Deadline: 1 March 2019
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the Embassy of the Netherlands has announced a call for concept notes from the private sector for the 1st edition of its ‘Waste’ Recovery Innovation Challenge (WRIC).
The Challenge aims to provide technical and financial support (max. $40,000 each) to business ideas that will promote and/or test innovative solutions for the recovery of waste materials and their transformation into other essential products/services. The business should be innovative; have a good management structure; have the possibility of making profit in the short, medium and long term; create employment and other income generation opportunities especially for women and youth; and should lead to/contribute to bringing a lasting solution to a waste management challenge in a specific area/community or region.
Categories
The projects supported during this first edition will fall under three categories:
- Private sector/businesses: providing a sustainable solution to an existing waste management challenge in a specific area; demonstrating the potential to be bankable and scalable; having the potential to create employment.
- Research: investigating innovative ways and scientific break-throughs in waste recovery, results of which can be turned into bankable and scalable business proposal.
- Advocacy/awareness creation: promoting the concept of resource recovery and its opportunities in Ghana in a circular economy context.
This call for concept notes only refers to the first category (PRIVATE SECTOR). The other two categories will follow a separate selection process which will be advertised separately.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applications must be submitted by private sector firms, including: a private for-profit company, joint ventures, partnership, cooperative, etc. Only in exceptional cases will WRIC/UNDP consider new businesses (start-ups), where there is strong evidence that the new company has credible and experienced investors and a solid management team.
- Applicants must meet all of the following criteria for applications to be considered:
- The total grant funds requested must not be more than US$ 40,000.
- The applicant (including third parties such as co-investors or banks and other lenders) provides matching funds of at least 30% of the total cost of the business idea.
- The funding request is for a specific, new and innovative business idea/project that addresses the challenge enumerated above. The WRIC/UNDP views innovation in its broadest sense including: i) a new approach, product, idea or service that has not been tested anywhere; ii) an approach, product, idea or service that is new to Ghana; or iii) an approach, product, idea or service that has not been applied to the waste management sector in Ghana but presents the best possible opportunity to provide lasting solutions.
- Applicants must demonstrate that the project could not go ahead without WRIC/UNDP funding or that, if it would go ahead anyway, it would be at a much-reduced pace or scale.
- An organization may partner with other organizations, including NGOs and Community organizations. However, it is a condition that the lead applicant and implementer of the business idea must always be a commercial organization/business.
- The idea must be implemented in Ghana by private sector organisations registered in Ghana and wholly owned by Ghanaians.
- A consortium may be formed, but the lead applicant is responsible for the project/idea and must warrant that the permission of the other members has been obtained.
How to Apply
Interested applicants should submit their Concept Notes electronically at the address given on the website.
For more information, please visit http://www.gh.undp.org/content/ghana/en/home/presscenter/articles/2019/waste_challenge_1.html