The aim of the Sub-grant scheme is to provide financial and technical support to entrepreneurship initiatives in the 3 targeted countries (Egypt, Lebanon and Tunisia) in order to increase the market share of enterprises with young/women staff in managerial positions and support access to national and cross-border markets. This support is structured around financial aid schemes. 

Project objectives:
•    6 start-ups/recently established enterprises to increase their market share and sign new commercial contracts 
•    12 MSMEs to launch new products/services 
•    6 MSMEs to enter cross-border markets (with around 10.000€ of average budget)  
•    14 MSMEs to launch new projects/ventures 
•    3 Business Support organizations to incubate the sub-granted entrepreneurship initiatives 

•    Beneficiary type 1: Start-ups: development and implementation of new strategies allowing to grow market share and sign new commercial contracts. 
•    Beneficiary type 2: MSMEs (New product/service): development and launching of new products/services.
•    Beneficiary type 3: MSMEs Internationalization development and implementation of internationalization strategies/business plans to enter cross-border markets. 
•    Beneficiary type 4: Projects/ventures led by a consortium of MSMEs for the development, creation, production, dissemination and/or preservation of goods and services in the cultural and creative industries, embodying cultural, artistic or other creative expressions.
•    Beneficiary type 5: Business Support Organizations coaching and mentoring services developed and offered for (young and women) entrepreneurs, MSMEs, start-ups and recently established enterprises, in order to facilitate the implementation of all types of activities to be financially supported for Beneficiaries type 1, 2, 3 and 4

625.000 EUR 

Tunisia    

• Start-ups/recently established enterprises    Sub grant    2    € 10 000,00    € 20 000,00
• MSMEs to launch new products/services    Sub grant    4    € 10 000,00    € 40 000,00
• MSMEs to internationalize    Sub grant    2    € 10 000,00    € 20 000,00
• CCI entrepreneurship initiatives    Sub grant    6*    € 20 000,00    € 120 000,00
• Business accelerators    Sub grant    1    € 35 000,00    € 35 000,00

Egypt

• Start-ups/recently established enterprises    Sub grant    2    € 10 000,00    € 20 000,00
• MSMEs to launch new products/services    Sub grant    4    € 10 000,00    € 40 000,00
• MSMEs to internationalize    Sub grant    2    € 10 000,00    € 20 000,00
• CCI entrepreneurship initiatives    Sub grant    4    € 20 000,00    € 80 000,00
• Business accelerators    Sub grant    1    € 35 000,00    € 35 000,00

Lebanon

• Start-ups/recently established enterprises    Sub grant    2    € 10 000,00    € 20 000,00
• MSMEs to launch new products/services    Sub grant    4    € 10 000,00    € 40 000,00
• MSMEs to internationalize    Sub grant    2    € 10 000,00    € 20 000,00
• CCI entrepreneurship initiatives    Sub grant    4    € 20 000,00    € 80 000,00
• Business accelerators    Sub grant    1    € 35 000,00    € 35 000,00

•    Setting up a harmonized sub-granting scheme   
A funding scheme will be designed by IEMed with support from all PPs bearing in mind that applicants might have weak managerial and administrative capacities. 

•    Selection of applicants -local pitch competition and proposals 
A call for applicants will be launched and widely promoted (as per WP2) among entrepreneurship initiatives mapped in WP3. 

•    INVESTMED entrepreneurship initiatives and BSO pilot implementation 
38 MSMEs/start-ups selected for funding are required to develop a new service/product based on preliminary market research and feasibility studies.3 BSOs are required to set up new business incubation and acceleration services tailored to the needs of project beneficiary MSMEs.

•    Implementation of projects: Monitoring, follow-up and grant management support 
A Project implementation handbook will be delivered with its annexes (Financial and administrative forms; Narrative and financial report forms, etc.) to assist sub-grant beneficiaries.

•    Periodic quality checks and progress monitoring  
The External Evaluation Committee (as per WP1) will conduct periodic checks on outputs delivered by sub-grantees.

•    Regional networking and B2B events 
3 regional networking and B2B events will be organized: 
1. Kick-off peer-to-peer experience sharing: success stories and interaction with business experts;
2. Regional mid-term event to follow up on the progress made by sub-grantees and facilitate networking with other projects/start-ups (incl. ENI CBC) and stakeholders;
3. Final event to present key achievements; pitch in front of a jury of experts and investors; B2B meetings with other (ENI CBC) projects/start-ups/private actors/policy makers

•    Policy recommendations
Interactive dialogue sessions will be organized with policy makers, project beneficiaries and other stakeholders along major project events, i.e. 
- Expertise workshops 
- Kick-off event: Regional event 1
- Mid-term event: Regional event 2
- Final event: regional event 3 

•    Advocacy sessions
3 BSOs (1 per target country) will deliver incubation and acceleration services to sub-grantees throughout and beyond the duration of the project.

•    Targeted incubation and acceleration services in Egypt, Lebanon and Tunisia   
MSMEs/start-ups/new enterprises selected for sub-granting will receive additional capacity building support from project partners (under the coordination IED) to set up their own business platforms allowing high levels of engagement with clients and business partners.

•    Creation of business platforms
MSMEs/start-ups/new enterprises selected for sub-granting will receive additional capacity building support from project partners (under the coordination IED) to set up their own business platforms allowing high levels of engagement with clients and business partners

Selection of sub-grantees: 
A call for proposals will be published and widely disseminated to potential applicants fully respecting the ENI CBC key guidelines, i.e. transparency (publication of the call and results), equal treatment (no preferential treatment to any sub-grantee), co-financing (respecting the minimum 10% co-funding rate), no cumulative award (max. one sub-grant awarded to the same entity), and no retroactivity (no financing of actions already implemented). To do so, a simplified Guide for sub-grant applicants will be developed, published on the project website and widely disseminated together with all documents of the application and sub-grant management (i.e. sub-grant Annex I – Description of the project INVESTMED 6 application form, evaluation criteria, sub-grant contract template, reporting templates, de minimis declaration, de minimis template for small events). 

Steps of the selection procedure: 
1. Setting up the Evaluation Committee. 
2. Eligibility criteria check of applications 
3. Evaluation of applications:
    Two step evaluation procedure for Beneficiary types 1-4: evaluation of the proposal submitted and invitation to local pitch event to present the project idea in front of a competent jury of evaluators. Pre-selected applicants will be only invited to pitch (max. two times the number of projects to be awarded). 
    One step evaluation procedure for Beneficiary type 5: evaluation of the submitted proposal.
4. Submission of list of projects recommended by the Evaluation Committee for sub-granting to the project’s Sub-grant Management Committee
5. Verification and clarification procedure with successful applicants
6. Official communication of the award decision on the project website and via email to the successful applicants 
7. Resolution of appeal requests if any
8. Check of supporting documents from sub-grantees for the sub-grant contract signature 
9. Signature of the sub-grant contracts. 

Call for applications from Business Support Organisations (Deadline: 21 February  2022)
Call for applications from Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (Deadline: 3 March 2022)

BUSINESSMED
 
Jihen Boutiba Mrad     General secretary     j.boutiba@businessmed-umce.org
Hichem Hchicha     Financial & Administrative Director      finance@businessmed-umce.org
Mokhtar Kembi    Financial manager of INVESTMED     accounts@businessmed-umce.org
Mohamed Sgheir Ben Youssef     Project Officer     Project@ebsomed.eu

https://www.enicbcmed.eu/projects/investmed