Deadline: April 25, 2018
Call for application is ongoing for the Innovation Grant Facility (IGF) for Pacific Agro-SMEs 2018. The Innovation Grant Facility (IGF) provides funding to agro-based small & medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in seven Pacific Island States; Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu to access knowledge, technologies or expertise and build staff capacity to improve product quality, expand product offerings, enhance process efficiency, increase market share or competitiveness.
The IGF is to be used by Pacific agro-SMEs to “take the next steps” to grow their business and contribute, directly or indirectly, to the sustainable development of the agriculture and fishery sectors.
About the Grant
In 2016, the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) launched a four-year project on “Leveraging the Development of Local Food Crops and Fisheries Value Chains for Improved Nutrition and Sustainable Food Systems in the Pacific Islands” which is being implemented in partnership with the Pacific Islands Private Sector Organisation (PIPSO). The project targets seven Pacific Island States: Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu.
The overall project goal is to; “strengthen the capacity of the Pacific Island Governments, Farmer and Private Sector Organizations, and Sub-Regional institutions to develop strategies and programmes, as well as mobilize financing, that can increase poor rural people’s access to nutritious and healthy food”.
Grant
- Maximum amount per grant award is Euro 17,000 (≈ USD 20,000).
Eligibility
- Open to SMEs contributing, directly or indirectly, to the sustainable development of the agriculture & fishery sectors with a focus on the development and/or upgrading of nutritionally, culturally & environmentally sensitive local food crops & fisheries value chains in the seven target countries;
- The SMEs must be registered in and fully or majority owned by citizens of Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu;
- Be a legal entity (e.g. sole proprietorship, or limited liability or public company with maximum 20% government share);
- Employ a minimum of three full time equivalent staff members and/or has a minimum annual sales turnover of EUR 17,000 (USD ≈ 20,000);
- Can contribute at least 20% of the total project budget (cash and/or in-kind).
Application
Interested parties are invited to read the IGF Guidelines with great attention and submit the requested documents before the deadline of April 25, 2018 at 16:00 (Fiji Time).
- All applicants are required to complete and submit the Application Forms and Templates available for download within the stated deadline.
- The service provider(s) selected by the SMEs should have the necessary expertise and be registered in the IGF database
- All IGF funded activities are to be completed within 12 months.
The completed application, originals and copies, must be received in hard-copy at PIPSO, Level 1 Korobasaga House, 31 Gorrie Street, Suva, Fiji and an electronic copy of all documents (PDF, Word and Excel format) must be scanned and sent to the following email address – [email protected] on /or before the deadline.
For more information, visit Innovation Grant Facility (IGF) for Pacific Agro-SMEs.
