Making Private Sector Development a Priority. . . Celene Cleland-Gomez Enterprise Innovation Challenge Fund Coordinator In partnership with:
Overview of the Program Foreign Affairs, Trade UK Department for IDB Caribbean and Development International Development Bank Canada (DFATD) Development Started: August 2010 5-year execution period With a total value of over US$40 million, Compete Caribbean is the largest technical assistance program targeting private sector development in the region
Participating Countries The Bahamas Dominican St Kitts Republic & Nevis Belize Antigua & Barbuda Jamaica Haiti Dominica St. Lucia St. Vincent & Barbados Grenadines 15 CARIFORUM Grenada Trinidad Member States & Tobago Guyana Suriname
What does Compete Caribbean fund? Enterprise Innovation • Clustering Initiatives Challenge Fund US$13,3 M • Direct Firm Support Private Sector Business Climate and • Business Climate Competitiveness Enhancement Enhancement Facility • Public Private Dialogue US$10,6 M Public Sector Comprehensive Framework for Private • Knowledge Generation US$4,4M Sector Development and • Knowledge Sharing Knowledge Management
Leveraging the strengths of the Private Sector . . the EICF Enterprise Innovation Challenge Fund Support to Clusters Window Innovation Window . . . provides technical assistance and investment funding to support firms, clusters and value chains to develop new products and services, implement new business models, and access new markets fostering innovation and competitiveness.
T HE I NNOVATION W INDOW Creating Competitive Advantage One Firm at a Time…
Grant Awards - 2013 Regional Communications Limited (CELLUCIAN) Manufacturing St. Lucia Manufacturing of first global frequency 4-SIM/4-phone Total award US $500,000
Technical Assistance Awards- 2013 Solar Carport Network & Smart Link Technology (Barbados) The Project will design and build a network of inter-linked solar powered charging stations for electric vehicles across at least ten strategic locations in Barbados. ECO-FRIENDLY HANDBAGS (St. Kitts and Nevis) The firm uses recycled materials to produce women’s accessories. Using grass, discarded tires, newspaper and other items usually tossed in the trash, the company uses modern recycling techniques combined with traditional weaving and handcrafting to create purses.
Technical Assistance Awards- 2013 dloHaiti dloHaiti seeks to implement a decentralized water purification and distribution model that reduces reliance on water transport by large trucks. Caribbean LED Lighting Ltd. WINSUN This project will combine the bundling of the best existing technologies with innovative design to develop an affordable renewable energy generation and storage product called WINSUN.
Technical Assistance Awards- 2013 Barbados Biogas Enter the Green Economy Caribbean Renewable Energy will set up a commercial Anaerobic Bio digester in Barbados to convert organic waste into biogas and then combust this biogas to produce renewable electricity.
Innovation Window Activity to Date Oct. 2012 Eco-Innovations Call 80 PCNs – Jan 2013 7 IBPs 37 PCNs IP - July 2013 5 IBPs IP – Oct 2013 CIM - 2011 166 PCNs 12 IBPs Oct 2011 3 awards 130 PCNs 4 IBPs 1 award
Innovation Window Activity CALL OPEN NOW Closes October 31
What is the Innovation Window? A competitive mechanism that provides non- reimbursable funding of up to US$500,000 to firms and entrepreneurs to take a chance on an innovative, risky business idea to improve the revenue performance and competitiveness of the firm. The window will finance innovative ventures to develop new products, implement new business models, or enter new markets. 13
Who Can Compete? Private Sector firms legally established in a CARIFORUM country; and who: • Register for consideration under the window; • Present all documentation required by the window; • Have no enforceable outstanding tax or social benefit obligations; • Is not delinquent in the servicing of existing debt instruments; • Commit to provide counterpart funding (up to 50%) and accept the financial requirements of the program. • Agree to involvement in the program’s visibility campaigns; • Agree to cooperate in the development of an Innovative Business Plan; • Agree to provide all information required for monitoring and evaluation of results and impact; • Certify that they are not receiving grant financing for the development of a business plan from another donor agency 14
What Type of Ideas are Competitive? To be considered ideas must: • Be innovative (product, process, marketing or organizational); • Have commercial application and sustainability; • Be able to be completed within the time frame specified in the call parameters; • Have the potential to positively impact the livelihood, skills and incomes of employees and suppliers of inputs and services; • Be submitted to the PCU using the established mechanisms; 15
What Project Activities Can Be Funded? • Consultancies to support the preparation of the business plan, organization, institutional and coordination activities, legal advice, selection and hiring of personnel aiming at that objective; • Capital investment directly associated to the development of the project; • Consultancy services (market studies, technical assistance, management consulting, etc.). • Investment in machinery or equipment or other inputs that will improve productivity, process and product development, quality improvement and design, strategic management, access to markets and market intelligence, etc; • Intellectual or industrial property protection; • Knowledge management;
Sorry, NO Can Do . . . • Working capital; • Investment in capital goods that are not directly related to the Project; • The purchase of real state or vehicles; • Construction of physical infrastructure costing more than 30% of the project; • Payment of debts, dividends, taxes or recovery of capital, purchase of stocks, bonds or any other liquid values; • Administrative or operating expenses; • The purchase of goods for the project that exceeds the 30% of the total cost of the project.
How it works – Choosing the Winners PCNs are reviewed IDB IP reviews and Specialist recommends review Due IBP is Submitted to EC diligence developed to IP Winners are announced Top Internal ranked panel ascend reviews Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 1 Business Plan Announcement of PCN Competition Competition Winners 18
How it Works … Implementing the Project Stage 4 A Technical Cooperation Agreement is negotiated between the bank and the winning firms Grants are disbursed based on milestones as the firms implement their projects Compete Caribbean conducts monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the project in cooperation with the firm 19
Among the top ranked? Submitted to Submitted to EC IP 3 weeks IBP is 3-4 weeks developed 2.5 mths Due diligence 2 weeks About 5 Months to decision
Selecting the Winners Evaluating Criteria: • Technical quality of the project : innovative merit is considered in the development of a new idea, or any differentiating factor of an already existing one. Technological impact is important. • Business Plan quality : commercial strategy, market impact and knowledge, economic results and projections overtime, growth potential, economic indicators evaluation, risk factors, are considered here. • Coherence: Degree of adequacy in the relationship between planning, activities of execution and results. • Export Potential • Environmental impact • Impact on livelihoods ; employment, poverty, income, young people, ethnic minorities, etc. • Gender mainstreaming (policies that benefit women) • Appropriateness in the experience, history and background of the applicant , in terms of competencies for project execution.
How Do I Apply? • The Innovation Window will receive applications in response to a call for proposals at intervals during the year; • The application process is exclusively electronic and can be accessed from our website at: www.competecaribbean.com; • The fund is structured as a competition and not every submission can be a winner; • Winners are chosen through a meticulous, rigorous process of review; • Applicants will be notified of the outcome following each stage.
T HE S UPPORT TO C LUSTERS W INDOW Building Competitive Advantage through Cooperation
GRANT AWARDS (Provisional) • OECS MARITIME CLUSTER • Seeks to promote economic growth in the OECS countries through the development of a more effective maritime transport sector. Project should bolster intra- regional trade and foster regional integration. • TREASURE BEACH CLUSTER • Attempts to diversify the tourism product in Jamaica by forging strategic linkages between the Tourism sector and small entrepreneurs within the Treasure beach community.
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