Deadline: 9 April 2017
The European Union (EU) is currently accepting proposals from eligible organizations for a programme entitled “Promoting Inclusive Economic Growth in Egypt” with an aim to solicit projects that will promote the development of MSMEs in innovative ways and contribute to creation of new enterprises, achieving innovation, improving competiveness, productivity, and employment creation, and enhancing internationalization of the MSME sector in Egypt.
The programme is divided into three lots:
- For Lot 1:
- Support the provision of high quality business development services (BDS) towards the establishment of new, high potential and innovative, start-up enterprises in the manufacturing, tourism and other services sectors which will generate direct and indirect employment opportunities and represent exemplars for youth (particularly graduates), women and other disenfranchised segments of society of the potential of entrepreneurship as a career path.
- Support the growth, productivity and competitiveness of existing MSMEs in the the manufacturing and traded services sectors, upgrading their capacities and strengthening their value chains, thus allowing for their increased participation in the local and national markets generating more Egyptian added value and contributing to employment growth; and,
- Contribute to promoting a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship for employment generation and social cohesion in Egypt, improving access to BDS and fostering a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.
- For Lot 2:
- Contribute to greater coordination between the stakeholders involved in policy and regulatory reforms relevant for MSME development, strengthening the capacity of business membership organisations and other representative bodies to participate in public-private policy dialogue on MSME related topics in a comprehensive and representative manner.
- For Lot 3:
- Support non-governmental stakeholders; such as representative organisations of MSME’s, academic research institutes and think tanks working on business reform issues; in their analytical work and capacity building around business environment reform initiatives, in particular where it regards issues involving the business environment for MSMEs.
Size of Grants
Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the followingminimum and maximum amounts:
- Lot 1:
- minimum amount: EUR 350,000
- maximum amount: EUR 1,000,000
- Lot 2 and Lot 3:
- minimum amount: EUR 150,000
- maximum amount: EUR 350,000
Location
Actions must take place in Egypt.
Duration
The initial planned duration of an action may not be lower than 12 months nor exceed 30 months.
Eligibility Criteria
- In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:
- be a legal person
- be a specific type of organisation such as: non-governmental organisation and other NSA, public sector operator, local authority, international (inter-governmental) organisation as defined by Article 43 of the Rules of application of the EU Financial Regulation or an economic operator working in the field of MSME development such as micro, small, medium enterprise (MSME) development services, tourism;
- be effectively established in an eligible country as defined for the European Neighbourhood Instrument : the Member States of the European Union, the partner countries benefitting from the European Neighbourhood Instrument (Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Moldova, Morocco, Palestinian Authority of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Syria, Tunisia, Ukraine), the contracting parties to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway), the Developing countries and territories, as included in the list of ODA recipients published by the OECD-DAC, which are not members of the G-20 group, the overseas countries and territories covered by Council Decision 2001/822/EC, or in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro or Serbia, including Kosovo. This obligation does not apply to international organizations
- 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
- Other eligible criteria as appropriate:
- Either the lead applicant or one of the co-applicants is registered under Egyptian law or bilateral agreements between the organisation and the Government of Egypt.
- Potential applicants may not participate in calls for proposals or be awarded grants if they are in any of the situations The lead applicant must declare that the lead applicant himself, the co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies)are not in any of these situations.
- The lead applicant may act individually or with co-applicant(s).
- If awarded the grant contract, the lead applicant will become the beneficiary identified as the Coordinator. The Coordinator is the main interlocutor of the Contracting Authority. It represents and acts on behalf of any other co-beneficiary (if any) and coordinate the design and implementation of the action.
How to Apply
- The application procedure consists of two phases:
- Concept notes
- Full applications
- In the first instance, only concept notes must be submitted for evaluation. Thereafter, lead applicants who have been pre-selected will be invited to submit a full application.
For more information, please visit Europeaid and download the guidelines.