Deadline: 31-Oct-20
The Prospero Zambia is seeking applications for the Innovation Partnerships in Mining & Mining Services.
Prospero’s Mining & Mining Services sector works with intervention partners to address identified market constraints that hamper sector growth and competitiveness.
These constraints include:
- Capital: Access to investment finance and working capital owing to high interest rates and inability for banks to extend SMEs short- and long-term finance places major pressure on them to effectively compete with larger firms, which in effect limits their growth capabilities.
- Capacity: The lack of resources to prepare sound business and investment proposals, access to mentoring and support structures from the private sector and government institutions which would improve capacity to access finance.
- Connection: Limited awareness of opportunities and a lack of connections to mining markets makes it very difficult for SMEs to penetrate these markets, especially when competing with well-established and preferred suppliers.
- Compliance: Many businesses do not meet industry standards and do not have required certification of products that the mines need. The standards set during the prequalification process are high and difficult for small businesses to meet.
Funding Information
- Technical Assistance only: £5,000 to £50,000
- Business Innovation (this can include some technical assistance):£5,000 to £100,000
Eligibility Criteria
Registered and tax-compliant for-profit organizations are eligible to apply. Individuals are not eligible.
All applicants must meet three basic conditions:
- Zambian registered legal entity: All applicants must be registered with the appropriate authority as a legal entity in Zambia.
- Tax registered and compliant: All applicants must be able to demonstrate that they are registered for tax and are in compliance with tax obligations.
- Authorised business activity: All applicants must possess any relevant sector licenses or permits for their proposed business project.
- Post-revenue: All applicants must be post-revenue and have a minimum trading history of 2 years.
Criteria
Prospero provides financial and/or technical assistance support to private sector companies willing to co-invest in innovative and scalable solutions that:
- address key sector constraints and have strong commercial foundations
- could help build companies’ ability to (eventually) attract commercial impact investment.
- improve climate resilience and increased mining local procurement through inclusive business models (focus on women and youth) within the sub-sector.
- support the establishment of value-chain consortiums in mining locations to achieve scalable business growth and create a
- competitive mining sector with significant development impact.
- create and/or sustain quality jobs and income opportunities for low-income Zambians and/or marginalized populations (women, youth, people with disabilities and rural populations).
For more information, visit https://prospero.co.zm/call-for-concepts/call-mining/