Germany to part fund Lankan biz with commercial and development goals

The German government recently announced that it is ready to part finance ventures up to 50 percent of the investment in projects, in a number of sectors, which meet both commercial and development goals.  

To this end, the German Federal Ministry of Economic Corporation and Development (BMZ) said that it is willing to fund up to 50 percent of the project cost under its ‘developPPP.de’ programme, to foster the involvement of the private sector in areas where commercial opportunities and development policy goals overlap. 

The officials of the programme recently reached out to the Sri Lankan businesses and called for business proposals in various sectors before March 31. 

“BMZ can support your company’s innovative projects and commercial investments in developing and emerging-market countries, provided that they offer long-term benefits for the local population,” developPPP.de stated. 

For convincing project proposals, developPPP.de is willing to fund between EUR 100,000 and EUR 2 million for three years, on top of the company’s own contribution, which should be equal or higher than 50 percent equity from the promoter. 

However, local businesses, which apply for the facility, should have a minimum annual turnover of EUR 800,000 (approx. Rs.188 million) with minimum of eight employees with audited financial accounts for two years at a minimum.

It appears that the criteria for eligibility for the funding leave out the small-scale entrepreneurs, given its very high revenue threshold and is mainly aimed at the medium-scale companies, which are already in business. 

“To this end, BMZ offers financial and technical support for companies that want to do business or have already begun operating in developing and emerging-market countries. The company is responsible for covering at least half of the overall costs,” the programme said. 

Their funding would also entail technical support and training of local people. 

“Projects typically cover a wide range of sectors and themes – from training local experts and piloting innovative technologies and demonstration units to protecting value chains and improving manufacturers’ environmental and social standards,” BMZ added.