Grants for non-governmental organizations to implement measures aimed at developing management skills of SME management specialists.

Purpose: to increase organizational resilience, improve business processes, increase productivity, develop and grow small and medium-sized enterprises.

Task: to create and organize specialized training courses for training, retraining and advanced training of SME management specialists.

Start of application: January 20, 2025

Application Deadline: March 31, 2025

Expected Total Award Amount: $150,000 (subject to funding availability)

Grant Application Budget: $10,000 to $30,000

Expected Number of Grants Awarded: Up to 5 Grants

Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise is accepting grant applications from business associations, business communities, educational organizations, business promotion centers, and other non-governmental organizations working in the field of business support, economic development, and entrepreneurship to implement activities lasting up to 12 months aimed at developing the management skills of SME executives seeking to adapt and grow their businesses in these challenging times, including through learning and development programs, training, open lectures, practical workshops, interactive sessions, business games, company visits, etc.

This grant competition aims to support initiatives that will help improve business practices, core management and administrative functions of SMEs and/or technical skills of SME management specialists.

Projects to be proposed for consideration under this competition must necessarily develop skills that will contribute to increasing organizational resilience, improving business processes, creating and/or preserving jobs, increasing productivity, increasing competitiveness, developing and growing small and medium-sized enterprises, with a particular emphasis on enterprises run by women, veterans and internally displaced persons.

Below is a list of key indicators that can be used to formulate and forecast the expected results of projects under this competition:

• Number of small and medium-sized enterprises that received support for the development of management skills of management specialists within the framework of this project, including the net number of enterprises managed by women, veterans and internally displaced persons.
• Number of employees employed in small and medium-sized enterprises that received support for the development of management skills of management specialists within the framework of this project.
• Number of developed (conducted) trainings, training programs, open lectures, practical master classes, interactive sessions, business games, company visits, etc.
• Number of SME management specialists who have undergone training (trainings, training programs, open lectures, etc.).
• Number of SMEs that have increased the number of employees as a result of the project within 6 months.

Estimated start of funding: May 2025

Co-financing of project activities (grantee contribution) is encouraged but not mandatory.

Minimum qualification requirements for the applicant:

1. Business associations, business communities, training organizations, business promotion centers, and other non-governmental organizations working in the field of business support, economic development and entrepreneurship, registered in Ukraine and focused on providing services, training and other support to SMEs.

2. Organizational capacity to develop and implement the proposed activities.

3. Previous experience in providing services, training and other support to SMEs.

Any organization can submit an unlimited number of applications for funding, but a maximum of one application from one organization can be supported under this competition.

The application process will be in one stage. Applicants must submit a completed grant application (see Grant Application Form for Organizations Working in the Field of Business Support, Economic Development and Entrepreneurship).

Applications will be assessed by experts based on the following criteria:

• compliance of the application with the objectives of the competition;
• experience in the declared activity;
• expected results of the proposed activity;
• financial planning;
• quality of the description of the proposed activity, proposed training methodology;
• qualifications of trainers, instructors, lecturers, other specialists involved in the project for training, retraining and advanced training of SME management specialists;
• knowledge of the local market, realistic cost indicators of services;
• the applicant’s motivation to engage in and develop the declared type of activity in order to promote the development of SMEs.

The application is submitted in electronic format by March 31, 2025 with the subject of the letter: Application for participation in the competition No. 2025-01 to the address: vbigdai@umaef.org

Please send all questions regarding this request to vbigdai@umaef.org with the subject line “Question regarding Competition No. 2025-01”. UMAEF will respond to all questions regarding the application process sent to this email within five business days.

Applications are accepted in either English or Ukrainian. Applications in either language will be considered equally during the evaluation process.

Upon approval of the grant application, grantees will be required to sign a funding agreement with the Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise Fund, a Memorandum of Intent to Provide Technical Assistance, and a letter of confirmation of consent to be a recipient of the international technical assistance project. Grantees are required to conduct business activities in accordance with the submitted applications and in accordance with the laws of Ukraine.

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The Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise Fund is a regional fund funded by the U.S. Government through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) that has been investing in Ukraine and Moldova since 1994 and has been implementing a technical assistance program funded through refinancing and grants since 2015.

Overall, the fund has invested more than $1 billion in 183 companies with 94,000 employees and has enabled $2.4 billion in financing for companies in Ukraine and Moldova.

Since 2015, the Fund has been implementing a technical assistance program in Ukraine and Moldova totaling $170 million, focusing on direct investment and SME development, local economic development, social investment, innovation, education and entrepreneurship, and veteran support; and in 2017, it launched u.ventures, a $30 million investment fund for early-stage technology startups. In 2022, UMAEF received $135 million in new funding from the U.S. government for the economic recovery of Ukraine and Moldova. In 2024, the Fund changed its name to the Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise Fund, emphasizing its commitment to Ukraine and Moldova.

Source: https://gurt.org.ua/