Technical assistance for business environment and investment climate improvement

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Support to Business Environment Reforms Initiatives

We have supported public and private organisations in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries with business reforms initiatives.

See below some examples of support.

Examples of support

Updating the Industrial Policy in Eswatini

Check out our Interventions

Frequently asked questions

1. Is a private company or a think tank eligible for technical assistance?

Next to public sector entities, the ICR Facility supports organisations gathering/representing multiple private companies such as chambers of commerce, federations, (women´s) business associations, among others. Individual firms, research centers, universities or think tanks are not eligible. If you fall under this categories, please consider building a partnership with an eligible organisation from the public or private sector and applying through these

2. Are development finance institutions eligible for on-demand technical assistance?

Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) are eligible to apply for technical assistance from the ICR Facility. In line with the topics covered under Output Area 1, their request should be related to the role of DFIs in improving the business environment/ investment climate and influencing public policies/participating in PPDs.

3. Can the ICR Facility support the same beneficiary more than once?

The ICR Facility aims to equally serve eligible entities from all ACP countries with its available resources. Supporting the same beneficiary more than once is therefore only possible under certain circumstances. More than one request from the same beneficiary will only be considered for approval if the previous interventions has been successfully concluded and the requester can provide evidence of early results. We recommend not to hand in two requests at the same time and rather prioritise internally before contacting the ICR Facility.

4. How many interventions per country can the ICR Facility support?

As of now, the ICR Facility supports a maximum of 3 intervention per country. Interventions which benefit several countries are not considered towards this. To check how many interventions have been taken place per country, click HERE.

5. What kind of activities is the ICR Facility supporting?

Interventions are framed within three types of interventions: 1) Support to business environment reforms (BER) at the economy-wide, industry and value chain level, 2) Support to enable the business environment for sustainability, with a focus on environmental sustainability, social sustainability and women’s economic empowerment and 3) Supporting Public-Private-Dialogue structures and mechanisms for the design and implementation of policies and reforms. Please also check the factsheets on interventions already in implementation for EXAMPLES. You may also want to draw inspiration from the ICR TOOLBOX, which presents a set of practical tools for Business Environment Reform in concrete terms.

6. Can the ICR Facility pay for staff time of my organisation or for equipment?

No. The ICR Facility only provides technical expertise on demand basis and does not pay for staff time of any organisation nor for equipment or IT infrastructure.

7. We want to develop an online platform such as website, app, database. Can the ICR Facility pay for that?

No. The ICR Facility does not pay for equipment nor for the technical development of IT services such as websites, apps, databases, and other. We may however be able to work with you on conceptualizing your IT solution content-wise (e.g. technical studies for the conceptualization of a digital solution that will contribute to improve the investment climate).

8. My organisation is planning an event. Can the ICR Facility sponsor the event?

The ICR Facility does not sponsor events. However, it may offer its support to an event which occurs within the context of an intervention if this contributes to achieving its objectives. If an event is covered through an intervention, only the organization and logistics of the event (rent of the venue and equipment and meals) will be covered. The ICR Facility will not cover travel expenses, per diems, or lodging of participants to an event.

9. Does the ICR Facility fund participation in events organised by third parties?

No. The ICR Facility does not cover travel costs for the participation in events organised by third parties.

10. Does the ICR Facility offer financial support?

No. The ICR Facility is not a grant providing facility. It offers technical assistance to eligible entities by providing adequate expertise to effect positive change in the business environment and investment climate of ACP countries.

11. We have several ideas for technical assistance requests. Should we combine them in one request or send them separately?

The ICR intervention aims to carry out strategic and targeted interventions. Thus, if the technical assistance ideas are complementary and can build upon each other, we recommend to organise them into one application bearing in mind the feasibility of the intervention within 90 expert days. We do not recommend handing in more than one request at a time.

12. I have difficulties to apply through the online form you are providing. Are there alternatives?

If you cannot fill the form available HERE, please contact us via email INFO@ICR-FACILITY.EU. We will be able to share a PDF form with you.

13. How long will it take for the intervention to start once approved?

After approval, on average an intervention can take between 30 to 90 days to start full implementation. Once approved, many aspects can impact the timeline to start implementation, including how targeted the request has been, how available the requester is to discuss and agree the scope of the intervention and how specific the expertise needed is.

14. We have already selected the experts to implement the intervention. Can the ICR Facility pay for them?

No. The ICR Facility can only deploy experts based on its implementing partner´s internal procurement processes. These are set up to ensure fair and open competition. If you know of qualified experts, who fit the tendering criteria, we are happy to include them in the procedure.

15. Who selects and manages the experts deployed by the ICR Facility?

The implementing agencies of the ICR Facility are solely responsible for the selection and supervision of experts deployed. They will do this in close cooperation with the requester but according to the rules and procedures applicable to them.

16. What is the maximum duration of an intervention? And are all expert days deployed in one go?

The ICR Facility delivers technical assistance interventions within a limit of 90 expert days. These 90 expert days can be deployed over the duration of one year in the pace required to achieve the goals of the intervention

17. Can the limit of 90 days of expert days be extended?

The ICR Facility provides short-term and targeted support. Interventions are therefore meant to achieve their objectives within a maximum of 90 expert days. If you are looking for longer term cooperation, please contact the development partners, including the EU Delegation, in your country.

18. Will the delivery of technical expertise be virtual or on-site?

Based on the nature of the request for technical assistance, implementation may be virtual or on-site, or a combination of both.