if you’re able to demonstrate the offtake of the produce that the farmers are being encouraged to cultivate. This means that if you have offtake contracts, you are bulk buying / identified a buyer for that produce and therefore encouraging farmers to transition from subsistence to more commercial type of farming, we would count that as dependent self employment as they’re working as an outgrower of the programme.