The deadline for this Call is July 6, 2012 at 4:30 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time). For additional information please click here or contact Mr. Kirk Brown, Senior Grant Advisor at kbrown@carib-export.com

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

APPLICANTS ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY IF THEY ARE:

i. A firm (i.e. entity, individual or company) legally registered and operating in a CARIFORUM member state; or

ii. A legally registered Business Support Organization (BSOs) in a CARIFORUM member state such as trade association, chamber of commerce, industrial development corporation, other business support organizations which is undertaking an activity in partnership with at least two (2) private sector firms. BSOs may ONLY apply to the Regular Procedures facility;

iii. Trading in the following Sectors: Alternative Energy, Agriculture, Agro-Processing, Creative Industries (e.g. Fashion, audio-visual, music, artisans, etc.), Health & Wellness, Information Communication Technology, Manufacturing, Professional Services, Tourism

iv. Exporting or demonstrate their potential to export goods and services

v. Operational for at least two (2) years supported by last two years financial statements/accounts; and vi. Able to finance and sustain their projects fully at the beginning; that is 100% financing is available prior to project initiation.

APPLICANTS NOT ELIGIBLE TO APPLY:

a) Start‐ups; firms, entities or individuals not financially operational for two (2) years;

b) Educational institutions such as Universities, Schools, Vocational centres, etc.;

c) Non‐Governmental Organizations, including but not limited human-rights, social clubs, citizen associations and charity;

Funding Amounts Amounts to be Awarded For Regular Procedures:

Any funds awarded under the direct assistance programme regular procedure, must fall within the following amounts:

Minimum amount: €5,000 Maximum amount: €30,000

No direct assistance may exceed 70% (€30,000) of the total project cost.

The project must be financed from the applicant’s or their partners’ own resources, or from other funding sources including the donor community.

The project must be financed from the applicant’s or their partners’ own resources, or from other funding sources including the donor community.

SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION FORM: WHEN AND WHERE?

Applicants can only submit an application after a Call for Proposals has been officially published by Caribbean Export.

Applicants are reminded of the following procedural changes:

Applications submitted via fax or email will be not be accepted

An applicant may submit one (1) proposal/application for this call per legally registered entity.

Applications must be submitted in duplicate (i.e. two (2) copies) and hard copy to Caribbean Export with the required support documentation.

Applications may be submitted in any of the four (4) languages (i.e. English, French, Spanish or Dutch). Applications submitted in French, Spanish or Dutch will be translated into English by Caribbean Export.

For this Call ONLY, Caribbean Export will allow applicants to submit their applications to one of the approved Business Support Organisations listed in Section 3.2 of the Guidelines for the Regular Procedures who will forward to Caribbean Export for evaluation.

BELTRAIDE is requesting submission of applications and all other relevant support documentation to BELTRAIDE at the following address:

14 Orchid Garden Street,

City of Belmopan

Kindly note that Applications must be submitted in two (2) hard copies to BELTRAIDE on or before June 29th, 2012, who will be forwarding the applications to CEDA to defray applicant’s expenses relating to courier service. Alternatively, applicants can mail directly to Caribbean Export if this is not the preferred method of submission

Applicants choosing to submit applications by the BSO must do so in a sealed envelope.

Applicants’ that do not utilize the BELTRAIDE to submit their applications, must submit applications in a sealed envelope by post, private courier or hand delivery to Caribbean Export’s Head Office or Caribbean Export’s Sub-Regional Office on or before the deadline July 6, 2012 @ 4:30 p.m. (Barbados Time) to the following address:

Caribbean Export Development Agency OR Caribbean Export- Sub Regional Office Hastings Main Road Calle Carlos Lora No.9 Mutual Building, Ground Floor Ensanche Los Restauradores Christ Church, Barbados, BB15154 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Application Forms and Guidelines can be downloaded from Caribbean Export’s website www.carib-export.com and on the home page look for the heading “Direct Assistance Scheme”.

Click HERE for application form.

Selection of “Direct Assistance Scheme” will produce a drop down menu which provides all the relevant information on “How to Apply”, including eligibility requirements, eligible projects, amounts to be funded, guidelines and application forms.

Click HERE for the guidelines.

Click HERE for the Regular Procedures Evaluation Grid

Applications must reach the Caribbean Export at the address and date and time indicated on website, application form and guidelines. Applications received after the deadline may automatically be rejected even if the postmark indicates a date preceding the deadline or if the delay is due to the private courier service. Applicants are requested to strictly comply with deadline date submission

EVALUATION & SELECTION OF APPLICATIONS

The evaluation process usually takes 3-4 weeks commencing from the deadline of the Call for Proposals. Applications will be opened and examined by at least two (2) members of the Direct Assistance Grant Committee. Selected members of the Committee would also evaluate the applications for presentation to the formal committee meeting.

All projects submitted by applicants will be evaluated according to the following steps and criteria.

STEP 1: Administrative Check STEP

STEP 2: Evaluation of the Application Form

STEP 3: Completion of Evaluation Grid • Accelerated Procedures Evaluation Grid (see pdf attached) • Regular Procedures Evaluation Grid (see pdf attached)

STEP 4: Notification of Caribbean Export’s Decision STEP

5: Award of Grant Contract STEP 6: Implementation of Grant Contract

Contact Caribbean Export for additional information or contact BELTRAIDE at 822-3737/0175.