COVID-19 recovery window
In order to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, COMPETE Salone is deploying a funding window of immediate support to critical businesses in agriculture, manufacturing, tourism and fisheries as well as those whose failure could have severe systemic impacts on the economy. This could include businesses that support the supply of food, communications, transport and logistics.
COMPETE Salone will provide up to 60% grant funding (between £100,000 and £400,000) for projects put forward by Sierra Leonean companies or those registered to operate in Sierra Leone. Projects need to complete implementation within 18 months.
What types of business ideas is the COVID-19 Recovery Window looking for?
We are looking for business ideas from private sector companies operating within Sierra Leone that can:
Strengthen domestic supply chains to enable small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and off-takers at the top of supply chains to reduce transaction costs, maintaining the integrity and efficiency of the supply chain, and ensure that jobs and income opportunities remain for Sierra Leone producers reliant on these chains. This could involve, for example, the adaptation of new technology, the use of digital technologies to improve monitoring and coordination of supply chains, improving storage and monitoring to reduce storage losses, etc.
Adapt existing machinery, processes, and capacity of producers to increase flexibility in the production of essential goods and for those that are likely to face supply shortages, given difficulties in accessing adequate quantities of imports, and from which a long-term, commercially viable business line can be developed. This could, for instance, involve adapting processing equipment to change packing lines, the value addition of by-products, for example vegetable oils into soaps, the adaptation to the production of hand sanitisers, face masks, other agricultural products, etc.
Support improvements to logistics and distribution chains, especially as social distancing measures will change the manner in which distribution will work throughout the country. We encourage businesses to examine new approaches to supply inputs for raw material and intermediate goods to producers and SMEs that adapt to more “in time” systems to reduce cashflow and storage requirements for these companies. Furthermore, this may entail the use of digital and other technologies to improve last mile distribution to both urban and rural consumers of products, etc.
What impact will your project need to deliver?
The products, services or business models that your proposal will deliver should incorporate local content (either in the processed or semi-processed form) and services produced by Sierra Leonean businesses. Through this, COMPETE Salone, in collaboration with your business, will increase jobs, investment and revenues not only for your company but also for businesses in the supply chains within which you work.