Innovation Challenge to support the creation of ESS Organizations by Entrepreneurs in Algeria

The “Social and Solidarity Economy for the Sustainable Economic Inclusion of Young Entrepreneurs in Algeria” programme, implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security (MTESS), with financial support from the European Union, aims to encourage the employability of young people, especially young women, and create wealth from by creating a system conducive to the development of the social and solidarity economy.

The Social and Solidarity Economy Innovation Challenge provides youth (19-40 years old) and women entrepreneurs with prizes (financing and accompaniment) to realize their projects.

The Social and Solidarity Economy Innovation Challenge is a competition for innovative ideas and/or solutions, targeting women and youth, and its goal is to address specific development challenges that “traditional” solutions and tools cannot address.

Young male and female entrepreneurs (between 19 and 40 years old) can participate in this competition. The male and female winners benefit from a (financing) prize and accompaniment to realize their economic, social and solidarity projects.

To do this, the project will contain several key components, each of which operates at different levels of the social and solidarity economy system and targets the different actors that make it up.

The five main components of the project are divided into two specific objectives and five outputs, which are:

• Objective/Impact 1: Strengthening the social and solidarity economy system.
  • To contribute to achieving this goal, the following outputs were written:
    • Preparing appropriate laws and standards to establish the social and solidarity economy system;
    • Strengthening the capacities of institutions participating in the social and solidarity economy at the central and local levels;
    • Strengthening the capacities of support structures that facilitate the social and solidarity economy.
• Objective/Impact 2: Support the creation and development of social and solidarity economy companies
  • To contribute to achieving this goal, the following outputs were written:
    • Support projects to create and/or develop companies in the social and solidarity economy, especially those led by youth;
    • Support women-led social and solidarity economy initiatives.
• The “Social and Solidarity Economy in the Service of Sustainable Economic Inclusion of Young Entrepreneurs in Algeria” program plans to launch two types of calls for social and solidarity economy projects “Innovation Challenge”:
  • Innovation challenge for existing social and solidarity economy organizations (cooperatives, associations, non-profit institutions and companies), male and female artisans, and existing male and female farmers.
  • The innovation challenge for male and female entrepreneurs and new social and solidarity economy organizations.
• This innovation challenge concerns the creation of new organizations in the social and solidarity economy by male and female entrepreneurs. The target group within the framework of this competition is young entrepreneurs and leaders (between 19 and 40 years) and women (19 years and over), in the field of social and solidarity economy.
• Entrepreneurs from these categories can submit their proposals, individually or in groups, and pledge, if selected, to create a legal structure (company, self-entrepreneur, cooperative,
• association, non-profit institution, craft or farmer status) so that they can From obtaining the award (financing).

Objectives

• This Social and Solidarity Economy Innovation Challenge aims to enhance the role of women and youth as male and female entrepreneurs, as owners of innovative ideas and solutions in the field of the social and solidarity economy.
• The general goal of this competition is to support entrepreneurship initiatives at the level of the states targeted by the program. These initiatives, which aim to empower youth and women and enhance their role as entrepreneurs in the social and solidarity economy, will receive support in the form of financing and accompaniment.
• The goal is to facilitate the creation and/or development of social and solidarity economy projects at the local level by youth and women.

Sectors

• Based on the natural and human potential of the territories, the project proposed by male and female entrepreneurs must fall within the themes of social and solidarity economy, supporting local value chains and/or regional and national people, and reducing the informal economy, especially in the following sectors:
  • Agriculture and livestock, transformation of agricultural and animal products, and related services.
  • Fishing and aquaculture, transformation of fishing and aquaculture products, and related services.
  • Heritage and traditional industry (archaeological sites, antiquities, traditional industrial artistic products, etc.).
  • Environment (waste classification, Waste collection and recovery, etc.).
  • Start-ups (innovative technological and/or digital solutions) These sectors have been identified as key and/or priority sectors, but proposals can also refer to any other sector specific to the region.

Funding Information

• The prize amount, which is represented by the funding provided by the United Nations Development Program as part of this competition, ranges between 1,350,000 Algerian dinars and 1,600,000 Algerian dinars.
• UNDP support covers 100% of the total cost of the activity. If there is any discrepancy or difference between the total cost of the project and the amount requested from UNDP, it must be funded from the resources of the winners, or from sources other than the UNDP budget.

Results

• Through this competition, the Social and Solidarity Economy Program aims to achieve the following results:
  • Development objectives for the state/region, sectors and people
  • Respond to specific development challenges for the social and solidarity economy, in line with the activity concerned;
  • Allows for the development of the social and solidarity economy and the emergence of successful actors in the social and solidarity economy.
  • Participation in improving the environment, thereby improving the social and solidarity economy;
  • Promoting the independence of youth and women by supporting their own projects;
  • Financing promising small entrepreneurship activities.

Priority Regions

• Proposed initiatives must inevitably cover the following regions/states:
  • South-west: Timimoun, Al-Baidh, Al-Mania, Beni Abbas;
  • High plateaus – East: Batna, Khenchela, Oum El Bouaghi, M’Sila;
  • North-Centre: Bouira, Tizi Ouzou, Boumerdes, Medea.

Eligibility Criteria

• This call is open to individual entrepreneurs “The applicant”, and they must meet the following conditions: They will be referred to hereinafter as:
• The applicant:
  • Be between 19 and 40 years old (for men);
  • 19 years and over (for women)
  • To be independent from political parties/movements;
  • Not be subject to any ongoing judicial procedures.
  • Excluded from participating in the Social and Solidarity Economy Challenge are male and female entrepreneurs who, at the time of submitting their application and during its evaluation:
    • Were in a conflict of interest;
    • If false statements are made when submitting their challenge initiative, or if the required information is not provided to UNDP.
• If an applicant is awarded an SSE Innovation Challenge award, they will be considered to have independent contractor status with UNDP. Under no circumstances may the employees of the Applicant and Contractors be considered employees or agents of UNDP.

Eligibility conditions for proposed social and solidarity economy projects

• A, the social and solidarity economy project idea proposal must meet the following conditions:
• Led by youth and/or women or by those who employ youth and/or women;
• Preferably from one of the sectors mentioned in point 3 of this document;
• The activities stipulated in the initiative must be implemented in one of the targeted states mentioned in point 3 of this document;
• The planned duration of activities must be between six (6) months and twelve (12) months. This means that all funding must be used the project during the period specified by the project;
• Within a budget ranging between 1,350,000 Algerian dinars and 1,600,000 Algerian dinars. Note: Only proposals that meet these eligibility criteria will be submitted to the evaluation committee.

For more information, visit UNDP.