Maldives launches VilunVeshi grants for climate smart projects

SME Digital has launched the VilunVeshi Grant Programme, a funding initiative that supports individuals, community groups, youth innovators, women-led initiatives, small businesses, and institutions across the Maldives. Minister Ali Shareef inaugurated the program.

The program falls under the wider Enhancing Climate Resilience and Food Security Project. The project aims to help communities develop sustainable livelihoods while reducing their vulnerability to environmental shocks. It is supported by the Asian Development Bank and implemented through SME Digital in collaboration with government agencies responsible for agriculture and fisheries.

The Ministry of Fisheries, Agriculture, and Ocean Resources is also named as a partner agency. The project is funded through a mix of sources. Funding comes through a combination of grants, loans, and technical assistance from the Asian Development Fund, the Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia and the Pacific, the Ocean Resilience Coastal Adaptation Trust Fund, and the Government of Maldives.

The program is designed to strengthen climate-resilient agriculture, improve local food production and value chains, promote digital and climate innovation, and create sustainable livelihood opportunities. It offers financial and technical support to help applicants overcome common barriers such as limited access to funding, skills, and resources.

Grants are offered through three tiers. The first pilot call is limited to Tier 1 grants, which are open only to individual applicants. Details on the size of Tier 1 grants and how later tiers will open to groups, businesses, and institutions have not yet been made public.

Some project documents describe related components. Grants are intended to cover the full cost of capital expenditures for eligible adaptation businesses, particularly women- and youth-led enterprises, with beneficiaries contributing toward operating expenses. It is not yet confirmed whether this provision applies to the VilunVeshi Tier 1 individual grants specifically or to a related business grant component under the same project.

The broader climate project also includes weather monitoring upgrades and coastal protection works. Planned interventions include installing a new radar system at Addu weather station, repairing the existing radar in Male, and equipping the Maldives Meteorological Service with data processing tools for real-time monitoring and early warning.

No application deadline or launch date for Tier 1 applications has been confirmed in available sources.