Open Startup Morocco - FY20 | PAS MOROCCO FY20 07

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAS MOROCCO FY20 07

Open Startup Morocco (OST-M) was a FY2020 U.S. Department of State, U.S. Embassy Rabat funding opportunity (PAS-MOROCCO-FY20-07; CFDA 19.040) to support a year-long, high-intensity entrepreneurship development program for Moroccan university students. The Embassy sought one U.S. higher education institution, operating under a cooperative agreement, to design and implement the program in close coordination with the Embassy's Public Affairs Office. While only U.S. institutions could apply (with required SAM registration), the selected awardee was expected to work through a Moroccan sub-grantee for on-the-ground implementation, with the Embassy substantially involved in choosing that local partner. The awardee was also expected to coordinate and share materials and lessons learned with U.S. Embassy Tunis and partners implementing a parallel initiative, Open Startup Tunisia.

The program rationale was tied to public diplomacy and youth economic opportunity: OST-M aimed to strengthen the skills of aspiring Moroccan entrepreneurs as one response to youth unemployment, while also supporting stability and reducing susceptibility to violent extremism. The target group was a cohort of about 75 high-potential Moroccan university students drawn from business, technology, engineering, and related disciplines. Training was to emphasize practical startup competencies such as design thinking, customer and market discovery, teamwork, marketing, and pitching, delivered in English and grounded in U.S. teaching approaches, business models, and entrepreneurial norms. In addition to skills development, the program was meant to create a durable peer network, increase exposure to mentors and startup ecosystems, and build longer-term linkages that include the U.S. Embassy as a continuing convening partner.

OST-M was structured around several connected components that moved students from selection through training, team-based venture development, and competitive pitching, with international exchange as a central feature. First, the awardee (with the Moroccan implementing partner and the Embassy) would run a nationwide recruitment and selection process to identify 75 students, with explicit attention to geographic reach across Morocco, socio-economic inclusion, and gender balance. Second, the awardee would deliver a week-long entrepreneurship bootcamp, ideally in-person at a central Moroccan location, introducing core business concepts and models. The grant budget was expected to cover venue costs and full participant logistics for that bootcamp, including travel, lodging, and meals for students and facilitators, with the option to shift to a virtual format if health and safety conditions required.

After the bootcamp, the program would continue through ten additional virtual trainings focused on key elements of launching or scaling a startup. These sessions were expected to blend U.S. business faculty with Moroccan and in-country expertise, including alumni of U.S. government exchange programs and representatives of U.S. companies operating in Morocco, helping participants connect theory to local market realities. A separate mentorship-building track was also required: the awardee would design and deliver a two-day mentoring workshop for up to 60 Moroccan entrepreneurship practitioners (such as entrepreneurs, professors, venture capitalists, incubator leaders), and from that pool, up to 30 mentors would be selected to support student teams. This mentorship component was designed not only to help student projects succeed, but also to strengthen Morocco's broader entrepreneurship ecosystem by creating stronger working relationships between universities and private-sector practitioners.

A major differentiator of OST-M was its virtual exchange and collaborative venture-building element with U.S. students. Moroccan participants were to be paired with American university students in facilitated, interdisciplinary teams to develop joint startup ideas through a structured online collaboration. The program then envisioned selected American students traveling to Morocco for in-person engagement and to participate in a pitch competition where teams would present final concepts. The awardee was responsible for arranging and paying for travel and lodging for those U.S. student participants. To cap the program, the winning Moroccan team from the pitch competition would travel to the United States for a week-long immersion and capacity-building experience hosted on the awardee institution's campus, again with the awardee covering travel and lodging. Across these stages, the Embassy signaled that schedules and travel could be adjusted due to COVID-era health and safety constraints, but the overall project was expected to run from planning in September 2020 through completion by July 2021.

The opportunity set clear objectives for applicants to design around, going beyond entrepreneurship training to include relationship-building and public diplomacy outcomes. Proposals needed to show how the program would expand participants' understanding of building and scaling businesses, increase exposure to U.S. models and experts, strengthen Morocco's entrepreneurship ecosystem by connecting universities with practitioners, and foster an ongoing network that continues sharing best practices and maintains engagement with the U.S. Embassy. Another core goal was to build durable relationships between Moroccan and American students and between the awardee and Moroccan higher education institutions, effectively combining workforce development, innovation, and cross-cultural exchange.

Because this was a cooperative agreement rather than a typical grant, the Embassy anticipated active involvement throughout implementation. Embassy staff would participate in key decisions and approvals, including helping identify and vet Moroccan sub-grantees and private-sector contributors, providing branding guidance, supporting promotion through embassy channels and university contacts, and approving recruitment plans, venues, and agendas for the bootcamp, mentoring institute, virtual trainings, and pitch competition. The Embassy also expected regular planning calls before and during implementation, reflecting a hands-on partnership model.

Funding was projected at one award in the range of $175,000 to $200,000 (with flexibility for proposals outside that range on a case-by-case basis). The funding source was FY20 Smith-Mundt Public Diplomacy funds, and the award could potentially be renewed for up to two additional years without a new competition, contingent on strong performance and available funding. Budget rules included a cap that equipment could not exceed 10 percent of total project costs, and proposals were expected to include costs associated with the Moroccan sub-grantee's staffing and execution responsibilities, as well as promotional and program materials.

Application requirements emphasized both program design detail and accountability. Applicants had to submit a project narrative, organizational information, and a budget using the Embassy templates, with budgets in U.S. dollars and a specified exchange rate guidance of 1 USD = 9.500 MAD. Proposals also had to include a bootcamp and virtual training syllabus, descriptions of the virtual exchange, pitch competition, and U.S. immersion visit, and a Monitoring and Evaluation plan that covered both output tracking and methods to assess impact before, during, and after the program. The deadline for submission was Monday, August 24, 2020, via email to Rabatgrants@state.gov, with decisions anticipated in early September 2020 subject to funding availability.

• The Department of State, U.S. Mission to Morocco in the business and commerce, employment, labor and training sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Open Startup Morocco - FY20" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.040.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 24, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 24, 2020. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $200,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

Apply for PAS MOROCCO FY20 07

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: