20100628
allafrica

Kampala — The Netherlands government has introduced two instruments through which small, micro and medium firms in the East African Community (EAC) among others can get grants.

The instruments include the Private Sector Investment Programme (PSI) which has a total of 70m Euros to be granted to the firms, the Match Making Facility and a group of Netherlands business experts who provide advisory services on how these funds can be accessed.

PSI Project Officer Joost Bolt said the programme is a subsidy provided to innovative investment projects in all the emerging markets that includes member states of the EAC.

"The subsidy which is 50% of the total cost of the project is open to 52 countries and the maximum investment project must be of 1.5m Euros," he told the business community at in Kampala last week.

The firm interested in the funds should have a budget that includes provision of hardware, technical assistance, and the project must be new in the region and on a pilot stage.

It must be commercially viable, able to create jobs, provide training and income generation, the maximum duration of the project must be 30 months after which it must become sustainable.

"We provide funding to projects like plastics recycling and the criteria for partnerships is that you must be two partners of which one must be a local partner, a private owned company but with long term relationships," Bolt explained.

The project idea must clearly be elaborated and must create impact on the local economy with direct employment, transfer of knowledge, chain effects for example suppliers should be the local people among others.

He said the deadline for tendering in applications is August 23, 2010 and one can download the intake form from the Dutch Embassy website.

It is after that exercise that is screened by the embassy and then the matchmaking exercise starts.

"If the match making is completed, the proprietors get 5,000 Euros for hiring a consultant to further shape your company, the consultant does a quick scan of the business, visit your project at your cost, makes follow ups and carry out an evaluation," Bolt said.

He warned that commitment is very vital and that one must have a business plan, detailed profile of the partners you are looking for.

It is at this level that the Netherlands senior experts intervene to get you an expert attached to your firm for short periods to solve bottlenecks in production and management.

"We then design a new business plan, product development and marketing, provide technical skills in 75 sectors using our 7,500 volunteer professionals who retired but not tired," said the experts local representative in Uganda Alida Bakema-Boon.

Netherlands Embassy Deputy Head of Mission Marielle Geraedts said the projects are aimed at supporting further the development of the private sector in Uganda .

"The motivation to do so lies in our desire to contribute to poverty reduction through business and enterprises as the engines of economic growth, creation of jobs which are crucial for people to improve their lives," she noted. She revealed that the Netherlands import more from Uganda than what Uganda exports.

"In 2009, the Netherlands imported goods worth 71m Euros from Uganda".