Safeguarding U.S. Critical Minerals Supply Chains- Tunisia

The Department of State Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs seeks applicants for the "Safeguarding U.S. Critical Minerals Supply Chains–Tunisia" program on September 3, 2026, a commercial diplomacy initiative offering grants, fixed amount awards, or cooperative agreements totaling $1,536,511 with individual awards ranging from $1,000,000 to $1,536,511.

Eligible applicants include U.S. and U.S.-aligned for-profit companies, not-for-profit organizations, educational institutions, public international organizations, and governmental institutions. Applicants must demonstrate at least five years of experience in critical minerals, private equity matchmaking, or project finance; proven track records coordinating with U.S. government agencies; technical capability in embedding U.S. equipment standards; and preferably established operational presence in North Africa. Consortia and joint proposals are permitted to collectively meet technical and financial requirements. Applicants are not required to establish formal relationships with PhosCo Ltd or Himilco Resources prior to submission, though formal coordination will occur post-award.

The program executes through three concurrent objectives: private capital mobilization and investor matchmaking, supply chain agreements and commercial framework development, and downstream byproduct technical assessment. Program goals are aspirational: mobilizing more than $100 million in U.S. private capital, achieving 30–40% American equity stake, securing $15–25 million in U.S. equipment exports, and supporting 75–125 U.S. manufacturing jobs. Work is performed in Tunisia's Northwest Mineral Basin supporting transparent, private-sector-led investment in phosphate development at PhosCo Ltd.

The period of performance is 18–24 months with an anticipated project start of October 1, 2026. Applications must be submitted via MyGrants with mandatory federal forms (SF-424, SF-424A, SF-424B), a 10-page proposal, detailed budget with justification, logic model and theory of change, results monitoring plan, and security/risk mitigation plan. Applicants must have a valid Unique Entity Identifier and active SAM.gov registration. Pre-award coordination with NEA/AC program officers is required; all project records must be retained for three years.

Review criteria are weighted as follows: strategic alignment and program impact (30 points), commercial diplomacy and export generation (25 points), private capital mobilization and financial viability (20 points), institutional capacity and key personnel (15 points), and monitoring, evaluation, and sustainability (10 points). Successful applicants must dedicate at least 3% of their total budget to monitoring, evaluation, and learning activities. Unsuccessful applicants will be notified by October 1, 2026. The opportunity carries CFDA 19.600.