COMESA has launched a Call for Proposals to its Member States to bid for funding of up to 150,000 Euros to support market access. The funds will be provided under a Technical Assistance Facility (TAF) established with support from the European Union.
Key activities for support are under the COMESA Regional Enterprise Competitiveness and Access to Markets Programme (RECAMP) financed through the 11 European Development Fund (EDF 11).
This facility is meant to cater for priority needs of Member States on the implementation of the COMESA regional integration agenda at the national level. Only interventions related to Result Area 1 of the RECAMP are eligible for support.
Result Area 1 entails sustainable enhancement of the competitiveness and market access of small and medium enterprises and other firms in the targeted value chains/sectors. This is expected to enhance market access and business linkages in the targeted sectors.
Under the result area 1, the capacities of beneficiary firms related to sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) and regional standards and quality management will be improved. This includes the social and environmental standards required under the World Trade Organization and/or EU market.
The RECAMP is an innovative approach to regional cooperation which complements other support mechanisms available to the COMESA Secretariat and its Member States. Its objective is to increase private sector participation in sustainable regional and global value chains by enhancing their access to markets and improving business and investment climate.
The maximum threshold for any Member State’s application is Euro150,000, while the minimum threshold will be Euro 50,000, per year. All eligible Member States have the opportunity to submit requests which will be assessed by the Secretariat with the successful requests will be awarded necessary resources for implementation, in line with the COMESA rules and procedures.
This is the first call of applications to be launched under the RECAMP programme and it is expected that member countries will take the opportunity and benefit from the facility.
Further information on guidelines and application process are available on the COMESA Website and EDF Programmes social media platforms.
The following are links to the 11 EDF programmes:
– https://twitter.com/ComesaEu
– https://www.linkedin.com/in/eu-comesa-trade-and-business-bba9701b6/
– https://www.facebook.com/EU-Comesa-Trade-Business-101295638453398
– https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI4K34NDUOG3ydk0NlGJFKQ
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