Call for Proposals: Internationalization of Vietnamese SMEs Programme

Deadline: 24-May-21

The European Commission is seeking applications for its Internationalization of Vietnamese SMEs programme to maximise Vietnam’s benefits from preferential trade regimes with a focus on the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement.

The specific objective of this call for proposals is to increase exports of high quality products and services from Vietnam to the EU, with a focus on SME internationalization and sustainable business practices.

Priorities

The priorities of this call for proposals are:

To equip Vietnamese SMEs with the knowledge necessary to boost exports to the EU;
To improve quality standards among Vietnamese exporters in line with EU and international requirements;
To strengthen linkages between Foreign Direct Invested firms and Vietnamese companies.

Funding Information

The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 800,000.
Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:
- minimum amount: EUR 200,000
- maximum amount: EUR 800,000
Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum percentages of total eligible costs of the action:
- minimum percentage: 50 % of the total eligible costs of the action
- maximum percentage: 80 % of the total eligible costs of the action.

Eligibility Criteria

Lead applicant:
- In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:
  - Be a legal person
  - Be non-profit-making
  - Be a business association, an academic institution, a local authority, a Non-Governmental Organisation or an International Organisation
  - Be established in Vietnam or in a Member State of the European Union, or in a country as stipulated in Article 9 of Regulation (EU) No 236/2014. This obligation does not apply to international organisations
  - 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
  - One of the applicants (lead applicant and/or one co-applicant) must have had a presence in Vietnam for at least 3 years at the time the call for proposals is launched. This obligation does not apply to international organisations.
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.
- Co-applicants must sign the mandate. If awarded the grant contract, the co-applicant(s) (if any) will become beneficiary(ies) in the action (together with the coordinator).
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 a 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.