GRANT ASSISTANCE FOR
GRASSROOTS HUMAN SECURITY PROJECTS
APPLICATION GUIDE
Embassy of Japan in Cameroon
1535 St. 1828 Bastos-Ekoudou
P.O. BOX 6868 Yaounde
Tel.: (237) 222 20 62 02
E-mail:
[email protected]http://www.cmr.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_en/economic_cooperation-en.html
Table of contents
I. Introduction and Basic Information ........................................ 2
II. Required Qualifications ........................................................... 2
III. Target Projects ......................................................................... 3
IV. Eligible items / activities .......................................................... 3
V. How to apply ............................................................................. 4
VI. Selection standard ................................................................... 5
VII. Selection procedure ................................................................. 6
VIII. Detailed Flow of GGP .............................................................. 7
Submission deadline: at 4 P.M. November 28, 2024
I. Introduction and Basic Information
The aim of the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP), offered by the Embassy of
Japan, is to support organizations in implementing projects contributing to improving the well-being and
meeting the basic needs of the local population. Projects examples include but not limited to; construction,
renovation or provision of equipment of / to schools, health facilities, vocational training centres, small-sized
bridges, boreholes etc. Founded in 1993, this grant scheme has contributed globally to the development and
improvement of the human security of local populations at a grassroot level.
The maximum amount of the grant is 10,000,000 yen (around 43,000,000 FCFA) for each project. Subject to
change depending on the fiscal year budget and the exchange rate.
II. Required Qualifications
GGP is only intended for non-commercial projects submitted by non-profit organizations (hereinafter
“Applicant”). Individuals, private companies, central government, state-owned establishments and United
Nations organizations are not eligible to apply.
Eligible Applicants
□Domestic NGO □International NGO □Association □CIGs (Common Initiative Groups)
□Cooperative □Health organization □Educational establishment (primary and secondary)
□Local Government □Vocational training centre for socially disadvantaged groups
Prerequisites for Applicants
① The Applicant must be officially registered by relevant authorities in Cameroon.
② The Applicant must have been active in its domain for at least the last five (05) years in Cameroon.
③ The Applicant must have an accessible physical Head Office in Cameroon.
④ The Applicant must have a bank account under its name in Cameroon.
⑤ The Applicant is required to be able to present annual activity reports for the last three (03) years.
⑥ The Applicant is required to have a history of sound management and financial situation and be able to
present a financial report for the last three (03) years.
⑦ The Applicant is required to have a solid, sound system / management of accounting, administration and
inventory.
⑧ The Applicant has to have sufficient funds of its own to be able to well maintain the facilities / items
granted, after its completion.
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III. Target Projects
Project must meet all the conditions below.
⚫ Be in alignment with the principal of GGP, which is to improve the well-being of local population at a
grassroot level
⚫ Be a construction, rehabilitation or equipment provision project
⚫ Can be completed within 12 months.
Covered Areas GGP does NOT fund…
• Education • Projects exclusively for religious or political purposes
• Health • Projects only containing cultural, artistic or sports
• Agriculture, farming, fishery activities
• Water supply • Commercial activities
• Environment • Academic (scholarship, etc.) or professional research
• Women’s empowerment • Any military-related projects
• Support towards socially vulnerable people • Projects exclusively focused on human resource
• Socio-economic development (e.g. vocational training)
• Transport
It is to highlight that :
⚫ For construction projects, the Applicant must present the land title and building permit of the potential
project site.
⚫ For projects involving installation of water points (drilling, wells, etc.), the Applicant must be able to submit a
hydrogeological study report.
IV. Eligible items / activities
This grant can only finance costs for tangible and traceable items / activities such as construction, rehabilitation
and provision of durable equipmentl.
N.B. The facilities, equipment and materials financed by the embassy belong to the Applicant or beneficiary
organization (legal entity) of the project and not to an individual (natural person), etc. An individual cannot claim
ownership of anything donated or constructed.
Project will be subjected to external audit upon completion. Exceptionally audit fee can be covered by the grant.
All expenses incurring from any other items / activities that do not fall into the above eligibility must be borne by
the Applicant itself (*see below for examples). These items will be decided in consultation with the Embassy
after the adoption of project.
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Items NOT covered
Administrative costs e.g. salaries, utility costs, rents, land purchase, advertisement, transport,
operational cost
Upkeep costs e.g. maintenance costs, purchase of replacement products
Tax and Bank fees e.g. customs, commissions, registration fees, value-added tax (VAT), bank
charges, management permit fees
Human capital-related cost e.g. scholarship, training, internship, school fees, academic research, school
items
Consumable/ Disposable items e.g. food, stationery, agricultural input, livestock, booklet, clothes, personal
and any goods for individual use electronic devices, books
Intangible items and other items software, vaccines, medicine,
which are difficult to be traced
V. How to apply
Please submit your application form along with all the necessary documents to
[email protected]
Submission deadline: at 4 P.M.,November 28, 2024
Attention !!
⚫ All applications sent after this deadline will not be examined.
⚫ Files submitted online by transfer (e.g. Google drive, WeTransfer, Smash, TransferNow etc.) will not be
considered as valid.
⚫ Submission via devices such USB flash drives and DVDs will not be accepted.
Format
Application form must be submitted in WORD format and should not exceed 8 pages.
Email subject
Put the name of the Applicant in the subject of your email. If you have multiple projects (maximum two projects
per organization) to submit, please specify as shown in the example.
Example: “ABC Association (Project 1)”, “ABC Association (Project 2)” ….
Email volume
Your entire application file (documents, photos, plans, etc.) must not exceed 10MB.
In case your entire application file exceeds this limite, please send them separately, specifying the name of the
Applicant and the number of e-mails sent in the subject of each e-mail.
Example: first email “ABC Association 1”, second email “ABC Association 2” etc.
(If you have multiple projects) “ABC Association (Project 1-1)”, “ABC Association (Project 1-2)”...
“ABC Association (Project 2-2)”, “ABC Association (Project 2-2)”…
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DOCUMENTS TO BE ATTACHED
1.Quotes from three suppliers / construction firms and audit firms (if audit fee is to be covered by
the funds)
2. Location map of the project site
3. Detailed budget list of the project
4. Construction design and/or picture of sample equipment
5. Copy of Land Title and building permit (Indispensable for any construction project. The original
must be submitted during the selection process.)
6. Photos of the project site (pasted on 1 or 2 pages in Word document)
7. Project management/ operational and financial plan for the five years after the completion of the
project
8.Copy of Registration certificate of the Applicant
9. Statutes and internal regulations of the Applicant
10. Copies of ID cards of the persons in charge of the applicant
11. Performance report of the past 3 years
12. Financial balance sheet for the last 3 years
13. Copy of the Applicant’s bank identity statement
14. Location plan of the office of the Applicant
In case necessary, you may be contacted to additionally submit:
- Copy of the hydrogeological study report (if it is a work relating to water)
- Copy of bank statement of the Applicant
- Documents presenting the detail of the Applicant
- Any other documents providing information on the Applicant and the proposed project
- (If the Applicant has carried out other project in the past) Project narrative report
Put the short and clear title on each file.
Example: “.Quote (construction)”, “Quote (Equipment)”, “Detailed budget”, “Construction plan”, “Site images”,
“Legalization document”, “status”, “20XX activity report”, etc.
VI. Selection standard
The Embassy will assess all the submitted applications based on:
⚫ Validity of the project objective
⚫ Socio-economic impact on the beneficiaries
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⚫ Humanitarian point of view
⚫ Cost effectiveness and sustainability
⚫ Feasibility of the project
⚫ Credibility of the Applicant
⚫ Legal status of the Applicant (*Registration certificate needs to be submitted)
⚫ Financial status of the Applicant (financial statement of the organization)
⚫ Project management capacity of the Applicant (experiences from similar projects)
⚫ Contribution and input from the Applicant and/or local community (e.g. Financial or material support
etc. )
⚫ Degree of participation and ownership by the beneficiaries
⚫ Quality of the proposal and attached documents in terms of neatness, clarity, accuracy and legitimacy
VII. Selection procedure
1. Pre-selection phase
The applications received by the Embassy will be reviewed with particular attention based on the selection
standard indicated above.
2. Visit to the project site and 2nd selection phase
When your project is pre-selected, the project site and the office of the Applicant will be inspected by the
representative of the Embassy for evaluation. For further assessment, additional documents to submit may
also be required.
3. Final selection phase
Projects which passed the selection at the Embassy will be recommended to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of Japan (MOFA) for its final approval process.
Flow: application to inception
Feasibility
Pre-Selection Final selection
Reception of Study of Pre- Signing of
by the by the MOFA Finance
application selected Grant
Embassy in Tokyo
projects
Sep to Nov 2024 Dec to Mar 2025 Mars to May 2025 Jun to Nov 2025 Nov to Dec 2024 Jan to Mar 2026
Schedule is subject to change and may be advanced.
The Embassy does not answer any inquiry on selection issues.
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VIII. Detailed Flow of GGP
Ministry, Tokyo Embassy Applicant Supplier, Bank Auditor
Reception Submit
Document selection Site visit/ Interview
/ Pre-Selection
2nd selection
Final Selection phase
Approval
Announcement
Signing of Grant Open project
Contract (G/C) bank account
Payment request Procurement
contract
Deposit into project
Issue a check
account
Payment
Authorization authorization
request request
Payment*
Start of Project Supply
Mid-term report
Completion of
Closure of
Project
account
Final Report Audit report
Completion
ceremony
Follow-up**
* Payment will be made in several instalments in accordance with the schedule decided by the embassy.
** Post-project monitoring will continue on a regular basis for 5 years or more in which the Applicant of adopted
projects are obliged to take part.
