How INVITE makes businesses thrive
Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with need, will be provided with the ability to expand through new financing to restart and strengthen economic growth. The businesses will be boosted as the project provides financial backup for new lending to MSMEs, extends money for longer periods to larger investment projects, and makes grants to private businesses with investment in refugee communities. The grants will be won on a competitive basis. The project will target MSMEs with a focus on manufacturing and export supply chains, by setting up a Credit Guarantee Facility (CGF) to share the risks associated with new lending on a proposed 50/50 basis with Participating Financial Institutions (PFI).
Long-term financing will be provided to the PFIs in the form of subordinated loans which are unsecured loans or bonds to be repaid to the lender before any other debts owed by the financial institution. These will target key economic assets, and private and public-sponsored projects. In the case of privately sponsored projects, where a borrower is unable to service the subordinated debt, the terms of the subordinated debt would allow the facility to convert its subordinated debt into equity.
INVITE Accelerates Exports across regions
The project will boost Ugandan producers and potential producers of value-added manufacturing products to be able to access regional and high-income markets for export. This will be achieved under the Export Firm Support (EFS) intervention which will upgrade medium and large firms’ organizational and production capacities, enabling target firms to meet the demand of foreign buyers. The EFS will provide technical assistance and hands-on capacity building to exporters and potential exporters of manufactured and semi-manufactured products, and local consultants to support the export market, which is critical to economic and jobs transformation.
The EFS will support exporters and potential exporters with the assistance of local and international consultants to identify export opportunities and meet consumers demand through specialized technical assistance and capacity-building activities. This will develop the capacity of firms and expand their access to market opportunities through different interventions about how exporting processes work in foreign markets. The program targets exporters of manufactured and semi-manufactured value-added products excluding agriculture commodities.
From raw to real value: INVITE creates financing solutions for manufacturers
INVITE is creating the foundation for better, more diversified, inclusive economic transformation in the longer term through financing supply chains of rural producers and small firms. This is to enable a rapid shift from unprocessed agricultural exports toward manufacturing and export of higher value-added products. The financing will create the change the supply chains need to strengthen the viability and diversity of markets. This will allow growth to become more inclusive by enabling low performing districts with high levels of poverty and large refugee populations to participate in viable economic opportunities.
The manufacturing and export sectors will be able to restructure their loans. Micro firms, including those in refugee host communities will be assisted to restart or continue their operations as critical units in funding links between producers and aggregators, processors, and distributors. Additionally, finance will be available to MSMEs based on security in the form of their receivables to prevent dependability on their buyers who normally pay their invoices with a delay of up to three months, thereby negatively affecting the liquidity of often small, informal enterprise suppliers.
INVITE Change: Refugees funded to expand supply chains
The INVITE project is promoting sustainable private investment and employment in refugee-hosting communities (RHC) through performance-based grants. The expansion of existing supply chains and the establishment of new supply chains in refugee and host communities of South West, Northern, and West Nile regions of the country is key to providing employment for large numbers of un-skilled labour especially in RHCs.
Lead investors will compete for grants through submission of well-developed business concepts or expansion plans for existing or new supply chains. Businesses are expected to demonstrate ability to support large supplier needs or employment of refugee or host beneficiaries. Submissions will be assessed using a standardized set of criteria to include level of inclusion of refugee and host community households (particularly the number of females and refugees included), degree of innovation, projected growth and rate of return, job creation potential, feasibility, and practicality given local contexts.
Winners of the competition will be provided access to a performance-based grant, which will be made available to the investors over a specific period and according to a defined investment plan. The competition as a whole is expected to support 12 supply chains to expand their value proposition, providing a performance grant of up to US$1 million per project depending on specific business needs of the winning supply chain investors. In addition, business and start-up training and coaching of workers, including soft skills, especially for women entrepreneurs through WhatsApp at scale, will be provided to ensure that communities benefit from the new investment.
Implementing Agencies
Funding Partners
