The EU-funded project “Improving the competitiveness of the mango value chain in Guinea-Bissau: Production, Local Processing and Export Support”, WACOMP-GB, announced on July 12, 2023, the launch of the innovative financing program, IDEA FIN, a financial mechanism to support nano and microfinance for Entrepreneurs, Micro-enterprises and Cooperatives working in agribusiness in Guinea-Bissau for a total amount of 100,000 Euros.
The expected results of this initiative are the improvement of the agribusiness sector in Guinea-Bissau, specifically: more formalized businesses; increased business productivity and competitiveness; improved business management; and increased livelihoods for promoters.
With grants of up to 5,000 euros per project, the funding mechanism should contribute to the following: (i) legal licenses and business requirements; (ii) equipment acquisition; (iii) raw material acquisition; and (iv) software acquisition.
To ensure ownership and future sustainability/replication of the tool, this process will be implemented by the Guinea-Bissau Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture and Services (CCIAS-GB) on an outsourcing basis. An evaluation committee has also been set up with the following members: the government (represented by the General Directorate of Industry), the Association of Women in Economic Activity (AMAE), the National Agency for Youth Entrepreneurship (ANEJ), CCIAS-GB and UNIDO. The evaluation committee will have the task of assessing the proposals received and proposing candidates for funding.
WACOMP-GB has contracted a local service provider, ORANGE Bissau, which will act as a fiduciary agency, issuing electronic money (Orange Money) to operate a digital mass payment platform for the project’s beneficiaries.
The launch ceremony took place at the headquarters of CCIAS-GB and was chaired by the Director General of Industry, Marcelino Nabiutcha, and was attended by the President of CCIAS-GB, Mama Samba Embaló, the Team Leader of the European Union Delegation to Guinea-Bissau, Francesca Moledda and the National Coordinator of the WACOMP-GB Project, Nelson Lopes.
This act is part of the promotion of youth entrepreneurship, which is at the heart of the WACOMP-GB project’s intervention, based on the IDEA (Innovation, Development and Entrepreneurship for All) program developed by UNIDO to promote the development of an entrepreneurial culture and facilitate integration into the formal economy.
