SMALL GRANTS SUPPORT FOR BIODIVERSITY-ENHANCING MICROENTERPRISES OPERATING IN THE AGRICULTURE,
FISHERIES AND NATURE-BASED SECTORS OF
ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES

CALL FOR CONCEPT NOTES

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Rural Transformation, Industry and Labour of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, wishes to announce the availability of small grants awardable through a competitive process for micro-enterprises in the Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries and Nature-based sectors. This announcement provides instructions for applicants, and sets forth conditions of eligibility, programme objectives and the process through which the grants will be evaluated and awarded in a fair and transparent manner.

The maximum amount to be granted per application will be EC$ 135,000, with no minimum amount set. The number of grants to be awarded will be determined by the overall availability of funds and the merits of the applications as determined by a Technical Evaluation Committee, comprised of Ministry subject matter specialists and UNDP SVG technical staff.

Description of Programme

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Agriculture Microenterprise Post-Production (AMEPP) activity, aims to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem services through promoting sustainable agricultural land management (SLM) measures integrated in a Ridge to Reef (R2R) approach. This will result in the consolidation and strengthened protection of the entire upper watersheds of St Vincent, Buccament, Yambou and Kingstown watersheds, and 7 key biodiversity areas which connect the island’s landscape activities to the interconnected marine parks.

Funded by the Global Environment Fund (GEF), these small grants will support activities that address unsustainable land use and fisheries practices which contribute to terrestrial and marine habitat loss. These threats are further compounded by the impacts of climate change and global warming which create new niches for invasive alien species both in the sea as well as on land.

The grant-funded activities are expected to deliver environmental benefits but also support business growth, increased incomes, employment and greater livelihood resilience.

Through a process designed to ensure equal access by women and youth, AMEPP will provide grants for small and micro-enterprise development, including training and equipment for primary producers, post-production processors, input and related service providers, marketing intermediaries, and other small sustainable livelihoods initiatives, e.g. beekeeping, nature-based tourism, etc. AMEPP will also provide capacity-building training and support for market access, production requirements and standards, and refinement of grantees’ business and work plans.

A “Micro” enterprise shall, for these purposes be defined as any business activity employing less than 5 full-time employees and netting less than EC$ 108,000 (US$ 40,000) per annum. 

Although not a condition of eligibility, women- and youth-based enterprises are strongly encouraged to apply.

Objectives

The goal of the R2R programme is to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem services conservation by promoting sustainable agricultural land and natural resource management. The AMEPP small grants will contribute to achieving this goal while simultaneously creating employment opportunities, increasing revenues and personal income, and enhancing food security by reducing SVG dependency on food imports. Specifically, the grants awarded should go to activities that:

• Promote and provide capacity-building for “Climate Smart/Resilient Agriculture (CSRA)” practices
• Foster partnerships for agro-processing in SVG based on value chain “clusters”
• Support market/supply chain linkages leading to business growth, viability and profitability
• Facilitate private sector partnerships that assure enterprise sustainability
• Entail innovative approaches to mitigating adverse impacts on SVG’s terrestrial and marine biodiversity which are commercially sustainable
• Support revival of apiculture (beekeeping) in SVG (honey (production, post-production, and marketing), introducing it to more women and youth
• Facilitate access to finance for women- and youth-owned micro-enterprises, CSO/NGO’s, in the Agriculture, Fisheries and Nature-based Sectors
• Forge integrated networks within and between related value chains thereby “scaling” successful partnerships and models, e.g. a “SVG Women’s Sustainable Enterprise Network”.
• Build capacity in small business management, financial literacy, CSRA, grades and standards, health and safety, and other areas.

Eligibility for Beneficiary Assistance

1. All AMEPP small grant applicants must meet the following minimum requirements to be eligible for funding:
   Applications may be made by an individual, business, partnership, non-profit/non-governmental organization (NGO), or civil society organization (CSO) which meets the criteria of a micro-enterprise, ie. having 5 or fewer full-time employees and generating net revenues of less than EC$ 108,000 per annum.
2. The enterprise to be supported by the grant funding must be based in SVG, or anticipate the future operations to be in SVG, with the benefits accruing within SVG.
3. Applicants must be legally registered with the appropriate Government entity (Farmer Registration, Cooperative Registration, etc.), or anticipate being registered before grants are awarded.
4. In the case of an individual, maintain their primary residence in SVG.

Although not a condition of eligibility, women- and youth-based enterprises are strongly encouraged to apply.

Application Instructions

Individuals or organizations which meet the above eligibility qualifications and who wish to apply for AMEPP grant funding should submit their Concept Note together with their funding request to the Technical Evaluation Committee at the address below no later than 14th March, 2025. Concept Notes should be no longer than three (3) pages in length, excluding attachments, and must contain the following information:

• Status of your legal registration, ie. are you registered in SVG or in the process of registration?
• Description of the nature, purpose or objective of your enterprise
• Description of the primary function/operations of your enterprise
• How long have you been in operation or is this a proposed start-up?
• Number of full- and part-time employees, volunteers and their breakdown by sex and those being youth, ie. between the ages of 16 – 35 years of age
• A narrative of the activity(ies) you wish to undertake utilizing the requested grant funding, explaining how this/these activities will:
  - generate employment and increase revenue
  - benefit the overall economy of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
• A description of how the described activity(ies) might positively impact (preserve or enhance) the environmental health and/or biodiversity of its surrounds and that of SVG.
• A description of how the described activity(ies) might adversely impact the environmental health and/or biodiversity of its surrounds or that of SVG, and how it is planned to mitigate any such adverse impacts.
• Any market studies supporting the viability and sustainability of the proposed activities.
• A list of the equipment and/or services to be procured using the funds requested.
• Complete contact information indicating with whom the Ministry should communicate regarding the application.

Process and Selection Procedures

Applications will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. 14th March, 2025.  No applications shall be accepted after this deadline. Applications may be submitted either by email or in person at the address indicated below. All applicants will be notified of the receipt of their Concept Note indicating the date of its receipt.

Should an applicant not receive notification after a reasonable time of their Concept Note submission, they should contact the Ministry Point of Contact to trace the application. Failure on the part of the applicant to do so may result in exclusion from the selection process.

Upon closure of the application period, the Concept Notes shall undergo evaluation and a scoring process conducted by a Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC). The TEC shall be constituted of subject matter experts appointed by the MoAFFRTIL Permanent Secretary together with a representative of the UNDP R2R Project. Based on the combined average scoring of the Concept Note, and the minimum qualifying score established by the TEC, a candidate may or may not be selected as a finalist. Successful candidates will be invited to submit full proposals along with budgets in a final phase of the award process. During this time, finalists will be guided by the TEC in developing their proposal so as to achieve maximum impact.

All those who submitted Concept Notes will be notified as to the outcome of their proposal, together with the scores awarded. Challenges shall not be permitted unless a candidate can prove evidence of bias on the part of the TEC.

Criteria for Selection, Scoring and Weighting

Proposals will be carefully reviewed by the members of the Technical Evaluation Committee and independently “scored” for their alignment with or contribution to the following criteria.
The total number of possible points to score is 100. The criteria to be evaluated are weighted as follows:

All applicants should submit their Concept Notes to one, but not both, of the following addresses:

• By Email to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with the Subject line: “AMEPP Concept Note submission: “YOUR NAME OR ENTERPRISE/BUSINESS NAME”. [Note: Electronically submitted Concept Notes should be in MSWord or compatible file format.]
  
  
• Hand delivered to: Reception, 2nd Floor, Ministry of Agriculture, Richmond Hill, Kingstown (Opposite Thomas Saunders Secondary School). Applications should be in a sealed envelope and addressed to “The Permanent Secretary, Attn: AMEPP Concept Note Submission”. All hand-delivered applications must clearly bear the applicant’s full contact details on the envelope as well as on the Concept Note itself.

  Please download application form here (Deadline: March 14th, 2025)