EU/SADC: Support to Industrialization and Productive Sectors (SIPS) Programme

EU/SADC: Support to Industrialization and Productive Sectors (SIPS) Programme

Deadline: 31-Jan-22

The European Union (EU) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) have launched a programme to “Support to Industrialization and Productive Sectors (SIPS)” that targets two specific value chains:

  • Leather Value Chain (hides, skins, tanning, leather and leather products manufacturing) and associated value chains in the agro-processing sector and
  • Anti-retroviral (ARV) and associated value chains in the pharmaceutical sector

Under the EU project SIPS, SADC Secretariat opens calls for proposals for supporting industrialization and productive sectors through actions on leather and pharmaceutical value chains in the SADC Region.

Objectives
  • The global objective of this call for proposals is to contribute to the SADC industrialization and regional integration agenda through technological transformation and innovation.
  • The specific objective of this call for proposals is: Improved and enhanced innovation, technology development and transfer in the Leather and Anti-retroviral (ARV) value chains.

The aim of this call for proposals is to support innovation, technology development and upgrade and product development and commercialization for the pharmaceutical and agro-processing value chains through competitive calls for proposals. The grants will focus on supporting small and medium companies, Research and Technology Organizations, universities, research centers, and centers of excellence among others with technology upgrades and development, product development and commercialization to facilitate linkages with bigger companies or industries in the regional and global value chains ecosystems in pharmaceuticals (ARVs and associated products) and agro processing (Leather and associated products). With the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, there is a great need for companies and industries to invest in innovation, technology advancement and digitization. Therefore, support will also be given to centers of excellence to provide leadership in knowledge generation, innovation and technology development to support and advance regional value chains in pharmaceuticals and agro-processing.

Priority Issues

The Priority Issues to be Covered by the Call are as follows:

  • Process upgrades that bring better or more innovative production methods for more efficient conversion of inputs into outputs;
  • Product upgrades’ that involve producing better or higher quality products;
  • Functional upgrades’ that enable firms to move from low value-added tasks, to higher value-added activities, such as marketing of Research, Development and Innovation (RDI), technology upgrades and transfer and product development; other
  • Value chain upgrades that allow firms to tap into value chains that represent more value added as a whole.
Funding information
  • Theme 1: Leather Value Chain
    • The overall indicative amount made available under Theme 1 is USD 1,550,000.00 The Contracting Authority reserves the right not to award all available funds.
    • Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:
      • mini mum amount: 400,000 USD
      • maxim um amount: 600,000 USD
  • Theme 2: anti-retroviral value chain
    • The overall indicative amount made available under Theme 2 is USD 1,550,000.00 The Contracting Authority reserves the right not to award all available funds.
    • Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:
      • minimal um amount: 400,000 USD
      • maximu ma mount: 600,000 USD
  • The initial planned duration of an action may not be lower than 12 months nor exceed 18 months.
Eligibility Criteria
  • Lead applicant(s)
    • In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:
      • be a legal person and
      • be established in a one or more than one SADC Member State and / or
      • be established in:
        • at ACP State;
        • a Member State of the European Union;
        • beneficiaries of the Instrument for pre-accession assistance;
        • a Member State of the European Economic Area;
        • Overseas Countries and Territories;
        • developing countries and territories, as included in the OECD-DAC list of ODA Recipients, which are not members of the G20 group, without prejudice to the status of the Republic of South Africa, as governed by Protocol 3 of the Partnership Agreement; and be a legal person with experience in undertaking research and innovation activities in the SADC region; other
      • be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the coapplicant (s) and affiliated entity (ies), not acting as an intermediary.
  • Co-applicant (s)
    • Co-applicants participate in designing and implementing the action, and the costs they incur are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the lead applicant.
    • Co-applicants must satisfy the eligibility criteria as applicable to the lead applicant himself.
    • Co-applicants participate in designing and implementing the action, and the costs they incur are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the lead applicant.
    • Co-applicants must satisfy the eligibility criteria as applicable to the lead applicant himself / herself.
    • Co-applicants must sign the mandate form.
  • Affiliated entities
    • The lead applicant and its co-applicant (s) may act with affiliated entity (ies).
    • Only the following entities may be considered as affiliated entities to the lead applicant and / or to co-applicant (s):
      • Only entities having a structural link with the applicants (ie the lead applicant or a co-applicant), in particular a legal or capital link.
      • This structural link encompasses mainly two notions:
        • Control on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings:
          • Entities affiliated to an applicant may hence be:
            • Entities directly or indirectly controlled by the applicant (daughter companies or first-tier subsidiaries). They may also be entities controlled by an entity controlled by the applicant (granddaughter companies or second-tier subsidiaries) and the same applies to further tiers of control;
            • Entities directly or indirectly controlling the applicant (parent companies). Likewise, they may be entities controlling an entity controlling the applicant;
            • Entities under the same direct or indirect control as the applicant (sister companies).
        • Membership, ie the applicant is legally defined as a eg network, federation, association in which the proposed affiliated entities also participate or the applicant participates in the same entity (eg network, federation, association) as the proposed affiliated entities.

 

For more information, visit https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/south-africa/108423/sadc-secretariat-opens-calls-proposals-under-eu-project-sips_en