USAID Africa Trade & Investment Partnerships Opportunity

ype of Anticipated  Funding: ATI will issue performance-based grants ranging between US$150,000 - US$5,000,000 to establish partnerships with firms and/or investors for meeting the development objectives stated in Section 1. Grant sizes of smaller or larger amounts may be considered should the proposed activity meet the objectives of the APS, and a range of grant award types may be considered. Given the multiple funding streams under ATI via buy-ins, funding availability for each is outlined in the addenda to specify where grant awards are most likely to be made (e.g. a particular country’s USAID Mission has $10M strictly for tourism-related opportunities). Please refer to the addenda for further details on each buy-in’s priorities and the ceiling of its funding amount and note that they will be updated regularly throughout the year as additional activities are programmed under ATI.

Grant values may be limited by the type of grant most appropriate for the enterprise it intends to fund—for example, U.S. organizations (both not-for-profits or for-profits) may not receive grant funding above $250,000 under any grant type.

Performance-based grants: The specific type of performance-based grant preferred for this APS will be a Fixed Amount Award (FAA) agreement under USAID rules. Payment under FAA grants are made upon accomplishments of predetermined results, referred to as milestones. Milestones are agreed between ATI and the partner prior to the grant being awarded. 

Although the FAA is the preferred grant mechanism under this APS, ATI will conduct capacity assessments of all potential grantees in which their mode of award will be determined based on the financial and administrative capabilities of the applicant. Other modalities of award may include an in-kind grant, standard grant, simplified grant, or a combination of FAA and in-kind grants, but this is dependent on ATI’s determination of the potential grantee’s capacity.

If ATI’s assessment identifies weaknesses or deficiencies that call into question the applicant’s ability to manage the award, ATI may elect to remove the applicant from consideration under this funding opportunity or select a mechanism more appropriate for the applicant’s current financial, administrative and operational capacity ATI. The applicant will agree to the metrics and verification methods of awards during the development of the full application, giving latitude to the partner on how it will accomplish the agreed objectives.

Performance Period: The performance period of partnership grants will be no more than 36 months although this length of program will typically be reserved for activities needing longer timelines for externalities such as fundraising. In addition, the length of awarded programs may not extend past June 2026, unless explicitly modified in writing by DAI.