Business Support Facility endorses 73 innovative projects in 22 OACPS member states
A year ago, the team from Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH responsible for the implementation of the Business Support Facility was concerned that too few innovative project proposals would be received as applications. The funding for the proposals for multi-actors-partnerships to improve the cashew, cocoa, maize, and livestock value chains is channelled via the Matching Grant Fund (MGF) of the facility. However, the response was overwhelming. From Haiti to many countries in Africa to Vanuatu in the Pacific, more than 500 qualified proposals were sent during the application period. 73 projects from 22 OACPS member states were endorsed for the 4 value chains. This was made possible by an intensive programme of webinars to explain the application procedures to applicants in four different languages. Currently, the commercial and legal eligibility assessment is still ongoing for some projects while others are already starting with implementation. In July 2024, the next and final calls of this MGF for all value chains will be launched.