Funding Call on Business Support for Jamaica Based Community Enterprises and Social Enterprises

Deadline: 11 June 2019

Applications are now open for “Business Support for Community-based Enterprises and Social Enterprises” that is component four of the PRP IV Entrepreneurship Initiative which is in response to Result 3 of the PRP IV and which seeks to “increase income generation and employment opportunities” through the provision of basic but critical business services to local micro and small enterprises.

Objectives

The specific objectives of this Business Support for Community-based and Social Enterprises Call for Proposals are to support actions for the beneficiaries that:

encourage the establishment, growth and retention of sustainable businesses within the PRPIV targeted communities
facilitate employment opportunities in PRPIV communities with emphasis on inclusiveness for the most vulnerable groups such as persons with disabilities (PWDs)
facilitate partnerships and collaboration between local authority, relevant civil society groups, businesses and business support groups.
encourage and support new, creative and diverse business activities

Size of Grants

Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:

minimum amount: JMD 1,500,000.00
maximum amount: JMD 3,000,000.00

Eligibility Criteria

Lead Applicant
- In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:
  - Be a “grass root organization” or a CDC engaged in entrepreneurial activities with strong linkages with the local communities, to be demonstrated by a combination of indicators such as: Type of projects implemented, the locations and beneficiaries; location of their offices; CDC endorsement (if the applicant is a CDC, endorsement is not required) or;
  - Be a Social Enterprise established in the project area (A social enterprise is a business whose mission is to solve, economic or environmental problems at the community and or national level through effective and ethical business practices with the reinvestment of profits to the social mission (MSME & Entrepreneurship Policy, Chapter 9) or;
  - Be a community-based enterprise with strong linkages with the local communities (demonstrated by a number of indicators including inter alia, location of business, engagement of community members via employment and goods/services offered). (A community-based enterprise is a business venture that allows a proportion of its profits to be shared within the community it is situated or served) and
  - Be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity (ies), not acting as an intermediary and
  - Be a legal person or a natural person and
  - Be a specific type of organisation such as: non-governmental organisation, public sector operator, local authority, international (inter-governmental) organisation as defined by Article 43 of the rules of application of the EU Financial Regulation and
  - Be established in Jamaica. This obligation does not apply to international organisations
- Potential applicants may not participate in calls for proposals or be awarded grants if they are in any of the situations
- Co-applicant(s)
  - Co-applicants participate in designing and implementing the action, and the costs they incur are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the lead applicant.
  - Co-applicants must satisfy the eligibility criteria as applicable to the lead applicant himself.
- Affiliated entity(ies)
  - The lead applicant and its co-applicant(s) may act with affiliated entity(ies).
  - Only the following entities may be considered as affiliated entities to the lead applicant and/or to co-applicant(s):
  - Only entities having a structural link with the applicants (i.e. the lead applicant or a co-applicant), in particular a legal or capital link.
  - This structural link encompasses mainly two notions:
    - Control, as defined in Directive 2013/34/EU on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings:
      - Entities affiliated to an applicant may hence be:
        
        Entities directly or indirectly controlled by the applicant (daughter companies or first-tier subsidiaries). They may also be entities controlled by an entity controlled by the applicant (granddaughter companies or second-tier subsidiaries) and the same applies to further tiers of control;
        
        Entities directly or indirectly controlling the applicant (parent companies). Likewise, they may be entities controlling an entity controlling the applicant;
        
        Entities under the same direct or indirect control as the applicant (sister companies).
      - Membership, i.e. the applicant is legally defined as an e.g. network, federation, association in which the proposed affiliated entities also participate or the applicant participates in the same entity (e.g. network, federation, association) as the proposed affiliated entities.