Impact Clusters - IC
Are you an entrepreneur? Is your company based in the Netherlands? And, would you like to work with other companies in promising markets in low and middle-income countries? The Impact Clusters subsidy programme supports companies that want to jointly invest in developing the local private sector while positioning themselves in these markets. Knowledge institutes, trade organisations, in cooperation with companies and NGOs, can also apply for this subsidy.
Budget and application period
Please note: the criteria and forms have changed compared to previous rounds.
For whom
The subsidy is for entrepreneurs based in the Netherlands who want to develop a sector or value chain in a low or middle-income country by collaborating with other companies and at least 1 local partner. They do this because they see commercial opportunities for themselves. For example, to sell more products in a country in the future or to establish operations there.
Dutch companies and local partner(s) work together in impact clusters. Knowledge institutes, trade organisations and NGOs can also participate in a cluster.
Would you like an initial, non-committal consultation with one of our advisors on this initiative? Then, email ic@rvo.nl or call +31 (0) 88 042 42 42.
Budget and duration
Impact Clusters is a 6-year subsidy programme that runs until the end of 2028.
A total of €11.3 million is available in 2025. This amount is divided as follows:
A. €6.2 million is available for Impact Cluster projects that fit in a combitrack, a multi-year sector approach in an emerging market. See the list of combitracks (in Dutch).
B. €5.1 million is available for other Impact Cluster projects.
Impact clusters can apply for a subsidy of up to €620,000. See the list of eligible countries and sectors under the 'Conditions' section below.
Impact clusters can receive a subsidy for up to 60% of the eligible project costs.
Conditions
Impact Cluster subsidy applications must meet the following criteria:
- Your impact cluster consists of at least 3 partners, including at least 1 local partner.
- Companies in the partnership are not part of the same group or fiscal entity. Each partner in an impact cluster is a legal entity.
- NGOs, trade organisations and knowledge institutes can also participate in an impact cluster, in collaboration with at least 3 companies.
- The subsidy applicant (lead party) is a company, sector organisation, knowledge institute or NGO. The lead party:
• has an office in the Netherlands and is registered with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce;
• has an average annual revenue of €100,000 or more; and
• employs at least 3 staff members. - All partners have a strategic and long-term business interest in the project. For NGOs and knowledge institutes, this can be a societal interest. Partners must also have a proven and relevant company track record of at least 1 year. They should also have experience in the (sub)sector that the project focuses on.
- Subsidy advisors, consultants or consortium brokers without a long-term business or societal interest in the specific sector in the country where the project takes place may not act as project partners or the lead party. However, the cluster may hire these parties for tasks such as project management. The impact cluster can include these costs in the project budget as 'third-party costs'.
See the 'Rules and regulations' section for all terms and assessment criteria.
Countries and sectors
Projects in the following countries are eligible for an Impact Clusters subsidy:
Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt*, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Moldova, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Palestinian Territories, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan*, Sudan, Suriname, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Ukraine, Vietnam, Zimbabwe.
*Not accepting new impact clusters at the moment.
The project must match one of the Netherlands government's preferred private sector development sectors in the project country. You can find these countries and sectors in the download below.
Responsible Business Conduct (RBC)
Your project must follow the international Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) guidelines. We take RBC into account when assessing your funding application. We ask you to:
- follow OECD guidelines;
- show how you conduct your operations following these OECD guidelines;
- carry out a proper risk analysis of social and environmental risks;
- state the measures to prevent and reduce these risks.
During the project, you must report on RBC risks and state the measures you are taking or plan to take to prevent and reduce these risks.
Dutch companies must complete an RBC self-assessment as part of the application process. The Dutch government uses this scan to check whether a company is aware of and follows the OECD guidelines. This assessment is a requirement for approval of your project.
On our website, you can read more about RBC and due diligence.
Preparing your subsidy application
Submit a quick scan
Have you already formed a cluster? If so, take the following steps before applying:
- Check whether your project idea matches one of the preferred sectors of the Dutch government's priority per country policy for your intended country. You can find a list of the preferred sectors per country under the 'Conditions' section of this webpage.
- Download and complete the 'Annex quick scan 2025' below;
- Complete the mandatory quick scan form via the button below. Include the annex.
- Submit your quick scan before 9 October 2025, 15:00 CET. The closing date is 8 weeks before the deadline for subsidy applications. You will still receive our advice if we receive your quick scan after 9 October. However, you can only submit your subsidy application during the next application round. We expect a new subsidy round in the first quarter of 2026.
- While processing your quick scan, we may contact you to discuss how you wish to organise the project.
- We will advise you on your completed quick scan within 6 weeks.
Once you have received our advice, you can apply for funding within the application period.
How to apply
During a subsidy round, you can only apply if you have:
- completed the mandatory quick scan;
- received our advice as explained in 'Preparing your application', step 2.
You can apply for an Impact Clusters subsidy by submitting a full proposal.
Submit a full proposal
Follow these steps to send us your full proposal.
- The subsidy applicant (lead party) applies on behalf of the impact cluster.
You can submit a full proposal until 4 December, 15:00 CET. Please include all completed annexes. - You log in with eHerkenning. You need eHerkenning level 3.
- Make sure you apply for eHerkenning via eLoket in time. It may take a few weeks before you receive your login details.
- Submit well before the closing date, as we process subsidy applications on a first-come, first-served basis. This means we assess applications in the order we receive them.
- We only process complete applications. If your application is incomplete, we will ask you for more information. If we do so, the date of your application will be the date we receive this information.
Submit your full proposal via the online form
Checklist for your application (full proposal)
Please keep the following company or organisation information, for each participant, at hand when submitting your application:
- the reference number on the quick scan advice you received from RVO;
- Dutch Chamber of Commerce registration number;
- your name and address details;
- your bank details;
- project name;
- completed attachments (see the annexes below).
Required documents
Please complete and include the following annexes when submitting your subsidy application via this webpage.
Annex I Project plan
Annex II Activities and Results Overview
Annex III Indicators
Annex IV Project budget calculation and realisation tool
Annex V The lead party's most recent annual financial statement
Annex VI Cooperation Agreement (signed by all partners)
Annex VII Authorisation intermediary (if applicable).
You can download the templates for the annexes below. There is no download for Annex V.
For reference
Both the downloads 'Annex Quick scan 2025' and 'Annex I Project Plan' include a Theory of Change (ToC) form. In the download below, you will find 3 examples of completed ToCs.
No impact cluster yet?
If you do not have an impact cluster, contact us first for advice on how to proceed. Then, follow the procedure for existing clusters.
Sometimes, forming a new cluster may take longer than expected. If this means you cannot submit a subsidy application on time, you may be able to submit your complete application during a new application round. Discuss this possibility with our advisor.
Important dates
- Thursday 28 August 202512:00 CEST (noon)Open for quick scan submissions and subsidy applications
- Thursday 9 October 202515:00 CESTClosed for quick scan submissions for 2025 roundDeadline
- Thursday 4 December 202515:00 CETClosed for quick scan submissions and subsidy applicationsDeadline
After your application
You will hear whether we have approved your application within 13 weeks. The 13 weeks start from the date we consider your application complete.
If we approve your application, you can start the implementation phase of your project immediately. We will pay your subsidy in advance payments. The amount and frequency of the advance depend on the project stage and the expected budget needed. The total of the advance may be up to 90% of the total subsidy requested for the coming project year.
Submitting a progress report
When we grant you a subsidy, you must report on your project's progress by submitting an annual progress and financial report. Please download and complete the documents 'IC annual progress report' en 'IC project realisation tool'. You can find these documents below.
Reporting changes
Notify us of any project, implementation and/or organisation changes. For specific changes, you need our approval in advance. If you do not request our approval in advance, you risk losing your subsidy for the changed parts or the entire project. Contact your project advisor to notify us of any changes.
Submitting a final report
On completion of your project, you must submit a final report. Please download and complete the 'IC final report' and include the Annex 'IC project realisation tool'. You can find these documents below. Please note that the 'IC Project realisation tool' template will be replaced during the 2025 subsidy round.
Project management downloads
Rules and regulations
- Impact Clusters 2023-2028 3rd subsidy round in Government Gazette, 17 July 2025 (official publication in Dutch)
- Impact Clusters 2023-2028 2nd amendment to grant ceiling of 2nd opening in Government Gazette, 2 December 2024 (official publication in Dutch)
- Impact Clusters 2023-2028 amendment to grant ceiling of 2nd opening in Government Gazette, 11 November 2024 (official publication in Dutch)
- Impact Clusters 2023-2028 amendment to grant ceiling of 1st opening, and publication of 2024 opening in Government Gazette, 7 December 2023 (official publication in Dutch)
- Impact Clusters 2023-2028 in Government Gazette, 5 June 2023 (official publication in Dutch)
Unofficial Translation Administrative Rules Impact Clusters (2025)
Unofficial Translation of Amendment to Government Gazette publication Impact Clusters (2024)
Unofficial Translation of Government Gazette publication Impact Clusters (2024)
Unofficial Translation Amendment Administrative Rules Impact Clusters (2023)
Unofficial Translation of Administrative Rules Impact Clusters (2023)
Impact Cluster projects
How does the Impact Clusters programme work in practice? Visit our Development Cooperation Projects database for an overview of existing and completed Impact Cluster projects. Or, watch the video about our Partner in Pellets project below.
Questions about Impact Clusters?
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs
