Fair Focus on Trade (FFT)

FFT is one of the 8 programmes under the policy framework Focus. It focuses on 21 countries in Africa and Asia. You can find the priority sectors, primary value chains, policy themes and target countries in the FFT Target Countries 2026 list. We will not consider applications that do not follow this list.

What FFT supports

Civil society organisations (CSOs) play a crucial role in clean and fair trade. FFT strengthens CSOs in the Netherlands and the target countries with capacity strengthening, service provision, dialogue and financing.

FFT is part of our government's policy efforts to implement European Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) related legislation and regulations. RBC is about companies' efforts to prevent and reduce the negative impacts of their activities on people and the environment in their own operations and throughout their value chains. A well-functioning civil society is required for the effective implementation of RBC and for supporting the business community.

FFT follows the guidelines and themes of OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights. Economic, social and environmental aspects are approached as a whole, following the People, Planet, Profit principle, as shown in Annex 2 of the policy guidelines in the Government Gazette.

On our webpage, About RBC and due diligence, you will find more information on RBC.

For whom?

This subsidy programme is for CSOs registered in the Netherlands and target countries, with expertise in clean and fair trade between production countries and Dutch and European markets. Applicants must meet the following threshold criteria.

Threshold criteria for the applicant organisation

The applicant:

• has a legal establishment in the Netherlands or in the target country in which they will carry out the activities.
• has demonstrable expertise in implementing programmes of similar scope for which the subsidy is being applied. This means that your organisation has a track record demonstrating that:
  • you have at least 5 years' experience in carrying out these activities;
  • this experience must be within the same target country/countries and priority value chain as your proposal; and 
  • this experience must have been gained within the past 6 years from the reference date of 1 January 2026.
• has demonstrable capacity to carry out the proposed activities;
• has a system for selecting, monitoring and managing risks associated with partners. This system also monitors the progress and quality of the activities;
• has an average of at least 25% of total annual income from sources other than the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands during the period 2022–2024;
  • specialist organisations and small southern organisations are excluded from this requirement.
• is eligible for a maximum of 2 subsidies. If more than 2 applications are submitted, we will reject the third and any subsequent applications without assessment.

There are extra conditions concerning:

• maximum remuneration;
• living wages; and
• organisational capacity and integrity policies.

You are not eligible for a subsidy if you represent:

• a for-profit organisation;
• a government organisation or an organisation in which the government is the only or majority shareholder;
• an intergovernmental organisation; or
• an organisation submitting an application as, or on behalf of, a partnership, such as an alliance or consortium.

Check all applicant threshold criteria in the Government Gazette (in Dutch) before applying for this subsidy. An unofficial translation of the Government Gazette is available.

Threshold criteria for the activities proposed by the applicant

Your project must meet the following threshold criteria:

• Your project consists of financing activities, service provision, dialogue and capacity-strengthening activities. Your project must combine all 4 types of activities.
• You focus on 1 of the following sectors: Agriculture/agri-food, mining/raw materials or garments/textiles.
  • You may choose 2 sectors. Then you must explain why you can address them with the same (type of) activities. 
• You focus on 1 value chain within your chosen sector. 
  • You may choose multiple value chains. Then you must explain why they are related. Also, you must explain which of these value chains is the primary value chain (the one on which most activities will be focused).
  • The primary value chain must be included in the list of priority sectors and value chains for each country. This does not apply to the secondary value chains. 
• Your project has a logical structure. 
  • You analyse the local context. 
  • You use expertise from previous projects. 
• Your project takes place in 1 to 3 countries. All these countries must be included in the list for priority sectors and value chains for each country. 
  • If your project takes place in 2 or 3 countries, they must be in the same region. 
  • The chosen countries are important to your selected value chain. 
  • The Netherlands or Europe is the most important market for the products in the selected value chain.
• The selected sector, primary value chain and country must be part of the list of priority sectors and value chains per country. This list is based on Multi-Year Country Strategies (MACS) and other Dutch policies on aid and trade. You can find the priority sectors, value chains and policy themes per country in the FFT Target Countries List 2026.

The following activities are not eligible for this subsidy

• Activities aimed at converting people to a faith or religion;
• Activities involving racism and discrimination, punishable and prohibited under Dutch and / European law;
• Commercial activities;
• Activities already funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs; 
• Activities of local organisations already funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
• Activities of organisations that already receive a contribution from the budget of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the period for which FFT subsidy is requested;
• Activities that support or facilitate any of the above. 

Check all project activity threshold criteria in the Government Gazette (section 4.3) before applying for this subsidy.

Target countries and sectors

Projects in the following countries are eligible for an FFT subsidy: 

Bangladesh, Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, the Palestinian Territories, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda and Vietnam.

This programme targets the following sectors:

• agriculture/agri-food;
• mining/critical raw materials (CRM); and
• garments/textiles.

You can find the priority sectors, value chains and policy themes per country in the FFT Target Countries List 2026.

Because this subsidy programme has generated significant interest, we strongly advise you not to apply if you do not meet the conditions and evaluation criteria specified in the Government Gazette.

Budget and duration

For this programme, you can apply for a subsidy of between €10 million and €22 million. We will select a maximum of 8 projects. 

We take your organisation's income into account when determining your maximum subsidy amount. You can find the budget requirements in Annex 4, Financial Statements, of the Government Gazette publication.

FFT is a 5-year subsidy programme (60 months), starting with a 6-month inception period. The activities must start within 2 months of our granting you the subsidy. 

The mandatory budget template lists and explains all eligible costs. You must submit this template with your application. You will be able to download it from the publications section on this page once it is published.

Inception phase

The first 6 months of the project are part of the inception phase. At the end of this period, we will perform an assessment. Once the inception phase is complete and the assessment is concluded, the project can proceed to the implementation phase.

Project conditions

Below is a brief description of the conditions for FFT. For a comprehensive overview, refer to the Government Gazette. Please read these conditions carefully.

Activities eligible for a subsidy

Qualitative criteria

After you meet the threshold criteria, we assess your application for quality using a point system. We only assess and award points to applications that meet all threshold criteria set out in the Government Gazette. You must score at least 70 out of 100 points on the qualitative criteria below to qualify for this subsidy.

The qualitative criteria for awarding points are:

1. Track record
2. Intervention strategy, including the budget
3. Focus policy principles

The results of this assessment yield a ranking of applications by quality. We will grant a maximum of 1 subsidy application per country and primary value chain. If multiple applications meet the conditions and extra criteria to the same extent, we will determine which application receives the subsidy via a lottery.

How to apply

Follow these steps to submit your full proposal to us.

You may apply for a subsidy from 30 June 2026, 12:00 CEST until 11 August 2026, 12:00 CEST. Please include all completed attachments with your application.

• Dutch organisations: You log in with eHerkenning. You need at least eHerkenning level 3. Make sure you apply for eHerkenning in time. It may take a few days before you receive your login details.
• Other organisations: Representatives of foreign companies or organisations without eHerkenning or DigiD (for citizens) can apply for an RVO account. You can do this via: Log in. Choose the option: I don't have any of these login methods (in Dutch: Ik heb geen van deze inlogmethodes).

We only process complete applications. If your application is incomplete, we will request extra information from you. If we do so, the date of your application will be the date we receive this information.

Checklist for your application (full proposal)

Please keep the following organisation information ready when submitting your application:

• Chamber of Commerce registration number or equivalent; 
• your name and address details;
• your bank details;
• project name;
• completed attachments (see the annexes below).

Required documents

Please complete and include the required annexes when submitting your subsidy application. We will publish the annex templates on time. Use our email notification tool to receive an email update when the annexes are published.

You can download the annex templates below once they are published.

Publications

Fair Focus on Trade subsidy in Government Gazette, 15 May 2026 (official publication in Dutch)