Orange Corners is pleased to announce the opening of the new Orange Corners Innovation Fund (OCIF) subsidy programme, which aims to stimulate innovation and improve access to finance for young entrepreneurs in Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. We invite potential implementing partners to submit a proposal to run the OCIF in their specific country or region in the period 2024-2030.
OCIF
OCIF is an add-on to the Orange Corners incubation and acceleration programmes. This access to finance instrument provides Orange Corners entrepreneurs with their first seed funding, allowing them to truly develop their idea into a product or proposition ready to enter the market. OCIF is currently available in 9 countries or regions. With this subsidy programme, we also extend and expand OCIF to 12 new countries.
The procedure
Initially, the programme will be opened for 21 countries and regions:
- Phase 1 (2 October – 20 November 2023): Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Mozambique, Angola and DRC.
- Phase 2 (12 February – 1 April 2024): Senegal, Jordan, South Africa, Ghana, Egypt, Algeria and the Palestinian Territories.
- Phase 3 (6 May – 17 June 2024): Bangladesh, Mali, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, Burundi, Iraq proper and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
New openings, if and when they apply, will be announced separately.
To apply for the subsidy, there are two steps:
- A mandatory quick scan, or short proposal. The OCIF team will review it, and give a non-binding recommendation on whether to submit a full proposal. This mandatory quick scan needs to be submitted at least three weeks before the deadline for full proposals.
- A full proposal.
Key dates
18 September: Opening OCIF subsidy programme
18 September – 30 October 2023: Quick scans phase 1
2 October – 20 November 2023: Full proposals phase 1
18 September – 11 March 2024: Quick scans phase 2
12 February – 1 April 2024: Full proposals phase 2
18 September – 27 May 2024: Quick scans phase 3
6 May – 17 June 2024: Full proposals phase 3
Applicants will hear about the results of their full application within 13 weeks after the full proposal application deadline. The grant agreement for phase 1 is planned in February 2024, for phase 2 in June 2024 and for phase 3 in August 2024.
Criteria
- The subsidy programme is open to NGOs and private companies that are experienced with fund management and are allowed by the relevant in-country authority to provide (interest free) loans.
- For each target location, only one applicant will be awarded a subsidy.
- For each target location, €2.2 million is available for the period 2024-2030. This subsidy will cover 95% of the budget. The implementing partner is expected to contribute the remaining 5%.
Consortia are also invited to apply and applying in more than one country is also possible.
Information session
Our OCIF team will be available to answer all your questions during three seperate information rounds.
OCIF information session round 3: 8 May 2024, 10.00-11.00 Dutch time via MS Teams. A link for registration will follow later.
More information
More details about the subsidy programme, application procedure and requirements for interested parties can be found here. Dates, procedures and criteria found on that page are leading.
We are looking forward to reading your proposals and recommend you to apply well before the above-mentioned deadlines. If you have any questions regarding the subsidy programme, please reach out to the OCIF team via [email protected].
About us
Orange Corners and the Orange Corners Innovation Fund are managed by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) on behalf of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with local embassies and consulates of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. From our HQ in The Hague, we work with local partners to strengthen ecosystems for young entrepreneurs in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
