Private Sector Investment programme (PSI)
The Private Sector Investment programme (PSI) is a subsidy programme of the Dutch government. Its aim is to stimulate sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting innovative investment projects in these markets.
The developing world offers great possibilities to entrepreneurs with ambition. But investing in emerging markets can be risky and difficult. Commercial financing is often unavailable. Cooperation with a local partner that, apart from capital, brings in knowledge of local business culture is indispensable. PSI can ease some of the financial risks that an investment in one of these markets entails. If the application meets the criteria, PSI will subsidize 50 or 60 percent of the project budget.
A PSI project needs to be carried out by a Dutch company or a company from a developing country in cooperation with a local company, in one of the eligible developing countries. The project must be innovative for the country in question. It should be the first step of a new investment, so that it results in follow-up investments and growth of sales and employment after the project period. Moreover, the project should be commercially feasible, and have a significant, positive impact on the lcal economy.
PSI is a tender programme. Companies are invited to submit twice a year. You can download the PSI Guidelines and the PSI Application Form from the PSI website: 
www.evd.nl/psi On this website you can also find the tender opportunities and the list of eligible countries.
Match Making Facility (MMF)
Who can participate?
- Only small and medium-sized enterprises in the private sector are eligible for this Matchmaking Facility.
- These companies should have a solid financial base.
- The companies must have been registered for at least two years.
- Turnover must be at least € 250.000,-- last year.
- The workforce must consist of at least 10 people.
Parties involved
- The Matchmaking Facility is jointly hosted by the EVD and Dutch Embassies in participating countries. The EVD is a Dutch governmental agency and implements the Matchmaking Facility on behalf of the Netherlands Ministry for Development Cooperation.
- At a later stage, consultants selected by the EVD will assist local companies in contacting Dutch companies.
From first idea to match in five steps
- The first step is to fill in this intake form by computer and send it to your local Dutch Embassy. Please complete the form in English.
- The Dutch Embassy and the EVD will screen your intake form and may contact you in case of further questions. A quick response to these questions will increase your chances of a positive outcome.
- The Dutch Embassy will inform you about the final result of both screenings.
- If the result of the screening is positive, the EVD will start identifying suitable Dutch companies, based on your application form. It may take some time for the EVD to investigate the Dutch market thoroughly to find interested potential business partners.
- The EVD will offer you a voucher for EUR 5,000 only if possible contacts can be identified. For this amount you can hire a consultant company from a list provided by the EVD. The consultant will help you establish contacts with potential Dutch business partners. The role of the consultant is the following:
- to write a short overview of the sector in your country for the Dutch companies who are interested in a partnership;
- to arrange a programme for you to visit the Dutch companies who are interested. You will pay for all the travel and accommodation costs involved yourself. These costs are not covered by the voucher;
- to draw up a follow-up plan showing you the steps that should be taken to launch the partnership.
- six months after the visit has taken place, the consultant will write an evaluation about how the partnership is evolving. The consultant will contact you at this stage.
Intake Form
- Companies can only apply to be selected for the Matchmaking Facility by using this Intake Form.
- Please complete the form in as much detail as possible! The more thorough and clear the intake is, the more likely it is that the screening will have a positive outcome.
- Once we have received your intake form, the Dutch Embassy will contact you about the next steps in this procedure.
- Please clearly emphasise the unique selling points for Dutch companies who may consider going into partnership with your company. This will improve the chance that Dutch companies will be interested in your proposal.
- Please support this Intake Form with additional documents like market studies, feasibility studies, business plans, annual reports and/or company brochures.
Note
The completed Intake Form can be submitted in digital format only to the Dutch Embassy.
intakeform mmf.doc (229 Kb)
PUM Netherlands senior experts
Main terms and conditions:
Cost effectiveness: In assessing an application for assistance we weigh the cost of a mission against the expected result, because a project above all has to make a difference and add value to the company’s operations.
At least 2 years in operation. We avoid to spend efforts on ‘first time’ starters who don’t make it in the first 2 years. New ventures from existing enterprises will be accepted if PUM can offer useful assistance.
Local ownership. Your company must be locally owned (= the owners are citizens or residents in the country) and it must be willing to work or be in the process of working in accordance with market principles. Subsidiaries of multinationals are not eligible.
Number of staff. Your staff establishment should be between 10 and 100 persons.
Source constraints. Moreover, the efforts of PUM experts are intended for companies who cannot yet afford to pay commercial external consultants. As soon as this is the case our work comes to an end.
Limited turnover and balance sheet. Maximum turnover Euro 50 million and Balance sheet of 43 million.
Own contribution: you have to be prepared to pay the local cost for the PUM expert such as accommodation, local transport and cost of living expenses.
Criteria for acceptance
A firm must meet the following conditions in order to receive assistance from PUM:
- It must be a private small to medium-sized firm.
- It must employ at least 10 people.
- Its turnover cannot exceed 10 million euros.
- Balance total on average 10 million euro's per year
- Foreign ownership (= owners who don’t reside in the country) may not exceed 49 percent.
- It should be at least 2 years old.
- The client must agree to pay for the expert’s living expenses (room and board) during the mission
- The costs of the mission should be in proportion to the mission’s results.
- The client has no funds available for similar commercial consultants.
PUM is prepared to assist a (limited) number of organizations that support and stimulate small-business interests, like:
- Chambers of Commerce & Industry
- Employers organizations
- Branch organizations
- Institutions of Vocational education (no general education)
- NGOs active in environmental management
For more information, please contact:
Mrs Alida Bakema-Boon
Tel: 0772- 895 100
Email: PumnetherlandsseniorexpertsU@gmail.com
Or
Ms Ingrid Wilts, especially for companies based in Jinja and Eastern Uganda
Tel: 0772 894 800
For more information and the PUM application form:
visit our website: www.pum.nl
Development-related Infrastructure Facility (ORIO)
ORIO (Facility for Infrastructure Development) is a grant facility funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the responsibility of the Minister of Development Cooperation.
ORIO contributes to the development, implementation (construction and/or renovation), operation and maintenance of public infrastructure in developing countries.
Poor or non-existent infrastructure hinders the growth of the economy in many developing countries, while economic growth is an important condition in reducing poverty and achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
Economic growth in itself is, however, not sufficient. The poor must be able to participate in this growth. The social benefits of the infrastructure that is realised should therefore primarily benefit the poorer sections of the population.
ORIO wishes to encourage the involvement of international business in the development and realisation of public infrastructure projects in order to utilise the knowledge, skills and developing power of the private sector.
Grant applications are submitted by the central government. These applications may be initiated by companies.
Selection of grant applications is made on the basis of competition. The applications will be assessed according to a number of impact and quality criteria. The available budget is allocated to the applications with the highest ranking. ORIO focuses on a limited number of priority sectors per country, and for Uganda these sectors are:
Justice, law and order
Transport
Energy
Justice, law and order relates to projects such as the construction of police, prison and/or court facilities. With regard to the transport sector, this concerns the transport infrastructure in the general sense: roads, rail and water links et cetera.
For more information: http://www.evd.nl/business/programmes/programmaint_ori.asp?land=ori
CBI Center for the promotion of imports from developing countries
The Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries (CBI) is established in 1971 and is an Agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. CBI operates within the policy framework set by the Netherlands Minister for Development Cooperation.
The CBI's mission is to contribute to the economic development of developing countries by strengthening the competitiveness of companies from those countries on the EU market. CBI considers social values and compliance with the most relevant environmental requirements to be an integral part of its policies and activities.
In order to accomplish its mission CBI concentrates on five core competencies. These are:
- Market knowledge
CBI has an intimate knowledge of the structures, characteristics, developments and requirements of markets in the European Union. - Product and production improvement
CBI is able to provide technical assistance in improving products and production processes that contribute to the competitiveness on the EU markets. - Quality control
Quality is of main concern to the consumers and end users in the European Union. There are multiple rules, regulations and standards on quality (originating from) stipulated by the European Union, national governments, trade & industry, non-governmental organisations, etc. CBI is able to coach exporters and business support organisations in meeting the requirements in this regard. - Export marketing and management
CBI is able to provide technical assistance and training on improving export marketing and management knowledge and skills within companies. - Market entry
Through its knowledge of the markets and its long year experience CBI is able to provide guidance and market entry services to companies in gaining access to, maintaining and expanding market share on the EU markets.
For disciplines beyond our core competencies, CBI co-operates with various other specialised organisations.
CBI offers the following programmes:
- Market information
A variety of tools to keep exporters and Business Support Organisations (BSO's) in developing countries in step with the very latest development on the EU market. - Company matching
The company matching programme links well-versed suppliers in developing countries to reliable importing companies in the EU and vice versa. - Export Development Programmes
EDPS are designed to assist entrepreneurs in developing countries in entering and succeeding on the EU market and/or consolidating or expanding their existing market share. - Training Programmes
Training Programmes for exporters and business support organisations on among others, general export marketing and management; trade promotion; management of international trade fair participations and developing client-oriented market information systems. - BSO development programme
Institutional support for capacity building for selected business support organisations.
Please note that there are 40 countries that are eligible for all CBI programmes.
The primary clients and direct beneficiaries of CBI are exporting companies and business support organisations (BSO's) in developing countries as well as importing companies in the European Union.
In order to focus its efforts, CBI has restricted its programmes to a selected number of market sectors and countries.
In addition, CBI applies certain criteria for companies to qualify for specific CBI programmes. For more information, refer to the specific programme sections on the website.
Companies from Uganda are participating in the following export development programmes:
- Cut flowers
- Fresh fruits and vegetables
- Natural ingredients for cosmetics and pharmaceuticals
- Organic food ingredients
- Tourism
can apply to the current programmes:
- There are no programmes (other than the ones listed above) to which companies from Uganda can apply.
and can apply to the following future programmes:
- Natural ingredients for cosmetics and pharmaceuticals
- Organic food ingredients
Exporters and business support organisations in Uganda can also make use of CBI's market information, company matching, and training programmes.
For more information, please contact:
For more information, please contact:
CBI Beursgebouw, 5th floor
Beursplein 37
3011 AA Rotterdam
Tel.: +31 10 201 3434
Fax: +31 10 411 4081
E-mail: 
cbi@cbi.eu
Internet: www.cbi.eu
Post address:
P.O. Box 30009
3001 DA Rotterdam
The Netherlands
Export strategy (PSB)
Objective and content:
The aim of the Programme for Starters in Foreign Markets (PSB) is to encourage you to start exporting to new markets. PSB offers support for that purpose in the form of advice and assistance in setting up an export plan and financial contributions towards the costs of a number of activities, such as market surveys, the organisation of a programme of visits or participation in foreign trade fairs.
You draw up an export plan together with the international trade consultants of the Chamber of Commerce, the FME-CWM Association, the Metaalunie employers organisation, Modint or the Netherlands Export Combination (NEC). This plan is presented to the EVD for approval. Once a plan has been approved, you have 18
months to implement it.
The EVD bears the costs of the advice and assistance you receive during this process. The subsidy for implementing an export plan amounts to 50% of the costs of the activity, to a maximum of € 11,500. The maximum contribution per activity is € 5,750.
Main terms and conditions:
Dutch companies with up to 100 employees (FTEs)
You wish to export, but have little export experience. In the 12 months prior to your application, you should not have realised more than 3% of your total turnover in the foreign market to which you wish to export.
If the country to which you want to export lies within the European Union (EU), exports should not have accounted for more than 20% of your sales in the 12 months prior to your application.
If the country to which you want to export lies outside the EU, exports should not have accounted for more than 30% of your sales in the 12 months prior to your application.
For more information, please contact:
The Chamber of Commerce in your region: see the website at www.kvk.nl
Netherlands Export Combination (NEC)
Tel. +31 35 - 601 6451,
Fax +31 35 - 601 24 69,
E-mail: wery@nec.nl
Website: www.nec.nl
FME/CWM
Tel. +31 79 - 353 1283,
Fax +31 79 - 353 1365,
E-mail: jjo@fme.nl
Website: www.fme.nl
Metaalunie
Tel. +31 30 - 605 3344,
Fax +31 30 - 605 3208,
E-mail: verlinden@metaalunie.nl
Website : www.metaalunie.nl
Modint
Tel. +31 20 - 512 1452,
Fax +31 20 - 617 0634,
E-mail: volker@modintbusiness.nl
Website : www.modint.nl
Financing of an investment transaction in the least developed countries (LDC)
Objective and content:
Through the LDC fund, FMO supports the development and improvement of the social and economic infrastructure in the LDCs. FMO aims to encourage private investors to invest in private or public-private infrastructure projects in these countries. By providing
venture capital, the LDC fund eliminates a clear risk for other financiers. This should act as a catalyst for raising additional private funding. Via the LDC fund, FMO can provide various forms of long-term financing (for terms of up to 20 years) for major infrastructure projects in LDCs, such as mezzanine (= risk-bearing) loans, equity investments and also make donations for the development of new projects.
Main terms and conditions:
The transactions must relate to infrastructure projects that contribute towards the development and/or improvement of social and economic infrastructure (energy supplies, telecommunications, water, transport, environmental or social infrastructure).
In order to ensure that an investment is sustainable, projects are assessed in terms of corporate governance and social and environmental criteria, as well as in relation to the financial and economic conditions.
For more information: www.fmo.nl/ldc
Fund Emerging Markets (FOM)
FOM is a joint initiative of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and FMO.
Main goal is to promote economic development in Emerging Markets by stimulating investments by Dutch companies in these countries. By financing companies that would otherwise not have access to finance in those markets, FOM supports Dutch companies in their international strategy and maximizes the development impact of these investments. Depending on the specific finance need, FOM finance may be structured as a subordinated loan (risk capital), a loan, or a guarantee (or, if the Dutch enterprise is a SME, an equity participation). The subordination means that if the local company fails or is granted a moratorium on payments, the FOM loan will in principle not be reclaimed until other creditors have been paid. This reduces the risk for the Dutch investor.
Main terms and conditions:
· The lower limit for an FOM loan is €45,000 and the upper limit €10 million. The life of the loan varies from 3 to 12 years and the interest is agreed at a commercial rate.
· The Dutch company in question must be an SME (including with fewer than 250 employees, an annual turnover of < € 40 million or a balance sheet total of < € 27 million) If the Dutch enterprise is non-SME FOM can finance max. 35% of the total assets (after the planned investments) of the emerging markets company.
· Some sectors do not qualify for an FOM loan, such as companies that earn more than 50% of their annual turnover in the property sector, the banking and insurance world or investment activities, financial holding companies or associations that are active in the production of strategic military products.
For more information: www.fmo.nl/fom
Capacity Development (CD)
For FMO, investing financially and in capacity goes hand in hand. FMO aims to create access to management and technical know-how. The Capacity Development (CD) program helps to provide it. In practice, CD furnishes part of the funding. Local clients need to co-finance the fund commitment to the project or program. As a guideline, CD can contribute up to 50% of the total budget.
A maximum contribution of €1 million is available to any one client across a 7-year period.
We have created an organizational assessment scan which serves as a tool to articulate the specific knowledge needs. Experience dictates that key forms of know-how will be in the fields of:
· corporate governance
· financial administration
- financial planning
- business processes
The program tackles the needs of FMO's core clients. Demand for it stems almost wholly from FMO's core business. Key partners well-known to FMO are also eligible.
For more information: www.fmo.nl/cd
Daey Ouwens Fund
The Daey Ouwens Fund aims to provide more people in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) with access to energy by promoting small-scale projects in the area of renewable and job-creating forms of energy supply. The most important target group within the fund is the LDCs in Sub-Saharan Africa. Projects that are directed towards these countries therefore take precedence over projects in other LDCs.
For more information: http://www.senternovem.nl/daeyouwensfund/index.asp
