4.0 Application and Appraisal Process

General Information as well as the requirements regarding Danida Business Partnerships is available at dbpartnerships.um.dk and on the homepage of the relevant Embassy where also the Business Development Profile for the country can be found. The programme is managed by the Danish Embassy in the country and specific questions about the programme, partnerships, etc. should be directed to the relevant officer at the Embassy. Other inquiries of general nature may be directed to Danida in Copenhagen or the relevant Embassy. Contact information is available on the Embassy’s homepage.

Prior to submission of an application, partners must complete the partner eligibility form for their own category as well as the partnership eligibility form and send it to the Danish Embassy. The Embassy will confirm the receipt of the forms within 2 weeks and evaluate them and the business idea against the general eligibility criteria and the country specific Business Development Profile.

The Embassy will notify the potential applicants whether they and the business idea are considered eligible for support under the program. Only when partners as well as business idea are considered eligible are partners encouraged to submit an application.

The first step is submission of a draft application in a version using the prescribed formats which allows for the Embassy to comment and suggest alterations.

When applying for support in the preparation phase partners may start by applying for elements within the phase or smaller modules in the phase in order to integrate lessons-leaned during the phase – as long as the total activities are within the requirements of the phase.

For the implementation phase, the full application format and annexes must be addressed including the business model bench-marks, budget, indicators and partnership agreements. The general conditions for main partners for support under the Danida Business Partnerships must be signed. The draft application must be accompanied by a cover letter signed by main partners.

Draft applications must be submitted electronically in English with copy to all partners. The Embassy shall confirm the receipt of the application by e-mail within two weeks. The Embassy will comment the draft application and possibly suggest alterations. Any dialogue with the Embassy on the elaboration of the application should include both main partners.

A draft application may be sent to the Embassy however, repeat drafts of the same applications cannot be expected to be handled by the Embassy.

Applicants will as a general rule not receive support for the implementation phase before having completed a preparation phase.

The final application is signed by main partners and sent to the Embassy in English, including final partner and partnership eligibility forms, all relevant templates, signed partnership agreement/s, signed general conditions for main partners and copy of signed partnership agreement with the two main partners.

The Embassy will confirm the receipt of the final application to the partners in writing within 2 weeks.

The Embassy will undertake a formality check to ensure that all the required documentation, including necessary signatures, is enclosed in the applications, and that correct standard templates are used. The Embassy will carry out a compliance check of received applications including a re-verification of key information on partners and verification of documentation submitted. Applications that do not pass the formality and compliance check will be discarded until all the needed documentation and information is provided. The Embassy will inform the partners.

Applications that pass the formality and compliance checks will be appraised. The application will be appraised against the general requirements for the programme, the Business Development Profile and all general criteria, including the criteria for the business model. The appraisal will also assess the partnerships’ plans for monitoring of progress in the business model.

If the partners have received previous support under Danida Business Partnerships or B2B, IPD and/or Private Sector Programme, the results and lessons learned must be identified and integrated in the appraisal.

If the application is approved, the application will be signed by the Embassy and returned to the partners, thereby making it the legally binding document governing the relationship between the partners and the Embassy. The Embassy will also send an approval letter to partners stating the support and overall conditions.

If the application is not approved the Embassy will reply the partners, describing the reason/s for rejection.

The Embassy cannot guarantee that all applications for support can be met even though the partners and the business model live up to the eligibility criteria. Preference is given to applications where partner contributions are greatest and impact is highest. Replication and lessons learned from previous partnerships will be evaluated positive, though support to replication in other partner countries will only be given a limited number of times for the same main partners.