Դրամաշնորհի մրցույթ - EDMC

Call for Expression of Interest

USAID Enterprise Development and Market Competitiveness Project (USAID/EDMC) invites all eligible organizations to present unique, innovative and worthwhile ideas for the funding within the unsolicited grant competition.

Goals and Objectives

The goal of the EDMC Grant Program in Armenia is to assist local Armenian institutions and organizations such as professional associations, non-governmental organizations and private sector entities to implement project initiatives which will help sustainably enhance the competitiveness of supported sectors in the Armenian economy and contribute to increased investments, exports, and employment for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in these sectors.

Overall, USAID EDMC Grant Program aims to support workforce development through improving the quality and relevance of training programs for skilled specialists and entrepreneurs in the supported sectors. The Program also contributes to the development of legal, regulatory, and institutional enforcement framework to improve the business enabling environment in Armenia, as well as to improved public-private dialogue between the private and public sectors.

Grants are used to support EDMC activities by providing resources to build local technical capacity among business associations, training institutions, individual SMEs, inter-linked value chain-specific enterprise groupings, and other relevant stakeholders in a manner which promotes the sustainable development of competitive enterprises and value chains.

Only unique, innovative and worthwhile projects that target real needs, demonstrate high impact, and meet the goal of the EDMC project will be considered under this call.

Eligibility

The following organizations are eligible to take part in the competition:

Locally legally registered organizations, including representative offices and branches;
Non-profit organizations (NGOs, foundations, unions, associations, etc.);
For-profit organizations (LLC, IE, JSC, CJSC, etc.);
Organization’s mission and goals are in line with EDMC goals and objectives.
EDMC does not accept the applications from the following organizations:

Government owned and/or operated, politically-affiliated organizations and government institutions;
Foreign-owned, intergovernmental and international organizations;
Religious organizations;
Organizations with missions and objectives that are not directly related to the activities supported by the USAID/EDMC Project,
Individuals and non-formal groups/initiatives.
Funding Size and Scale

Grants are anticipated to range from $2,500 to $25,000 each. Applicant should ensure at least 20% contribution to the amount requested. While most grant projects are not expected to exceed six months in duration, proposals for projects that exceed six months may be considered but should demonstrate results delivery over time to a compelling necessity justifying the length of the grant.

Application Procedures

Unsolicited grant applications accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis. There are no deadlines for Expression of Interest. All eligible organizations are welcome to fill in the attached EoI form and send it to grants@edmc.am. Applications should be presented in English. Please, take into account that EoI should not exceed 3 pages using single spaced, 12 font size.

Received applications will be reviewed by the Grants Monitoring Team and applicants will be informed on the results within 2 weeks period after the submission of the application. Those successfully passed EoI stage will be invited to submit full Grant Application for further consideration.

Evaluation Criteria

Each received Expression of Interest that fits the presented guidelines will be evaluated towards the following criteria:

Uniqueness of the proposed idea – the idea is unique and innovative and can effectively address the identified problem
Importance and relevance of the problem – EoI identifies a key technical, operational, marketing, human capital, managerial, financial access, and/or enabling environment issue adversely affecting SMEs in supported sectors
Degree of Impact – EoI demonstrates measurable and sustained impact
Ability of the Applicant – the applicant is reasonably capable of effectively and successfully executing the proposed idea
ATTENTION

Submission of the Expression of Interest or its approval for the second stage of the competition does not guarantee EDMC funding. EDMC will not cover any costs related to the preparation and/or submission of the package. Proposals that do not fall within the guidelines described will not be considered. Accepted applications and attached papers will not be returned.

For questions please contact:

David Chityan, Grants Manager

Phone: 010 60 51 61 00 *1014 or 055 416 419

E-mail: grants@edmc.am

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