2019 Danida Market Development Partnerships contributing towards Sustainable Economic Growth

Deadline: 9 August 2019

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is currently seeking applications for its 2019 Danida Market Development Partnerships (DMDP) with an aim to contribute to sustainable economic growth in developing countries within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals.

DMDP has been designed to support commercially oriented partnerships for sustainable market development in developing countries that contribute to the achievement of the SDGs with participation from civil society organisations, private business, public institutions etc.

Funding Information

Applicants submit a concept note and may apply for a total grant of minimum DKK 6 million and maximum DKK 10 million for the partnership project.
This amount includes up to DKK 500,000 to cover project development costs including studies, partner visits etc. during the project development period.
The concept note must include an estimate of the total budget, subject to revision in the full project proposal.

Five Key Indicators

While most partnership projects supported under DMDP will deliver results related to several SDGs, all DMDP projects will link more specifically to the overall DMDP results framework and all partnership project must include targets for these five key indicators related to SDG8:

Number of decent jobs for women, men and youth
Number of beneficiaries with increased income opportunities from improved market linkages
Commercial viability of the project’s business case (long-term sustainability)
Awareness of responsible business conduct and capacity to work with RBC in the partnerships
Investment leverage (additional capital raised)

Project will take Place

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Myanmar, Niger, Palestine, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, Egypt, India, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Vietnam, Philippines, Ukraine, Indonesia, Georgia, Tunisia, Jordan, Lebanon.

Eligibility Criteria

The partner consortium:A consortium is composed of a mix of commercial and non-commercial partners. The consortium must be robust and composed of partners with the necessary capacity to actively engage in the proposed project and deliver results. A solid non-commercial partner assumes the role of administrative partner in the consortium. At least one international commercial partner and one local partner from the partner country must be active partners. The partnership project must build on the core business of the commercial partner(s) and also be part of the core activities of other key partners, including the administrative partner.
The administrative partner: The application for support must be submitted by the administrative partner. The administrative partner is overall responsible for administrating the grant on behalf of the partner consortium and must play an active role in the project implementation. Therefore, the administrative partner must document proven project management experience, a solid presence in the partner country (i.e. own established office or long-standing partnership with local partner organisation(s)), and experience with key beneficiary groups in the country. Multilateral organisations and public institutions (e.g. ministries, agencies, universities/university colleges) are not eligible as administrative partners.
The international commercial partner: A DMDP consortium must include at least one international commercial partner with sufficient capacity to take active part in the partnership and in the project implementation (beyond import/export). DMDP defines an international commercial partner as follows (one of three below criteria must be fulfilled):
- An international company registered in a non-ODA country: International companies should be engaged in activities and beyond trading (import/export).
- A subsidiary of an international and well-reputed company: A locally registered subsidiary of an international/multinational company registered in a non-ODA country. However, it will be explored to which extent HQ should be involved, before final decision is made on the application.
- Large companies with international ownership structure: A large company (plus 250 employees) registered in the targeted country (and not covered by criteria 2 above) with an ownership structure attributing at least 51 percent or more of the ownership to international well-reputed companies that are registered and operating in a non-ODA country.
Local partner(s): Partnerships must include minimum one commercial or non-commercial local partner (beyond the local offices of the administrative partner). Partnerships may include local public authorities and institutions that play a role in market development in terms of developing regulations and standards that are crucial for market development. Such collaboration with public actors in the partner country may strengthen the sustainability of the interventions and contribute to wider market effects of a partnership project.

Eligible Project Cost

The following costs are eligible as projects costs:

Activities of the non-commercial partner(s) including local partners related to staff salary, travel costs, local transport and other expenditures related to their engagement in the project.
External consultants may be recruited where justified for achieving project objectives, but the major part of the staff input is expected to be provided by the project partners.
Minor equipment for demonstration purposes, but the Danida grant does not support large scale investments in e.g. productive infrastructure.
A separate output is foreseen in the results framework for overall communication activities in relation to disseminate learnings and results that can raise awareness and inspire broader application of the project approaches for deepening development impact. Danida contribution to this output will be max 200,000 DKK.
An administration fee of maximum 7% may be included in the budget to cover expenditures of the administrative partner related to general office expenses, administrative costs including budgeting, accounting and reporting etc.
The administration fee is calculated on the basis of the grant from Danida to the project.
Project activities must primarily take place in the partner country; still a few project activities may take place outside the partner country, e.g. study visits or workshops for local actors, administrative support covered through the overhead costs etc.

How to Apply

The application process includes two phases:

Phase 1: Concept Note: Applicants submit a brief concept note for the project in a pre-defined format outlining expected scope, purpose, partners etc.
Phase 2: Full Project Proposal (Project Development): Applicants successful at the concept note stage are invited to submit a full project proposal.

For more information, please visit https://bit.ly/2wB3ik0

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