Deadline Date: January 30, 2026
The Estonian Centre for International Development Cooperation has announced its projects to support the development of Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, Zambia, Tanzania and Uganda by focusing on innovation in implementing the twin transitions, creating systemic changes in the education system and developing digital skills.
Under the innovation ecosystem theme, activities focus on strengthening sustainable operating models and the capacity of innovation and entrepreneurship support organizations, supporting innovative digital solutions that contribute to the green transition and developing an enabling environment for innovation and cross-border entrepreneurship. These activities are targeted at Zambia and Uganda and emphasize cooperation between Estonian and local organizations.
Supported activities include improving the quality of teaching and educational leadership, renewing curricula and teaching methods through competency-based and learner-centered approaches and strengthening links between education and the labour market through partnerships and practical entrepreneurial learning.
The people-centered e-governance and cyber-intelligence theme focuses on strengthening good governance through human-centric digital solutions, smart use of artificial intelligence and increased cyber literacy. Activities include developing public sector digital leadership and change management capacity, strengthening cyber capacity for secure digital services and promoting cooperation between the public and private sectors in implementing e-solutions and AI.
The empowerment of women and girls theme targets Kenya and Uganda and supports activities that develop leadership and digital competencies of women, promote equal access to STEM education for girls and encourage participation in the IT and technology sector. These activities aim to strengthen women’s role in digital policy design, expand opportunities in science and technology fields and support girls’ interest and career choices through in-school and out-of-school initiatives.
The overall estimated budget for the application round is 600,000 euros, with an equal allocation of 150,000 euros for each thematic area. The minimum requested grant per application is 50,000 euros and the maximum is 100,000 euros, including indirect costs, while projects that include scholarship activities may apply for up to 150,000 euros. The maximum grant rate is 95 percent and applicants must provide a minimum self-financing contribution of 5 percent of eligible costs.
Eligible scholarship activities include continuing education, short-term training, study or internship formats and learning modules that support mentoring or knowledge transfer, provided they are directly linked to the project objectives and development needs of the target country.
Eligible costs under the scholarship component include tuition or training fees based on the institution’s official price list, as well as the travel and living expenses of participants. The costs of visas and insurance are also eligible, along with organizational and mentoring costs related to the study program, which may account for up to five percent of the total scholarship budget.
Scholarship activities must be directly linked to the overall objective of the project and contribute to strengthening the competencies of the project beneficiaries. The curriculum is required to define clear learning outcomes and must be designed in line with the development needs of the target country.
Depending on the relevance of the program and the capacity of the target group, studies may be conducted in Estonia, in the target country or through e-learning formats. Projects must comply with OECD ODA eligibility criteria and align with the Estonian Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid Strategy 2024–2030.
The eligibility period for supported projects runs from 1 January 2026 to 31 October 2027 and projects must start no later than 1 March 2026. The deadline for submitting applications is 30 January 2026.
