European Union (EU) Supporting Social Enterprises in North Macedonia

Deadline: 20-Apr-21

The European Union (EU) is seeking applications to support Social Enterprises to improve operating conditions and capacity of social enterprises in Republic of North Macedonia.

This grant scheme will provide support to projects focused on establishment of social enterprises or extension of the scope of work of existing social enterprises with the objective to enhance their economic independence and increase their social impact. Focus will be put on finding activities leading to job creation, use of new equipment and technologies, which would allow social enterprises improve their performance on the market, ensure better protection of their employees, and better services to their clients.

The specific objective of this call for proposals is to support the development of potential and existing social enterprises to substantially increase their operating capacity, sustainability and access to markets, while supporting enhancement of employment of vulnerable groups of people, thus contributing to their social and professional reintegration.

Priorities

The priorities of this call for proposals are:

• To promote the concept of Social Entrepreneurship in North Macedonia and support the growth of social enterprises by increasing their abilities to further develop their existing product/service, as well as to create new ones.
• Creation of employment support services and sustainable job opportunities for vulnerable groups, both in new and existing social enterprises

Funding Information

• The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 500,000. The contracting authority reserves the right not to award all available funds. 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 280,000 .

Eligibility Criteria

Lead applicant(s)

• be a legal person and
• be non-profit-making and
• be a specific type of organisation such as:
  • non-governmental organisations;
  • public sector operator, active in the fields of employment, entrepreneurship, innovation and social services,
• be established at least 2 years before the call is launched, in the Republic of North Macedonia 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.

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 form.

Affiliated entity(ies)

• The lead applicant and its co-applicant(s) may act with affiliated entit (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 2013/34iEU 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.

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