Download Finnish Fund for Local Cooperation Contact persons at the Finnish

Finnish Fund for Local Cooperation
Contact persons at the Finnish Embassy:
Anu Ala-Rantala, Programme Officer, [email protected] for Democracy and Human Rights
Saara Kalaluka, Programme Officer, [email protected] for Trade and Culture
Tel: 0211-251988
Fax: 0211-253783
P.O. Box 50819
LUSAKA
The Finnish Fund for Local Cooperation (FLC) is a fund managed by the Embassy of Finland in Lusaka. The
Fund supports initiatives of local Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Community-based Organisations
(CBOs) and other institutions in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi.
Objectives of the Fund
The objective of the Fund in Zambia is to complement other Finnish development efforts in the field of
democracy and human rights, and to strengthen the civil society in particular. Private sector development
and enhancing trade relations between Finnish and Zambian companies through relevant local institutions is
another key area supported through the Fund in Zambia. In addition, the Fund may consider support to cultural
and social development activities at small-scale. Gender, disability, HIV/AIDS and environment are cross-cutting
themes. In Zimbabwe, the Fund’s specific objective is to support national healing, democratisation and respect
for human rights, whereas the focus in Malawi is also human rights and enhanced access to justice.
The approach is to establish long-term partnerships with a limited number of organisations instead of supporting
one-time activities, workshops, seminars, etc.
Criterion for Eligibility
When funds are granted, special attention is paid to the following aspects, in particular:
 The capacity of the organisation to contribute to the goals of Finland's development policy (for further
information, please go to www.finland.org.zm)
 The organisation(s) in question should have a genuine, credible domestic basis and the proposed
programme should not be launched or fully financed by the donor community
 Activities proposed should reach a large audience and have potential for a broad impact
 The capacity of the organisation to initiate project planning and to invest its own resources in project
implementation
 Reliability of the applicant organisation or institution
 Possibilities of the mission to monitor the implementation of the project
 Organisations networking, cooperating and coordinating with each other will be highly appreciated
 Activities strengthening local and Finnish cooperation are encouraged
How to Apply
All prospective applicants must provide following background information about the applying organisation:
1. Name of the organisation
2. Full address, telephone, e-mail
3. Contact details of director (or equivalent) and project manager in charge of the proposed project
4. Legal status of the organisation (including registration number and date)
5. Description of the organisation, including governance structure of the organisation
6. Brief description of previous and current programmes, which the organisation has implemented and
sources of funds.
7. Latest annual report and financial statement of the organisation to be attached
8. Strategic Plan of the organisation to be attached (if available)
The project proposal shall be clearly defined presenting:
1. Name of the proposed project
2. Location (village, district and province)
3. Project background; description of the identified needs, how needs were identified, any study
4. Project objectives; what does the project aim to achieve, clearly defined objectives must be identified
5. Expected project results; what are the measurable changes expected; results are to be SMART (specific,
measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound)
6. Project description; relationship between project and the needs identified; target group; activities to be
implemented; methods to be used; input required; work plan and the time frame; SWOT analysis
(Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)
7. Logical Framework (preferably)
8. Gender analysis; women participation; any consideration given to different needs of men and women;
details on any gender specific objectives and results; what % of beneficiaries will be women
9. Other cross-cutting issues (disability, HIV/AIDS, environment) considered to the extent it is relevant for
the project implementation
10. Risk assessment; risks that may affect the implementation of the project
11. Monitoring and Evaluation; describe how the project will monitor and measure progress towards
achievement of objectives and results; define indicators for measuring whether the stated objectives and
results have been reached; these indicators must be both qualitative and quantitative
12. Budget; detailed breakdown; amount requested from the Embassy of Finland; organisation’s contribution;
amount from other donors.
13. Auditing arrangements
14. Project management structure; management chart; roles and responsibilities for project staff
The proposal shall be accompanied by a cover letter addressed to the Embassy, dated and signed by an official
representative of the organisation.
Fund cannot provide support to
 An unregistered organisation
 The government, ministries or local authorities
 Activities of political parties, unless the activity supported is a joint activity of a representative number of
political parties
 Projects in which the beneficiary is a single person, single family or private business
 Pure charity purposes
 Humanitarian aid
 Basic research
 Purchase of land
 Building the capital of microloan systems
 Finnish beneficiaries
Additional information
Projects of long-term nature (1-3 years) are encouraged, but organisations applying for the first time are advised
to propose a maximum one year projects.
A call for proposals will be organised twice a year (more information about deadlines can be found on the
Embassy website www.finland.org.zm). Grants decisions will be made by the Embassy of Finland FLC Project
Committee. All applicants will be informed about a decision made by the Project Committee. The Embassy of
Finland reserves the right to accept or reject the project proposals.
Approved grant can only cover administrative costs of a project up to 10 % of the total project budget.
Accountability on activities supported is to be ensured. No further funding can be provided to any organisation as
long as the approved accounting for any previous funding is pending. The Embassy has a right to evaluate and
audit the project at any time; the organisation responsible for the project will then make all required
documentation available for the evaluation/audit.
Additional information for applicants on the area of private sector development and trade enhancement
Support to the development of the private sector in developing countries can be roughly categorized into two:
1. Support to Private Sector Development (PSD) and
2. Support to Private Sector Operations (PSO).
PSD means generally development of the business enabling environment, including policies, rules and
regulations, processes and institutions, and can be supported with many development policy instruments. PSO
means, in turn, a more direct focus on the business and investment activities of the private sector actors, most
notably companies. The selected development policy instruments can be used for the improvement and
facilitation of growth of companies and their business activities.
In addition to established FLC targets, the FLC may also be used for increasing cooperation between Finnish
companies and the companies of the host country as well as other actors in the private sector, with the aim of
generating positive impact on development in the host country.
In this context, the FLC may be used for the development of the local private sector and projects aimed at
supporting the creation of business partnerships. It may also be used for promoting the exports from developing
countries to Finland or other countries with the aim of creating positive development impacts on a socially and
environmentally sustainable basis. The FLC may also serve to promote corporate social responsibility with a view
to integrating social (e.g. decent working conditions) and environmental issues in the business activities of the
companies and exporters in developing countries, as well as to advance general cooperation in the area of trade
and economy between local and Finnish organisations.
When the support is meant for companies, the project in question should have as little influence as possible on
the local competition situation.
Eligible actors for Private Sector Development (PSD) and support to Private Sector Operations (PSO)
1. Local private sector/civil society organisations: Chambers of Commerce, business associations, trade
promotion agencies, producer cooperatives and other similar private sector/civil society organisations.
2. Local private companies, including their business partnerships with Finnish companies.
Support to private sector/ civil society organisations: Administrative rules
Support to private sector/civil society organisations with not-for-profit and commercially non-viable projects is
channelled through and administered with the conventional FLC practices.
Support to local private companies and business partnerships: Administrative rules
Support to local private companies’ for-profit and commercially viable business operations and private sector
business partnerships are subject to a number of special provisions. Some provisions are presented below
Private sector support: A definition
The FLC support can be applied for commercially viable business activities with clear positive development
impacts. Commercial viability means that the activity aims at making profit and could be financed with private
resources from the financial market, at least in the longer run. In these cases, the FLC funding is meant to be
seed money for the early phases of a business-oriented project. Seed money means a small grant for a business
partnership or project-type activity with the majority of funding coming from the company itself. Seed money
cannot be used for equity capital of a company.
FLC support can also be granted to a company with a not-for-profit and commercially non-viable project. An
example of such an activity would be a corporate social responsibility project not directly linked to the core
business of the company, such as vocational training for a broader community.
Regardless of the profit orientation and commercial viability of the project, support to local private companies will
always require application with the Private Company Application form where these special provisions apply.
Business partnerships: A definition
A Business Partnership can be defined as long-term cooperation between companies in developing countries
and Finnish companies, as well as between other commercial entities if for-profit.
Supported Project activities
The FLC support can be allocated for various activities, including:
 Identification of (a) business partner(s) in Finland
 Feasibility study (with some exceptions)
 Environmental or social impact assessment
 Business plan on a commercial partnership
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Training of the employees of the partner country partnership entity
Use of external experts in the capacity development of the target country company/partner
Planning and other technical assistance in piloting projects related to Finnish environmental technology
Corporate social responsibility activity
The FLC support can be used for various phases of the project to cover the expenses. The different phases of
the project and their respective costs must be specified in the application.
Only the eligible expenses are taken into account when calculating the amount of the granted FLC support. The
eligible expenses include:
 Costs incurred in the project country/countries by the Company. This includes travel and accommodation
expenses, but daily allowances are excluded.
 If the project involves training and fact-finding activities of the employees outside the project country (e.g.
in Finland), their travel and accommodation costs can be approved, but daily allowances are excluded.
 Fees of an external expert/consultant for acceptable reimbursement ceiling is pre-determined by the
Embassy based on best available local knowledge of expense levels at time of signing the agreement.
Daily fees of the experts and the amount of days are agreed in programme plan.
 Training costs which relate to transfer of know-how or technology can be approved, with the general
limits regarding personnel, experts and travel as set out above.
FLC resources cannot be used for following activities and/or expenses:
 Feasibility studies for concessional credit schemes and export credit schemes originating from Finland
 General marketing activities and marketing materials expenses
 General product development costs
 General market research costs, which play no part in the improvement of a specific business partnership
 General seminar or visiting costs which play no part in the improvement of the business partnership (e.g.
Partner identification)
 Purchase costs of machinery and equipment if that is the only purpose of the FLC support
Maximum financial support
The guiding principle is that the applicant provides the main share of the financing of the project. Moreover, the
financial risks of the project should be one central criterion when the volume of the financial support is
considered.
The FLC support can cover maximum 40 % of the entire project costs.
Application process
The application for the FLC support for private company and any other entity aiming to proceed into for-profit
business partnership is submitted by filling in a FLC application form specially designed for private companies or
business partnerships.
If the applicant is a private company, it must be registered in the partner country in question. The company must
have sound financial record, sufficient commercial business experience as well as the required level of knowhow. In addition the applicant must have sufficient financial and human resources for the implementation of the
project. The applicant should therefore play an active part in the project and share the risks. A consultant
conducting e.g. a feasibility study is hence not an eligible applicant.
Payment of support
Approved projects will receive the due amount of the FLC support after the approved project expenses have
incurred.
 The support amount will be paid against a payment request.
 The FLC support can be settled in one instalment only.
 The applicant shall submit a Final Report in connection with the reimbursement request.