The fund will support capabilities upgrading of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in specific eligible supply chains and thereby increase output and product quality to increase sales to buyer firms (“Anchor” firms), as well as other possible local and foreign buyers.

Eligible supply chains include all productive sectors that can generate high job multipliers from invested resources and, ideally, sustainable and growing foreign exchange earnings through exports and/or foreign exchange savings through import substitution. Initial supply chains identified as having potential for productivity upgrading and increased linkages between SMEs and large buyer firms include agriculture and agro-processing, light manufacturing, and hotels and tourism linkages.

The fund will invite eligible Anchor firms, or other entities with a commercial focus, having transactional relationships with SME supply chains and with established buyer contacts, to submit applications for cost-sharing grant funding to the JBF facility on behalf of their supply chain partners. Where an application is successful, the grant may be used to procure eligible goods and services that are needed to implement the proposed project. The submission of grant applications is a two-stage process consisting first of the submission of a Concept Note outlining the productivity enhancing project to be undertaken and then the submission of a Full Application. Applicants/Anchor firms will be invited to submit a full application form only if their concept note is shortlisted after the first stage.

The shortlisted supply chain groups will receive technical assistance in preparing their full applications from the JBF management unit as well as through small project-preparation grants for specialised consulting services. The project preparation grants shall cover the cost of these services not exceeding 1.5% of the total estimated JBF contribution to the project cost in the shortlisted concept note.

Where a proposed project is approved for JBF funding, either fully or provisionally, an additional small grant, not exceeding 0.5% of the estimated JBF contribution shall be made available. This grant may be used to procure services to assist the supply chain group in addressing any pre-contracting matters. The small grants will be funded from overall JBF grant resources and not deducted from the project implementation funding being requested by the supply chain group.

The process of preparing the project plan, although led by the Applicant/Anchor firm, must be participatory and comprehensive, with significant and active presence of supply chain stakeholders from the lead or anchor enterprise backwards to include producers and suppliers. This enables producers to actively participate during program planning and implementation, based on their own realities, needs, and commitments. A model Memorandum of Understanding is available from the JBF which may be used as a guide to establish a structure for the group and a commitment towards good practice in the way the supply chain partners work with each other.

The full applications will be evaluated and may be rejected or provisionally approved according to their assessed commercial and economic viability and the specific score obtained during the evaluation. Eligibility conformity checking will be performed throughout the application process, but final checks and confirmation will only be done on applications that are provisionally approved on the basis of the supporting documents which will be requested by the JBF and the Declaration by the applicant signed and included with the full application form.

Applications that pass the eligibility conformity check may be awarded a grant immediately, subject to review and advice by Policy Committee, or alternatively the applicant will be provided with further assistance to refine certain aspects of the project before the grant is awarded.

Beneficiary entities may use the services of an external adviser or coordinator to assist with the day to day implementation of the project activities under the supervision of the Applicant/Anchor firm and other supply chain leadership. The projects can involve both group-activities, where the actions benefit all or most SME members of the supply chain, and more specific sub-project activities where the support is directed at one or few members of the SME supply chain group. The sub-projects must be coherent with, and supportive to, the larger group activities and must be endorsed by the Applicant/Anchor firm. Where sub-project activities are anticipated, they must be included in the project description and the budget estimation of the Concept Note and the Group Application. In addition, a sub-project application may be submitted as an attachment to the full application, using the same application form template, budget templates etc. as used for the group application. JBF percentage contribution for sub-projects will be based on the level at which the sub-project participants, not the full group, would normally benefit. The total budget for the project will be the sum of the group activity and sub-project budgets.

In the case of group actions, the lead or anchor enterprise would be expected to coordinate the administrative, technical and financial aspects of implementation and reporting to the Fund Management Unit (FMU). For such group-activities, the grant agreement will be made between the JBF and the Applicant/Anchor firm. Therefore, the lead or anchor enterprise should have authority from the group to enter into a grant agreement and to coordinate decisions over ownership, management, disposal of the assets and liabilities that are jointly held by the supply chain group associated with the grant.

In the case of sub-projects, separate sub-project grant agreements may be made with the individual SME beneficiaries and in such cases the beneficiaries will be responsible for all aspects of project financing, and implementation. Reporting on sub-projects will be the joint responsibility of the direct SME beneficiary/ies and the lead or anchor enterprise.

Concept notes may be accepted for consideration out of the planned cycles for the calls in exceptional cases at the discretion of the Operational Fund Manager. Strong justification for such consideration must be made by the applicant and may include such matters as the requirements of crop cycles or specific and documented market needs.