USAID Business Excellence for Sustainability and Transparency (BEST) Phase II Activity – Mongolia

The USAID Business Excellence for Sustainability and Transparency (BEST) Phase II Activity will further advance key elements of the original activity and incorporate new elements to improve long-term sustainability of the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector. BEST Phase II will work more closely with Mongolian government entities and civil society organizations (CSOs), providing training and capacity building so they can more effectively advise SMEs. In addition, BEST Phase II will include a component to work with SMEs directly to improve their energy efficiency and environmental sustainability to improve their overall competitiveness. Similar to BEST, the goal of BEST Phase II is to build the capacity of SMEs so they can more powerfully serve as an engine for Mongolia’s economic growth and diversification.

Program Focus

• While the goal of BEST Phase II will remain essentially the same as the original BEST activity, i.e., growing and diversifying the economy through SME development, it will take a slightly different approach in that it will work more directly with government institutions and CSOs. The aim of increasing capacity within these institutions is to make SME development more locally led, and thereby more sustainable. In addition, given USAID/Mongolia’s strategic focus on helping Mongolia become more energy independent, BEST Phase II will also work directly with SMEs to improve energy efficiency and environmental sustainability, which would address this goal and help SMEs become more competitive.

Objectives

• The activity will comprise the following objectives:
  • Improving capacity of Mongolian institutions,
  • Improving corporate governance among SMEs, and
  • Improving operational efficiency through energy efficiency and environmental sustainability measures.

Funding Information

• USAID intends to award one Cooperative Agreement pursuant to this NOFO but reserves the right to issue an award other than a Cooperative Agreement or issue more than one award or no award or cancel the solicitation or re-solicit the action.
• Subject to funding availability and at the discretion of the Agency, USAID intends to provide not more than $10 million in total USAID funding over a five-year period.
• The anticipated period of performance is five (5) years. The estimated start date will be on or about May 1, 2025.

Eligibility Criteria

• Eligibility for this NOFO is not restricted. For-profit entities may submit an application, but profit is not allowable under this NOFO.
• Faith-based organizations are eligible to apply for federal financial assistance on the same basis as any other organization and are subject to the protections and requirements of Federal law.
• Additionally, USAID welcomes applications from organizations that have not previously received financial assistance from USAID.
• Interested and eligible applicants may submit no more than one application under this NOFO. However, entities may be listed in more than one application as a potential subrecipient.
• Each applicant must be found to be a responsible entity before receiving an award in accordance with ADS 303.3.9.
• Cost Sharing: Cost Sharing is not required for this activity.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.