Nigeria Youth Futures Fund (NYFF) Call for Applications: Youth Leadership Development Fund 2026

The Nigeria Youth Futures Fund (NYFF) invites applications for the 2026 Youth Leadership Development Fund, targeting individuals and organizations committed to strengthening youth leadership and civic engagement across Nigeria.

The fund aims to support youth ecosystem building through strategic grants aligned with national development priorities.

The programme is implemented by LEAP Africa and co-funded by MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation, and Luminate Group.

About the Nigeria Youth Futures Fund (NYFF)

The NYFF is a five-year collaborative initiative designed to strengthen youth leadership in Nigeria through inclusive funding, policy engagement, and long-term national development participation.

The programme is built around three core pillars:

• Imaginative Futures Working Group: Integrating youth ideas into long-term national and regional planning.
• Youth Leadership Programme: Building capacity of youth leaders and youth-led organizations while providing grants for impactful initiatives.
• Online and Media Engagement: Strengthening youth voices through advocacy, policy debates, campaigns, and civic discourse toward achieving #TheNigeriaWeWant.

Grant Thematic Areas

The 2026 Youth Leadership Development Fund prioritizes proposals that promote good governance and address fundamental national challenges.

Policy and Advocacy

Projects should strengthen structured youth engagement in policy processes at national and subnational levels, including:

• Open Government Partnership engagement and public sector reforms
• Youth policy review, domestication, and implementation
• Legislative engagement and regulatory reforms
• Policy research, tracking, and issue-based advocacy

Electoral Engagement and Democratic Participation

In preparation for Nigeria’s 2027 general elections, initiatives should go beyond voter mobilization to include:

• Leadership development for aspiring young leaders
• Electoral reform advocacy
• Manifesto analysis and voter education
• Candidate debates and town halls
• Post-election accountability tracking

Accountability and Transparency

Proposals should promote responsible governance through:

• Public expenditure monitoring and budget tracking
• Local government accountability mechanisms
• Community governance scorecards
• Institutional transparency initiatives

Social Inclusion

The NYFF encourages youth-led initiatives focused on:

• Gender Equality: Addressing systemic gender inequality, sexual and gender-based violence, and unequal access to services.
• Implementation of the Disability Act (2018): Supporting domestication and enforcement of disability rights across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) and PWD-focused proposals are strongly encouraged.

National Cohesion, Peace, and Security

Priority will be given to initiatives addressing:

• Conflict prevention and early warning systems
• Community-based peacebuilding
• Youth engagement in security accountability
• Violence prevention and civic-security trust building

Cross-Cutting Priority: Innovation and Creative Engagement

Across all thematic areas, applicants are encouraged to leverage:

• Civic technology and digital platforms
• Data visualization and open-data tools
• Multimedia storytelling and documentary production
• Social media advocacy
• Creative arts for civic education (film, theatre, music, spoken word)
• Gamified civic engagement tools
• Edutainment approaches

Technology and creative tools must demonstrate measurable impact, not serve as superficial add-ons.

Grant Structure

Two primary grant categories are available:

1. Small Grant

• Amount: $1,000
• Quantity: 100 awards
• Target: Young activists implementing transformational initiatives

2. Development Grant

• Amount: $10,000
• Quantity: 60 awards
• Target: Youth-led grassroots and community-based organizations

Applicants who have accessed NYFF funding more than twice will not be prioritized.

Eligibility Criteria

Individual Applicants

Applicants must:

• Be aged 18–35 years
• Demonstrate proven impact in one or more thematic areas
• Show experience in youth activism and project management
• Exhibit integrity, leadership, and community-building skills
• Provide valid identification (NIN or equivalent)
• Submit two reputable referees

Organizational Applicants

Organizations must:

• Be registered with Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) or apply through a registered partner
• Be youth-driven and focused on sustainable civic transformation
• Provide SCUML certification and relevant legal documentation
• Have a physical office and corporate bank account
• Demonstrate financial accountability and operational track record
• Provide two reputable referees

Application Process

Applications must be submitted through the official portal.

The process includes:

1. Completion of pre-application questions
2. Submission of a proposal (maximum 3,000 words) structured as follows:
   • Section A: Background, challenges, scope of work
   • Section B: Monitoring and Evaluation framework (inputs, outputs, outcomes, impact)
   • Section C: Work plan, timeline, and budget
3. Upload of identification documents
4. Submission of referee details

Applications are free of charge. NYFF maintains zero tolerance for corruption.

Grant Timeline

• Opening Date: February 26, 2026 (12:00 PM WAT)
• Deadline: March 31, 2026 (11:59 PM WAT)
• Grant Cycle: May 2026 – December 2026

Grants will be disbursed in two tranches:

• 50% at project commencement
• 50% upon satisfactory midterm milestone achievement

Ethics, Compliance, and Data Protection

Applicants must:

• Declare absence of conflict of interest
• Comply with anti-corruption and anti-bribery regulations
• Respect national laws and human rights standards

The NYFF Secretariat reserves the right to suspend or terminate applications where misconduct, fraud, or irregularities are identified.

Applicant data will be processed in compliance with General Data Protection Regulation standards, as upheld by LEAP Africa.

VISIT OFFICIAL WEBSITE TO APPLY

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Disclaimer: Global South Opportunities (GSO) is not the organization offering the funding. For any inquiries, please contact the official organization directly. Please do not send your applications to GSO, as we are unable to process them. Due to the high volume of emails, we receive daily, we may not be able to respond to all inquiries. Thank you for your understanding.