EU and UNDP to hold a business idea contest

The contest of business ideas is held in the framework of the international project “Support to Economic Development at the Local Level in the Republic of Belarus”. The project is funded by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Program in partnership with the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Belarus. The implementation period is 36 months, from February 1, 2019 to January 31, 2022.

The goal of the contest is to define conceptual approaches to supporting the development of entrepreneurship in the pilot districts of the Project.

Individuals and legal entities are invited to participate in the competition from the pilot areas of the project: Braslaŭ and Orša (Viciebsk region), Bychaŭ and Chocimsk (Mahilioŭ region), Brahin, Chojniki and Žlobin (Homieĺ region), Kobryn and Biaroza (Brest region), Lida (Hrodna region), Maladziečna and Barysaŭ (Minsk region).

The business ideas submitted for the competition will form the basis for analyzing the potential of each pilot project districts, and will be considered at meetings of Local Public Advisory Boards on SMEs with the participation of national and international experts. The best of them will be proposed for inclusion in the district plans for the development (DPD) of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

There is no financing provided at this stage. Later on, the initiatives included in the SME DPD will be provided with additional benefits in competitions for financial support under the Project:

1) Support for business incubators (total indicative budget is USD 1,200,000);
2) Support for start-ups and cluster initiatives (total indicative budget is USD 4,165,000);
3) Support for organizations interested in becoming providers of microfinance services (total indicative budget is USD 360,000);
4) Support for enterprises aimed at solving socially significant problems (total indicative budget is USD 1,800,000).

Application deadline: June 30, 2019. You can submit the application form here.

The contact person: Adamchyk Natalia +375 29 686-00-13, natallia.adamchyk@undp.org