Goethe-Institut 2021-2022 Sound Connects Fund-Southern Africa

Published: 01 Jul 2021

The Music in Africa Foundation (MIAF) in partnership with Goethe-Institut invites organisations in the Southern Africa creative and cultural industries to apply for grants from the recently launched Sound Connects Fund, which aims at accelerating development and increasing the capacity of the cultural and creative sectors in Southern Africa. 

Goethe-Institut Sound Connect Fund

Benefits of Goethe-Institut Sound Connect Fund

Category A (€35 000.00 - €60 000.00)

• Project budget is between €35 000.00 and €60 000.00.
• Project implementation and final reporting must take place between September 2021 and end of April 2022.

Category B (€61 000.00 - €100 000.00)

• Project budget is between €61 000.00 and €100 000.00.
• Project implementation and final reporting must take place between September 2021 and end of September 2022.

Category C (€101 000.00 - €180 000.00)

• Project budget is between €101 000.00 and €180 000.00.
• Project implementation and final reporting must take place between September 2021 and end of April 2023.

Requirements for Goethe-Institut Sound Connect Fund

• To be eligible for financial support, applicants must be formally registered in the local country,  for example as an NGO /NPO, association, close corporation , private company etc.
• For clarity, the basis is that the applicant must be an official/ legally registered entity in its local country. Organisations is used as a broader term to refer to any business entity such as a company, an institution, association etc. The list may include (non-exhaustive); arts organisations, arts venues, festivals, creative hubs and incubators, media houses, mobility circuits, recording studios, theatres, arts markets, fairs and conferences, creative sector businesses etc.
• The organisation must have a proven history of operating in the creative sector in Southern Africa.
• The organisation must have been in operation for at least three years on the day of application.
• The organisation must be registered and operating in any of the following eligible countries:
  • Angola
  • Botswana
  • eSwatini
  • Lesotho
  • Malawi
  • Mozambique
  • Namibia
  • Zambia
  • Zimbabwe
• Similarly, the planned action must take place in the eligible countries only.
• The organisation must have directly implemented, during the last two years, at least one project in the cultural and creative sector, for at least 50% of the amount of the grant requested.
• An organisation may only be awarded a SCF grant once. Thus beneficiaries of a SCF grant  may not apply again. Previous beneficiaries are welcome to collaborate with other grantee projects on the condition that there is no financial gain.
• An organisation can partner or collaborate with another organisation from a non-eligible country provided that there is no financial benefit to the organisation from the non-eligible country that is derived directly from the awarded SCF grant.
• Capacity building training for grantees – one of the key goals of the fund is to offer a robust capacity building programme to grantees. Grantees should therefore be willing to actively participate in this programme which will broadly include accessing learning initiatives, virtually and where possible face-to-face (travel).

        All applicants shall be required to indicate their key training needs or leaning interests.

• The premise of this call is that the action must take place in the eligible country(s) and it must be clear in the proposal and implementation that the beneficiaries of the action are based in an eligible country. Projects that include participation of beneficiaries  in activities outside the eligible country  (e.g. conferences, markets, festivals etc.) will remain eligible on the condition that there is a clear demonstration of how such an action benefits the eligible country(s).
• All organisations, programmes and countries not listed above are not eligible to apply for grants.

Application Documents

The compulsory application documents that must be filled out by applicants are:

• SCF Grant Application Form
• SCF Grant Budget Template (Annexure 1)
• SCF Legal Identity Form (Annexure 2)
• SCF Financial Identification Form (Annexure 3)
• Declaration of Honour Form (Annexure 4)

Additional compulsory documents that must be supplied by the applicant with the application are:

• Proof of company/organisation registration 
• Tax clearance (This refers to official documentation which confirms that the applicant’s tax status is in good standing. The documentation must be issued by the relevant local tax authority.)
• Stamped or audited Financial Statements (2019 and 2020)
• Company Profile with HR Structure
• Document with examples of a project/s delivered by the organisation in the creative and cultural sector in the last 2 years. (i.e., project reports, links to project websites, etc.)
• Two (2) reference letters from previous funders or clients.
• Proof of previous grants (such as project reports, award letter, etc) that the applicant has directly implemented, at least one project in the cultural and creative sector, for at least 50% of the amount of the grant requested.

Application Deadline

How to Apply