About

The Supporting the Economic Empowerment of Women programme aims to address Yemen’s prolonged economic crisis by empowering women through improved access to employment, financial resources, and inclusive economic opportunities.

The focus areas of this call include creating dignified job opportunities for women through gender-transformative skills development, entrepreneurship, and access to labour markets in emerging sectors such as agritech, clean energy, and digital services; enhancing financial inclusion through gender-responsive legal and regulatory frameworks, improved access to financial services, and support for women-led enterprises; and strengthening women-led trade linkages with regional and international markets, including the EU, Middle East, and Gulf regions, while promoting human rights-based approaches, gender equality, youth participation, and disability inclusion across all interventions.

Yemen continues to face severe economic challenges due to a decade-long crisis that has led to declining GDP, rising inflation, and widespread disruption of livelihoods and basic services. These conditions have significantly worsened gender inequalities, limiting women’s participation in economic and public life. Women face multiple barriers including restricted mobility, limited access to education and finance, and exclusion from formal employment, all of which contribute to their low participation in the labour market.

The programme seeks to address these challenges by supporting initiatives that create sustainable and dignified employment opportunities for women. It emphasizes the importance of equipping women with relevant skills, particularly in high-potential sectors, and ensuring that training programmes are inclusive, accessible, and aligned with market demands. Efforts will also focus on promoting digital and financial literacy, as well as entrepreneurship, enabling women to build and sustain their own businesses.

Financial inclusion is a key component of the programme, aiming to improve women’s access to financial institutions, digital financial services, and community-based financing mechanisms such as savings groups. It also encourages the development of supportive infrastructure and partnerships with public and private stakeholders to create an enabling environment for women’s economic participation.

The total indicative budget for this call is EUR 5,000,000, with grants ranging from EUR 2,500,000 to EUR 5,000,000, covering between 50% and 90% of the total eligible project costs.

Eligibility

The programme promotes the integration of women-led businesses into regional and international markets by facilitating trade linkages and business networks. This includes fostering partnerships and exchanges that can enhance market access and competitiveness for women entrepreneurs.

Cross-cutting priorities such as human rights, gender equality, youth engagement, and disability inclusion are central to the programme’s design and implementation. Particular attention is given to women and girls with disabilities, who face compounded barriers and require targeted support to access economic opportunities and services.

Eligible applicants include legal entities such as NGOs, private sector operators, and international organisations, with specific requirements regarding partnerships and establishment.

Post Date: April 17, 2026