THIRD ROUND NOW OPEN

We are pleased to announce that FRICH is now open to receive project concept notes (PCNs) for its third bidding round. Any organisation wishing to submit a PCN for this third round should immediately register to receive a copy of the application form and guide for its completion.

Register by emailing your name and contact details to Kerry Hamilton and you will receive an application form and guide for its completion

The deadline for PCN submission is 15th July 2010

Who can apply?

FRICH funding is intended to reach some of the poorest countries north of South Africa and south of the Sahara. All food products are eligible (including fish and meat), as well as agricultural products used in the cosmetic industry. FRICH has funded seven projects to date involving tea, coffee, cocoa, fruit juice, dried berry fruit, and vegetables, with these products coming to the UK from Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, DRC, Malawi and Sao Tome. Although these countries and products are certainly not excluded from the third round, FRICH is keen to support projects with additional products and/or from other countries. FRICH is interested in developing competitive quality products, not only those that rely on the ‘Fairtrade’ market. Grants of up to £250,000 are available and FRICH funded activities for third round projects must be completed within two years of project start.

Eligibility of bidders

There are a number of criteria that must be met if a project is to be eligible for funding. These criteria are very important. Your bid cannot succeed if you don’t meet these requirements.

To be eligible for a FRICH grant:

• bids must be led by a private sector enterprise that is either a UK retailer or a retail brand with a share of the UK market, or is working with such an enterprise in partnership to implement the project.
• The organizations in the bid must be able to demonstrate their capacity and financial wherewithal and must also be able to contribute a minimum of 50% of project costs to share in the risks involved in the project.
• support must be for a project to test an innovative concept or business model – not a request for finance for a business or for an organization. FRICH is not a source of working or investment capital.
• Innovation must be at the heart of the project concept (new: products, services, marketing, business models, supply chains)
• There must be the potential for commercial sustainability

There are other criteria that, if met, will strengthen any proposal, but meeting them is not a requirement. These criteria are used to help judge the overall strength of a project and bidders are encouraged to:

• Clearly set out technical aspects of the project
• Demonstrate strong financial analysis with a good prospect for sustainable          commercial returns
• Demonstrate the capacity of the bidders to implement the project.
• Clearly show how the product will reach the UK market and how secure its position in the market will be.
• Set out the direct costs / benefit ratio from the project
• Show the potential for wider replication/ systemic change
• Incorporate communication / awareness raising in the project
• Address environmental impacts
• Set out social impacts
• Show how any market distortions / dependence is avoided
• Deliver sizeable benefits to a significant number of poor people in Africa

Questions:

Questions are welcome and should be directed to:

Kerry Hamilton            KHamilton@nathaneme.com or

Mark Thomas              MThomas@nathaneme.com

Tel:  +44 (0) 20 7902 7788

The FRICH process

Stage one: applicants must submit a Project Concept Note. This is a short outline of the project proposed showing how it will meet the challenge, what constraints will be addressed, the essence of the innovation and the organisations and beneficiaries to be involved. The Concept Notes will be reviewed by the independent FRICH Advisory Committee and successful applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal.

Stage two: Full proposals for funding, that provide a detailed description of the proposed project, its implementation arrangements, what financing is being sought and the contribution that will be provided by implementing companies and partners will be submitted. The FRICH Advisory Committee will then award performance grants to successful projects. The lead partners will then be contracted and the projects implemented.