Deadline: 20-Mar-25
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is launching a call for ESS “innovation challenge” projects, aimed at existing ESS organizations.
The Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) Innovation Challenge is a competition for innovative ideas and/or solutions, aimed at women and young people, which aims to respond to specific development challenges, to which ‘traditional’ solutions and tools cannot respond.
Objectives of the ESS Innovation Challenge
- The ESS Innovation Challenge aims to promote the role of women and young people as bearers of innovative ideas and solutions in the field of the social and solidarity economy.
- The overall objective of this competition is to support, at the level of the target wilayas of the program, initiatives of existing ESS organizations (cooperatives, associations, foundations and social and solidarity enterprises).
- These initiatives, which aim to strengthen the autonomy of young people and women and promote their role as bearers of ideas in the field of the ESS, will receive support in the form of funding (prizes) and support. The aim is to facilitate the creation and/or development of ESS projects at the local level by young people and women. Through this call, the ESS program aims for the following results:
- Respond to the specific development challenges of the ESS, in alignment with the growth objectives of the wilaya/region and the sectors and sectors of activity concerned;
- Participate in improving the environment enabling the development of the ESS and the emergence of high-performing ESS actors;
- Strengthen the autonomy of young people and women through increased support in their projects;
- Finance promising small-scale entrepreneurial activities.
Priority Regions and Themes
- The proposed initiatives must imperatively cover the following wilayas: Batna, Béni Abbes, Bouira, Boumerdès, El Bayadh, El Meniaa, Khenchela, Médéa, M’Sila, Oum El Bouaghi, Timioun, Tizi-Ouzou.
- Starting from the natural and human potential of the territories, the project proposed by the SSE Organizations (OESS) must be part of the SSE themes and support local value chains and/or regional-national sectors and reduce the informalm economy, in the following sectors:
- For the southwest region: Timimoun, El Bayadh, El Meniaa, Beni Abbes. Target sectors:
- Agriculture-livestock & processing-valorization of agricultural and livestock products & associated services, particularly in the field of dates.
- Tourism, heritage and crafts (sites and monuments, arts and crafts, etc.).
- Innovative technological and/or digital solutions, related to the region’s priority sectors.
- For the eastern highlands region: Batna, Khenchela, Oum El Bouaghi, M’sila. Target sectors:
- Agriculture-livestock farming & processing-valorization of agricultural and livestock products & associated services, particularly in the field of apples, apricots, peppers, etc.;
- Tourism, heritage and crafts (sites and monuments, arts and crafts, etc.);
- Environment (sorting, waste collection and recovery, etc.);
- Innovative technological and/or digital solutions, in relation to the region’s priority sectors.
- For the north-central region: Bouira, Tizi-ouzou, Boumerdes, Médéa. Target sectors:
- Agriculture-livestock farming & processing-valorization of agricultural and livestock products & associated services: olives, beekeeping, etc.
- Fishing and aquaculture & processing-valorization of fishing and aquaculture products & associated services.
- Tourism, heritage and crafts (sites and monuments, arts and crafts, etc.).
- Environment (sorting, waste collection and recovery, etc.).
- Innovative technological and/or digital solutions, related to the region’s priority sectors.
- For the southwest region: Timimoun, El Bayadh, El Meniaa, Beni Abbes. Target sectors:
Funding Information
- UNDP offers financial support to support the projects selected in this competition. The amounts and conditions differ according to two categories of projects.
- Category A: Projects with medium potential for job creation
- Projects in this category can benefit from financial support of between 2,500,000 DZD and 3,000,000 DZD.
- Expected impact: Creation of two to three jobs
- Category B: Projects with high potential for job creation
- Projects in this category can benefit from financial support of between 5,000,000 DZD and 5,500,000 DZD.
- Expected impact: Creation of at least four jobs
- Category A: Projects with medium potential for job creation
Project Eligibility
- To be admissible and subsequently evaluated, the ESS project idea proposal must meet the following conditions:
- Be led by young people and/or women or employ young people and/or women;
- The planned duration for carrying out the activities must be between six (6) and twelve (12) months. This means that all of the project funding must have been used within the period defined by the project;
- Be within the budget defined.
Eligibility Criteria
- This call is open to existing ESS organizations with at least one year of legal existence, hereinafter referred to as “the applicant”:
- Cooperatives (agriculture, crafts, etc.);
- Local associations of wilaya and/or commune of the wilayas targeted by the project or national associations;
- Local foundations of wilaya and/or commune of the wilayas targeted by the project or national foundations;
- Companies engaged in the social and solidarity economy or applying its principles and/or have developed ESS projects;
- The applicant:
- For the association: Be approved under law 12-06 (or brought into compliance) and have at least one year of legal existence;
- For the foundation: Be registered by notarial deed or approved, under law 12-06 (or brought into compliance) and have at least one year of legal existence; Have experience in the effective management of projects/activities, with an envelope of at least 1,000,000 DZD per year (for category A) an envelope of at least 3,000,000 DZD per year (for category B);
- Be domiciled in the target territory of the project in one of the twelve target wilayas;
- Have factual experience in the management of development projects;
- Carry out or plan to carry out activities relating to the SSE;
- Be active in one of the fields/sectors related to the proposed project;
- Be directly responsible for the preparation, development and management of the project. Any intermediate applicant is not eligible;
- Demonstrate sufficient management skills to manage the budget allocated to the project;
- Have no criminal record or illegal activity and not be in cessation of activity.
- Cooperative (agriculture, crafts, etc.):
- Be in compliance with the laws on cooperatives and regulations in force and have at least one year of legal existence;
- Have experience in the effective management of projects/activities, with an envelope of at least 1,000,000 DZD per year, an envelope of at least 3,000,000 DZD per year (for category B);
- Be domiciled in the target territory of the project in one of the twelve target wilayas;
- Have factual experience in the management of development projects;
- Carry out or plan to carry out activities relating to the ESS;
- Be active in one of the fields/sectors related to the proposed project;
- Be directly responsible for the preparation, development and management of the project. Any intermediate applicant is not eligible;
- Demonstrate sufficient management skills to manage the budget allocated to the project;
- Have no criminal record or illegal activity and not be in cessation of activity.
- Company:
- Carry out an activity that falls, in whole or in part, under the ESS;
- Be registered with the national trade register center and have at least one year of legal existence;
- Be affiliated with the national insurance fund for the self-employed CASNOS; Have an up-to-date tax role extract.
- Be domiciled in the target territory of the project in one of the twelve target wilayas;
- Be directly responsible for the preparation, development and management of the project. Any intermediate applicant is not eligible;
- Demonstrate sufficient management skills to manage the budget allocated to the project;
- Have no criminal record or illegal activity and not be in cessation of activity.
Ineligibility Criteria
- The following organizations cannot participate in the ESS Innovation Challenge:
- Which are in a state of or are the subject of bankruptcy, liquidation, judicial settlement or preventive composition proceedings, cessation of activity, or which find themselves in a similar situation resulting from a procedure of the same nature existing in national laws and regulations;
- Which, within the framework of a contract with UNDP or another UN organization, have been declared in serious default of execution due to non-compliance with their contractual obligations
- Having benefited from previous UNDP funding within the framework of the ESS Innovation Challenge intended for OESS.
For more information, visit UNDP.