USAID CIRCLE Alliance — Plastic Packaging Circularity
Enriched government · Found: 2026-03-14 20:33
$21M USAID-Unilever-EY partnership. India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines. Grants and business support for packaging circularity, collection, recycling. Sub-grants through implementation mechanism.
Source: https://www.usaid.gov/urban/save-our-seas/circle-alliance
Funding Details
- Funder
- USAID / Unilever / EY (CIRCLE Alliance)
- Funding Goal
- Scale solutions that reduce plastic use, tackle plastic waste, build circular local economies; empower female entrepreneurs and waste collectors
- Funding Amount
- $21M total programme; individual sub-grants not publicly specified
- Deadline
- No open public call found — rolling via alliance mechanism (Rolling)
- How to Apply
- Contact USAID Save Our Seas Initiative / CIRCLE Alliance: usaid.gov/urban/save-our-seas/circle-alliance. Contact USAID Mission India, Indonesia, Vietnam offices; Resonance Global (implementation partner). Expression of interest process. Commercial programme (Unilever, EY involvement) — NGO framing may need adaptation.
- Target Region
- India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines
- Contact
- USAID Mission India, Indonesia, Vietnam offices; Resonance Global (implementation partner)
- Last Checked
- 2026-03-14 20:35
Application Checklist
Eligibility
Project Scope
Constraints
Summary
CIRCLE Alliance represents a new model of USAID engagement — a public-private partnership that combines government funding with corporate and consulting partners to scale market-based circular economy solutions. It is distinct from traditional development grants in its emphasis on business viability and private sector leverage. The organisation's operations in India, Indonesia, and Vietnam make it geographically well-positioned. Its non-profit model and local partnership approach may need to be packaged as a "scaling" story (i.e. demonstrating growth from current pilots to city/regional scale) to align with the alliance's commercial framing. The recommended action is to contact the USAID Save Our Seas Initiative team through the USAID Mission offices in New Delhi, Jakarta, and Hanoi, and ask about sub-grant or partnership opportunities under CIRCLE. The programme launched in June 2024 and is likely in early implementation phase, meaning partnership windows may be open.
Historical Context
CIRCLE Alliance is new (launched June 2024). No prior rounds. The $21M programme is expected to run 3-5 years based on USAID programme norms. The predecessor programme was the USAID Clean Cities, Blue Ocean (CCBO) programme, which operated across Southeast Asia from approximately 2020-2023 and funded NGO sub-grants for city-level plastic waste management.
Why it was added
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