Europe - Uganda Village, 10 May 2008
brohurefinal.pdf (955 Kb)
New funds available for pilot investment projects in emerging markets
Companies in emerging markets, who want to set up a small-scale pilot investment in their country, should consider to look for Dutch companies to set-up a joint venture*. Consortia consisting of at least one Dutch company and a company from one of the 48 PSOM countries can apply for financial support from the Dutch Government for 50% and sometimes 60% of the total project costs.
* PSOM has started a pilot project matchmaking to assist enterprises in the following countries to find a Dutch partner: Burkina Faso, Colombia, Egypt, Kenya, Mali, Pakistan, Peru and Rwanda. For other countries PSOM cannot help you with finding a Dutch partner.
PSOM
The financial support is provided through the Programme for Co-operation with Emerging Markets (PSOM), with the objective to promote sustainable economic and private sector development. An evaluation has shown that this programme of the Dutch government indeed succeeded in stimulating additional private investments in developing countries. Without PSOM these investments would probably not have taken place, because of the high perceived risks and low expected initial profits.
Countries
The following countries are eligible for the PSOM programme: Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia. Central and Eastern Europe: Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Moldavia, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia and Montenegro, Turkey, Ukraine. Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Palestinian Authorities, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Yemen. Latin America: Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Peru and Surinam.
Current projects
Companies that benefit from PSOM are mostly small and medium sized enterprises. Over the last few years, projects have been established in over 40 PSOM countries, especially in the agricultural sector but also in other sectors like energy, transport, environment and tourism. The projects generally had a significant positive effect on, amongst other things, employment, transfer of knowledge, income-generation and poverty reduction. The positive spin-off effects are considered substantial and follow-up investments are expected.
Limitations
The PSOM programme is not limited to specific sectors. To qualify, the projects should aim at introducing a new, but elsewhere proven technology, stimulate the transfer of knowledge, and have a positive impact on employment and income generation. The project proposal should demonstrate the commercial viability and the need for funding through PSOM. Minimum requirement for participation is co-operation between a local company and at least one Dutch company.
Budget
The funding available under PSOM is a grant of 50 % or 60% of the total project costs depending on the country. The total costs of the project can be maximum EUR 1,500,000 or EUR 840,000 and the total PSOM grant per project can be maximum EUR 750,000 or EUR 504,000.
Contact
The final responsibility for PSOM lays with EVD (the Dutch government agency responsible for the PSOM-programme), while the Netherlands Embassies in the various PSOM countries have an advisory role. For more information on PSOM, companies can contact 
psom@info.evd.nl or visit the PSOM website 
www.evd.nl/psom .
Procedure
Applying for PSOM consists of only one phase, the qualification phase, during which the final responsibility lays with EVD. The qualification round, in which a complete project proposal (including a project and business plan and all the necessary annexes) has to be submitted, ends on 15 August 2006. The tender documents required for this phase and including the obligatory format for the project proposal are available at www.evd.nl/psom. Before the deadline of 15 August 2006 at 15.00 hrs. the original proposal including required annexes has to be received by EVD, The Netherlands. At the end of the qualification round a final decision on PSOM-funding will be taken and contracts awarded.
EVD
Visiting address: Juliana van Stolberglaan 148, 2595 CL Den Haag
Postal address: Postbus 20105, 2500 EC Den Haag
E-mail address: psom@info.evd.nl
Internet: www.evd.nl/psom
Financial Fraud Warning
The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has received many questions about the legitimacy of certain solicitations received by post or email. These letters or emails hold out the promise of large sums of money in exchange for payment of advance fees, transaction costs, customs duties, etc. In some cases, the recipient is informed that he has won a lottery. The letters and emails also state that the financial or other transactions have been initiated by companies registered in the Netherlands or other European countries.
The Embassy wishes to make it absolutely clear that, in all probability, such requests are fraudulent and are related to a well-known financial swindle which first appeared in West Africa in the 1980s. The swindle is now so widespread that national and international law enforcement authorities refer to it as "Nigerian bank fraud", "Nigerian advance fee fraud" and "419 fraud". Suggestions that a lottery has been won fall into a separate category although the method of operation is comparable and the fraud is perpetrated by the same swindlers.
Several features the schemes share are listed below:
- a. a sum of money (or a product), of lawful or unlawful origin, from a lottery, an investment plan, oil, a bequest, real estate, a bankruptcy, etc., will be made available upon receipt of an advance payment of fees associated with the release of the money (or product);
- b. to initiate the transaction, the recipient must contact an official of the company registered in the Netherlands (or in another European country);
- c. the official must be contacted at a mobile telephone number; in the Netherlands the number always begins with 0031 (06)…;
- d. attempts to verify the company name and address in a business directory or with the local Chamber of Commerce all fail;
- e. an invitation to travel to the Netherlands is generally extended in order to complete the transaction and pay the advance fee.
If you are still uncertain about the solicitation after having read this information, you may contact the Embassy by telephone at 00 256 (0)41 346 000
You can find a great deal of information about the nature and extent of these fraudulent practices at 
www.419fraud.com.
If you have been the victim of these fraudulent practices, you may inform the Dutch authorities by using the fraud form.
The police receive so many reports of this nature that in many cases they do not send confirmation of receipt. Because of the methods used by these swindlers (Internet, mobile telephone numbers, fake addresses and names, bank accounts which only exist for a matter of days), in most cases it is extremely difficult to track down the perpetrators or recover the victims' money.
