Support for Projects in Developing Countries Birgit Nevala 2015
Finnpartnership Background and objective Financed by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, managed by Finnfund Promotes business cooperation between companies in Finland and in developing countries Offers support for developing country projects: Business Partnership Support Matchmaking service Advice and guidance
Business Partnership Support Area of Operation Low Income Developing Countries Upper Middle Income Developing Countries http://www.finnpartnership.fi/developingcountries/
Business Partnership Support Supportable project types A grant type of seed capital for projects aiming at long-term business partnerships in developing countries, e.g. joint venture, subsidiary company other long-term partnerships (long-term subcontracting, maintenance, franchise or licensing contract) importing from developing countries vocational education and training --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The support does not cover: market studies related to establishing a sales office identification of distributors exports from Finland to developing countries!
Business Partnership Support Eligible applicants companies registered in Finland or elsewhere that have a substantial link to Finland (significant Finnish ownership or a contractual relationship between a Finnish company and the company registered abroad) public utilities or other institutions registered in Finland research facilities, universities, cooperatives, chambers of commerce or similar organisations based in Finland non-governmental organisations/associations registered in Finland that practice or contribute to economic operations consortium of several companies or organisations
Business Partnership Support Supportable sectors Support to all sectors except for exclusion list, e.g. Weapons and munitions Alcohol, tobacco, drugs Gambling, prostitution Support ( ) allocated mostly for: ICT (17 %) Services (8 %) Manufacturing, engineering and machinery (8 %) Environment (8 %) Energy (8 %) Metal and industry engineering (6 %) Agriculture and food processing (6 %) Construction (6 %)
Business Partnership Support Other criteria: commercial viability & sustainability Projects have to be commercially viable and realistic Are the plans realistic? Does the applicant have enough resources to implement the project? Is there a possibility for the project to become profitable? etc. comply with international standards related to environmental and social issues contribute to positive development impacts
Business partnership support Amount of grant ** Direct development impacts required * Low Income Developing Countries cover: Least developed countries (LDC) Other low income countries (LIC) Lower middle income countries and territories (LMIC) SMEs and other small organisations Large companies Applicant / Coverage Amount Low Income Developing Countries* Upper Middle Income Developing Countries ** 70 % 50 % 50 % 30 %
A maximum of 200 000 of public (de minimis) aid over the current and the two previous fiscal years Fisheries and aquaculture max. 30 000, primary production of agricultural products max. 15 000, transport sector max. 100 000. No support can be allocated for the coal industry. Or 400 000 aid that is not de minimis. Business partnership support Amount of grant De minimis regulation In principle, the support is de minimis aid. If the applicant finds that the Support is not de minimis aid, reasons for this must be given in the application. Each project is considered individually to determine whether or not it falls under the de minimis regulation. Projects, where impacts are not directed towards the European Economic Area, do not fall under the de minimis regulation: the produced goods or services as a whole are meant for outside the EEA and the Support cannot affect trade or competition between member states.
Business Partnership Support Supportable project phases Preparatory phase Implementation phase Prefeasibility study, information collection on target country, actors and markets Business associate / partner identification Feasibility study, business plan, environmental and social assessments, pilot projects related to commercial/ merchandised technology or solutions Employee training, e.g. related to improving quality (also vocational training) Max 200 days Capacity building (when changing the current business) Piloting, demo projects Matchmaking Business Partnership Support Note! No financing of actual operations (agreements, devices, HR, buildings, )
Business Partnership Support Approved Expenses In different project phases, approved expenses for the applicant s own personnel and external experts include: travel costs when travelling to the target country or another country relevant to the project accommodation and daily allowance costs while working in the target county or another country relevant to the project applicant s internal labor expenses while working in the target country or another country relevant to the project experts fees regardless of the place where the work is being conducted Services obtained from external experts can be, for example, services related to: target country information and market surveys legal advice on target country laws and regulations
Business Partnership Support Application Process Grant can be applied for any time of the year Application forms are available online Registration date is provided when application with required attachments is submitted to Finnpartnership Application period Grant decision day 1.1.-28.2. 30.4. 1.3.-30.4. 30.6. 1.5.-30.6. 31.8. 1.7.-31.8. 31.10. 1.9.-31.10. 31.12. 1.11.-31.12. 28.2. Expenses occurred after the registration date can be covered by the grant (i.e. project activities can be implemented with own risk) Application process takes approximately 2-4 months
Business Partnership Support Payment of support and reporting The support is valid for 24 months from the date that the applicant has been informed of the Discretionary Government Transfer Decision by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland The support is paid: After the costs have incurred based on the reimbursement request In either 1 or 2 settlements. A final report must be provided together with the reimbursement request
Finnpartnership MATCHMAKING
Matchmaking Identifying Business Partnerships Finnpartnership channels business partnership initiatives and opportunities from companies in developing countries to Finnish companies and vice versa Opportunities are added to the Matchmaking database (www) where they can be explored Partnership initiatives can also be forwarded directly to interested parties Focus sectors: ICT, environment, energy, agriculture Focus countries: Peru, Tanzania, VietNam Currently around 130 companies are looking for business partners in the service
Matchmaking Identifying Business Partnerships In order to register for the Matchmaking Service, company must be in a solid financial base registered in one of the OECD/DAC listed countries OR in Finland capable of presenting a concrete and potentially feasible business proposal established a year prior to registering Matchmaking registration form must be supported with additional documents. The mandatory documents include: Financial information from last financial year CVs of key personnel / owners Business registration certificate Copies of social and environmental related certificates and audits if the company possesses one.
Matchmaking Identifying Business Partnerships Starts from a company s wish to find a new partner for business: long term joint activities: joint ventures, importing / exporting, transfer of technology and know how, etc.. Companies can apply for the matchmaking service by submitting an application form Form can be downloaded from Finnpartnership s website www.finnpartnership.fi/matchmaking
www.finnpartnership.fi/matchmaking
Matchmaking Matchmaking registration form (1/2)
Matchmaking Matchmaking registration form (2/2)
Matchmaking Identifying Business Partnerships Business initiatives are published on the internet Easy to search the profiles with the search engine Business partnership initiatives will also be forwarded directly to eligible companies and partner organisations Use of consultants for more active matchmaking www.finnpartnership.fi/partnersearch
www.finnpartnership.fi/partnersearch
Cuba No matchmaking applicants from Cuba at the moment Havanna Fair visited and relations built the work is to be started
Matchmaking Coopretion with local actors Embassies and local trade promotion agencies or other institutions can contact Finnpartnership concerning interesting sectoral Fairs or Events in their countries the earlier the better Doing Business with Finland seminar can be arranged in connection with the fair costs and work are divided between Finnpartnership and cooperative partners Finnpartnership can inform Finnish companies about the happening and bring them along or introduce their products in DBF-seminar and make direct connection
c/o Finnfund, P.O. Box 391, 00121 Helsinki, Finland tel. +358 9 348 434, fax +358 9 3484 3346 fp@finnpartnership.fi matchmaking@finnpartnership.fi www.finnpartnership.fi