Funding a Cultural Project in Senegal: The Main Routes

Funding a cultural project in Senegal usually draws on more than one source: a public fund dedicated to urban cultures and creative industries, international cooperation bodies based in Dakar, pan-African foundations that support cultural work, and organisations built around cultural entrepreneurship. Amounts, criteria and deadlines differ from one programme to the next, and should always be checked on that programme's official website. A private venue such as Ge'eza does not grant any of this funding itself, though it can sometimes act as a hosting partner for a project carried by an association or an institute.

Senegal's public fund

Senegal runs a public fund, the FDCUIC (Fonds de développement des cultures urbaines et des industries créatives), aimed at supporting initiatives in urban culture and the creative industries. As with any public fund, calls for projects, eligibility rules and amounts are published on the official site at the point a project is due. For a Senegal based organiser, it is often the first route worth exploring before looking further afield.

International cooperation based in Dakar

Several cooperation bodies fund or support cultural projects from Dakar. The French Institute in Senegal, which includes the Villa Saint-Louis Ndar in Saint-Louis, backs cultural initiatives and residencies as part of its cooperation work. The European Union, together with the EUNIC network of national cultural institutes, runs the Spaces of Culture programme, which funds local cultural projects carried out in partnership. Each of these programmes keeps its own calendar and criteria, best checked directly on its site. Our article on cultural institutes in Dakar covers this landscape in more depth, and cultural diplomacy in Dakar explains the part private venues play in it.

Pan-African foundations

A number of international foundations support cultural projects across the continent. The Prince Claus Fund and the African Culture Fund back African artists and cultural organisations through grants and project funding. UNESCO's International Fund for Cultural Diversity, for its part, funds projects that strengthen cultural and creative industries in developing countries, Senegal included. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie also supports cultural initiatives across its member states. In every case, calls for applications are published on each organisation's own site, with its own deadlines.

Cultural entrepreneurship: the Tony Elumelu Foundation

For a project that also works as a business, the Tony Elumelu Foundation supports African entrepreneurs, including those working in the creative and cultural industries, through a pan-African entrepreneurship programme. Here too, application cycles, criteria and amounts should be checked on the foundation's official site, since none of these stay fixed from one round to the next.

What a private venue brings to a funded project

Many of these funds are reserved for associations and non-profit organisations, and cannot be received directly by a restaurant, a gallery or a concept store. That is why a private venue most often positions itself as a hosting partner for a project carried by an association or an institute: providing a space, a kitchen, a programme, without being the recipient of the funding itself. Ge'eza, in Point E, works on that principle: the house does not announce any funding, grant or institutional partnership of its own, but its spaces, gallery and Ethiopian and Senegalese kitchen can host the Dakar leg of a project carried by a third party organisation, from an exhibition to a music brunch.

Building an application that holds up

A convincing cultural funding application usually sets out the project in a few clear lines, a realistic budget with its main items, a delivery timeline, the partners already lined up, and, where a venue is involved, a note on the hosting arrangement. Organisers looking for a venue in Dakar for an exhibition, a gathering or an event tied to their funding can describe the project to Ge'eza's team through the spaces page, which replies with a quote within 24 business hours.

Check the rules before you apply

Before submitting anything, it is worth reading each programme's rules closely: some fund only local organisations, others require a partner in several countries, and others still are reserved for a single discipline. An organiser saves time by shortlisting the two or three programmes closest to the project, rather than applying to every call available.

Taking it further

If your project needs a venue in Dakar for its cultural leg, an exhibition, a gathering or a shared meal, Ge'eza's team can talk it through with you on WhatsApp at +221 78 660 07 07 or by email at geezacultures@gmail.com, with a short note on the project and its timeline.