Announcement: Productivity Improvement Resilience Program (INTAJ)

SMART - RFA – 007
Program Announcement

The Small and Medium Enterprise Assistance for Revitalization and Transition (SMART) Project is a four-year, USAID funded program implemented by DAI. SMART aims to rapidly recover Palestinian enterprises and put them on a path to revitalization and resilience following unprecedented economic distress. SMART will help enterprises regain productivity, grow, and expand. It will promote economic growth and self-reliance in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza.

SMART’s Productivity Improvement Resilience Program (INTAJ) will address critical emerging challenges hindering the resilience, growth, and scalability of SMEs, Start-Ups, group of businesses and cooperatives in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, as they strive to maintain productivity or grow in the current crisis. The Program aims to enhance the resilience growth, and scalability of firms through:

• Scaling-up production and adopting new technologies 
• Product diversification
• Access to finance

INTAJ will work with eligible and qualified firms within the most impacted sectors across the West Bank and East Jerusalem including Food Processing, Agriculture, Textile & Garments, and Furniture.

Target Beneficiaries: Applicants located in West Bank and East Jerusalem based on the below definitions.

• SME: a registered firm that employs 5 – 49 employees and has an annual turnover between $100,000 and $2 million.
• Start-up: a registered firm in operation for less than three years that has an experienced management team, tries to fill market demand, and creates a scalable business by developing an innovative product or service.
• Cooperative: an organization owned and run by a group of member businesses.
• Microenterprise: a firm with less than 5 employees and an annual turnover less than $100,000, such as a farmer or small producer

Award Ceiling and Beneficiary Contribution:   Agreements will be subject to a ceiling of $70,000 and will cover up to 60% of the cost of capital expenditures and up to 75% of Technical Assistance and Trainings.  

Program Support Duration:  Up to nine months.

Eligibility Criteria:  

• Applicants must be engaged in one of the target sectors: food processing, agriculture, textile & garments, or furniture.
• Eligible firms should meet the targeted beneficiaries indicated above including SME, Start-Ups, Cooperatives, and Microenterprises.   
• Applicants must hold formal registration with relevant local authorities. However, when facilitated through an aggregator, assistance may be granted to a group of individuals without registered businesses (e.g. micro-sized farmers).
• Applicants must be maintaining business operations or partially operational at the time of application.
• Applicants must be willing to undergo an assessment, engage with the SMART Project, and commit to make necessary changes.

Firms will be deemed not eligible if any of the following are true:

• The firm’s primary operation is trading wholesale or retail.
• The firm’s operations adversely affect the environment.
• The firm operates in a residential building. Except for firms in the textile and garments industry and foods industry.
• The applicant is a civil society, charity, or advocacy organization.
• The firm has already received two or more grants from previous SMART assistance programs.

Selection Criteria:

Eligible applicants will be evaluated based on the following selection criteria:

• Demonstrate resilience-based rationale for scalability focused on a specific product and target market. The rationale shall clearly describe the business performance before October 7^th, the current situation, challenges, and a proposed plan under the current operating conditions and challenges.
• Present a clear productivity improvement and scalability plan with clear activities, timelines, and budgets that are financially feasible and make good business sense.
• Demonstrated positive impact of the fund on resilience, sustainability, and staff retention.
• Compliance with USAID environmental and social safeguards.
• Demonstrated capacity to finance operating expenses and required contributions.

How to Apply: Please click here  Productivity Improvement Resilience Program (INTAJ).

Application Deadline: Applications are due no later than December 31^st,2024 at 11:30 P.M. , as per the cover page of the Request for Applications (RFA). The review and evaluation process will begin upon receipt of applications, and therefore we advise companies not to wait until the deadline for submitting their application. SMART will review and select firms in the order their applications were submitted.

Further Information: For more details on the program, the eligibility, the evaluation criteria, and the contribution coverage please visit www.smartproject.ps. For further inquiries email [email protected].

Webinar Info Session: Productivity Improvement Resilience Program (INTAJ) Info Session