The Facility « Investing for Employment » is an investment mechanism for job creation, providing competitive grants to co-finance public or private projects in its eight partner countries in Africa, including Rwanda. The Facility is part of the Special Initiative on Training and Job Creation of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Operating under the brand Invest for Jobs, the Special Initiative aims to create good jobs and apprenticeships and to improve working conditions in its partner countries in Africa: Côte dIvoire, Egypt (in preparation), Ethiopia, Ghana, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal and Tunisia. Green Economy will be a priority theme of this call for proposals Rwandas Green Economy policy was set out in the Green Growth and Climate Resilience Strategy (GGCRS), whose objective it is to transform the mindset of the Rwandan society towards achieving the desired carbon-neutral and climate resilient economy. The GGCRS is fully embedded in Rwanda’s « Vision 2050 », which establishes the country’s strategic development framework for 2020-2050. While project proposals from different sectors can qualify for funding, priority will be given to proposals that contribute to the economic development in areas such as green cities, sustainable agriculture, sustainable energy and transport systems, biodiversity and forestry, water, wastewater, solid waste, resource efficiency. All applicants will have to show how their projects contribute to the creation of sustainable jobs. The first call for proposals in Rwanda will launch on 3 May 2021 at 5 pm CET. It will seek applications for four types of projects: Public infrastructure for job creation – not-for-profit (up to 90 % of the cost) Common service for job creation – not-for-profit (up to 75 % of the cost) For-profit-projects that foster direct job creation, and have broader benefits/impacts that are not limited to the project owners (up to 50 % of the cost) For-profit-projects that foster direct job creation by the project owners (up to 25 % of the cost). Grants range from 1 million to 10 million euros per project. The applicant is obliged to contribute own funds to complete the project finance. The level of co-financing depends on the type of project. How does the application process work? The Facility invites interested public and private entities to submit concept notes as soon as the call for proposals opens on 3 May 2021 at 5 pm CET. Rwandan entities may also form consortia with other entities from Africa and/or from the EU/EFTA region. The evaluation of the projects will be carried out by the Facility « Investing for Employment ». The evaluation process covers a first pre-selection stage based on submitted concept notes. In a second phase the shortlisted applicants are requested to submit a detailed project proposal, which will be subjected to an in-depth evaluation. If you have any questions, please consult our FAQ section: https://invest-for-jobs.com/en/ife-faq. Due to the corona pandemic (COVID-19), information meetings will be organised online presenting the objectives of the facility, its conditions for submitting proposals, as well as the steps and modalities of participation, the eligibility of projects and the evaluation criteria of the submitted concept notes. For more information about the Facility « Investing for Employment »: https://invest-for-jobs.com/en/investing-for-employment For more information about the Special Initiative on Training and Job Creation: https://invest-for-jobs.com/en
