U.S. Embassy in the Philippines Offering Grant for the 2025 Academy for Women Entrepreneurs

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Goals and Objectives

The U.S. Embassy in the Philippines is pleased to announce the call for FY2025 proposals to implement the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE), a hybrid course giving women the knowledge, networks, and access they need to launch and scale successful businesses. The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs established AWE in 2019 and directly supports the U.S. National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality. AWE has empowered an estimated 25,000 women entrepreneurs in more than eighty countries.

AWE uses a hybrid model that combines the online platform DreamBuilder, developed through a partnership between Arizona State University’s Thunderbird School of Global Management and global copper mining company Freeport-McMoRan, with in-class mentoring and facilitation. Through AWE, participants learn core business skills, then get together as a class to discuss the material with experienced implementers, local mentors, and U.S. Exchange Alumni. Partnerships with local NGOs, universities, and chambers of commerce offer women the opportunity to amplify their newly learned business skills and network with other businesspeople through speed mentoring, pitch competitions, and entrepreneurship fairs. AWE is only available in English and Spanish, though partners may conduct mentoring and facilitation in local languages.

In the Philippines, the U.S. Embassy’s American Center Manila launched AWE in 2020. There are currently 456 AWE graduates in the Philippines with programs in Bacolod, Baguio, Bohol, Cebu, Manila, Marawi, Puerto Princesa, Quezon city, and Zamboanga del Sur. AWE graduates include women from internally displaced communities, fisherfolk, and victims of violence and natural disasters. AWE graduates also include sustainable development and eco-product innovators, agricultural researchers, and tech-based innovators.

The proposals should meet the following objectives:

• Run eight AWE cohorts of approximately 25-30 women. To ensure program sustainability and engagement with AWE graduates, cohorts must be located in Bacolod, Baguio, Bohol, Cebu, Manila, Puerto Princesa, Quezon City, and Zamboanga del Sur. At least five of these eight cohorts will be managed through a sub-award with the U.S. Embassy’s American Corners (https://ph.usembassy.gov/education/american-spaces/) and AWE alumnae.

• Distribute subgrants to selected American Corners and AWE alumnae to run AWE as follows: eighty percent of funding after submitting a detailed timeline and work plan (including marketing strategy for the project); twenty percent after submitting the final report with detailed project results.

• Design a three to four-month program of activities for eight cohorts, including online and in-person meetups, lectures, seminars, pitching competitions, grade consultation hours, and trade fairs, with mandatory program launch and graduation ceremonies. A calendar of activities for the twelve-month performance period must be provided.

• Identify the target audience for the academy and determine how they can create a ripple effect to advance AWE in their communities, including a detailed recruitment process.

• Identify at least two qualified facilitators per cohort and outline their qualifications for the role.

• Demonstrate how past AWE graduates will be engaged as mentors or resource personnel to showcase the benefits of AWE and inspire the current cohort.

• Develop a comprehensive plan to establish partnerships and collaborative activities with institutions that can contribute to AWE, such as local government units, universities, chambers of commerce, and think tanks.

• Establish a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation plan that includes key performance indicators, reference point for measuring progress, data collection methods, and reporting and feedback mechanisms.