The overall amount available for JBF grants at the start of the programme was US$4.5 million, the amount that is currently available for the fourth grant cycle is approximately US$1.1 million. The JBF reserves the right not to award all available funds.

Size of grants

Any grant awarded under this programme must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:

• Total per Supply Chain Application
  minimum amount: is US$20,000
  maximum amount is normally US$350,000 but greater amounts may be made available for high impact projects where adequate justification for a higher amount can be made.

• Per Sub-Project grant or individual SME supply chain member
  minimum amount: is US$5,000
  maximum amount: is US$30,000 but greater amounts up to US$60,000 may be made available for high impact projects where adequate justification for a higher amount can be made.

In addition, no project implementation grant may exceed 70% of the total eligible costs of the action where the beneficiary firm is a primary producer or micro-enterprise. Where the beneficiary firm is small or medium sized and is a secondary or tertiary producer, the JBF contribution  is limited to 50% of the total eligible costs.

Where the grant is for a group activity in which a mix of primary and secondary/tertiary producers will participate, the JBF percentage contribution will be set a sufficient level at which majority of the participants would normally benefit. The proposed project should not in the past been in receipt of substantive subsidized funding, nor should it currently receive funding from Government or donor sources for provision of the same goods or services (since this puts into question the commercial sustainability of the project). If other grant support is currently being used, then the JBF funding support shall be reduced to ensure that combined amount of subsidy does not materially exceed the percent of project cost allowable. All donor funding impacting or potentially impacting on the project must be declared in the application. Any additional subsidized funding that is secured during the implementation period of the project must be notified to the JBF and may result in revision of the JBF support. The Applicant’s cost-share balance/project contribution may contain in-kind commitments which should be presented as part of the total cost of the Project; in-kind contributions should not exceed 50% of the cost-share balance.

The JBF grant is a reimbursement grant, that is, it provides funding to grant recipients after expenses have been incurred. Reimbursements will be made on an agreed schedule based on milestones in the project work plan and subject to submission of a claim with all supporting documents to verify expenses and a report on progress. Up to four reimbursements are possible for each project.

In exceptional cases, where the grantee is unable to proceed with a project owing to clear inability, after serious effort, to obtain up-front short-term financing from any commercial or private source to cover the period up to reimbursement, the JBF will consider making advance payments (that is, payments prior to completion of agreed milestones). This will normally be done through direct payments to vendors. Advances will only be permitted where strong justification can be made and will be subject to the approval of the Operational Fund Manager

The size of any advance will be determined by cost estimates in the project’s procurement plan; however, in general, advances will be limited to not more than 20% of the total grant amount except at the discretion of the JBF Fund Management Unit where adequate justification can be made by the applicant. Advances will normally be paid directly to suppliers and/or service providers after the beneficiary has paid their cost-share contribution and provided clear evidence of this to the JBF. These safeguards serve to avoid undue risk to the Fund.

A single enterprise may receive more than one grant for two distinct projects where it is part of two supply chains. An enterprise may also work with the same anchor firm on two separate teams if the anchor firm is approved for two projects. In each case the capacity of the enterprise to implement the projects concurrently will be assessed by the JBF before approval.

Variations in relation to the budget estimation

he concept note, applicants must provide an estimate of the cost of the activities of to be undertaken by the supply chain including any coordination and facilitation costs. Applicants are

requested to present a realistic estimate. Only the applicants invited to submit a full proposal in the second phase will be required to present a detailed budget. This detailed budget should not vary from the initial estimate by more than 20%, subject to the normal maximum JBF limits. This serves to ensure that funding is available to meet JBF commitments. In exceptional cases this requirement may be waived at the discretion of the JBF Fund Management Unit where adequate justification can be made by the applicant.