Funding Window 2
Window 2: Support for Businesses in Productive Sectors
Objective: The objective of Window 2 is to address skills gaps experienced by companies in the formal and informal sectors in Sierra Leone. The fund aims to support private sector firms to improve their access to quality skills that reflect their demands and business needs. The fund will finance short to medium term training aimed at upgrading skills of current and potential employees. Window 2 also provides support to members or businesses in their supply chains. The fund will also finance acquisition and adoption of new technology. Businesses that will be targeted should be in the following productive sectors:- agriculture/agro-processing, fisheries, mining or extractives, construction, and tourism. These must also define the skills gaps that they need to address in order to expand their production and markets or to upgrade their production process to climb higher up the value chain.
Window 2 is divided into two tiers (sub-windows). Window 2, Tier 1 provides support for microenterprises in the informal sector, while Window 2, Tier 2 focuses on small, medium, and large enterprises in the formal sector. Support provided under Window 2 is geared towards improving the practical, technical, business and foundational skills of the Grantees or their associations in order to enhance their competitiveness. Table 5.5 presents a standard draft classification of businesses under the two sub-windows.
Eligible Beneficiaries for Window 2
For sub-window 1, eligible beneficiaries include informal sector registered member-based organizations, artisan associations and cooperatives. Eligible beneficiaries can include single entity (an association or a firm) or multiple entity (a group of firms and a group of associations) with a minimum of 25 proposed trainees across the informal and formal sector. For sub-windows 2, eligible beneficiaries are the employees of small, medium and large enterprises.
Eligible Activities for Window 2
Window 2 will finance costs related to short to medium-term skills upgrading and development, technology acquisition and adoption and apprenticeships of existing or potential employees or members of association in the formal and informal sectors. Apprenticeship programs should primarily target youth and women with the aim of offering on the job training. It is expected that activities supported by the SDF will result to productivity gains for applicants. Thus, the applicant(s) is expected to demonstrate how the propose training will lead to improvement in productivity of core business activities.
- Skills upgrading and development: This includes training of existing employees or members or those with appointment letters. Employees of firms in supply chains are also eligible for this type of training. Training can include short and medium-term programs on technical, cognitive or business development and management skills.
- Technology acquisition and adoption: Window 2 will support applicants in the acquisition of technology and training for existing employees or members or those with appointment letters on the use and maintenance technology. Technology includes physical equipment and software central to the business practice of applicant(s). However, not more than 20% of a grant can be spent on purchase of equipment and software, and the equipment and software must relate to the proposed training activities.
Window 2, Tier 1: Informal Microenterprises
This Window seeks to address the skills needs of microenterprises to enable them expand production and markets or upgrade their production processes. The target for support under Window 2, Tier 1 is micro enterprises (MEs) in the following productive sectors: – agriculture/agro-processing, fisheries, mining/extractives, construction, and tourism). It will also target master crafts-people and members of cooperatives /associations with the aim to improve their practical, technical, business and foundational skills in order to enhance their competitiveness.
A characteristic of the informal sector is that it comprises of large numbers of micro-enterprises whose activities are fragmented. Some of these micro-enterprises organize themselves into associations. It is therefore expected that intermediate institutions, such as trades associations, cooperative, non-profit organizations will support informal sector will play major roles in defining the content of the skills development initiatives, duration, etc. and thus apply on behalf of its members for the grant under Window 1, Tier 1.
Eligibility Criteria for Applicants under Window 2
Although individual Microenterprises are eligible to apply, the capacity constraints in terms of numbers of employees, apprentices and logistics, it may not be efficient to organize training programs for a single micro-enterprise. In this regard, it is expected that an association/organization or non-profit organization will apply on-behalf of their members. The organization submitting the application is expected to identify the training provider(s) to deliver the skills upgrading for its members.
Associations and business organizations seeking support from the Skills Development Facility under this window will be required to satisfy the following criteria: