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Supporting European SMEs to participate in public procurement outside EU

Cluster organisations are among those eligible to apply for a grant of up to €400,000 to help European SMEs participate in public procurement outside the European Union (EU).

Public procurement, both inside and outside the EU, can generate considerable business opportunities for European SMEs, but many are not taking full advantage of the opportunities in non-EU countries.

The call for proposals Supporting European SMEs to participate in public procurement outside EU has now been launched to help address this issue under the EU’s Competitiveness of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (COSME) programme.

This call for proposals, the first of this kind, aims to improve SMEs’ access to public procurement in non-EU countries with which the EU has signed a bilateral or plurilateral agreement covering public procurement.

Projects that help SMEs seize opportunities stemming from an easier access to public procurement in international markets can contribute to economic growth, as well as support the internationalisation of European companies and their global competitiveness. These goals are especially important in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.

Access to non-EU public procurement markets was negotiated by the EU through the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) or via bilateral free trade agreements. According to the WTO Secretariat, the international business opportunities covered by the GPA amount to $1.7 trillion annually.

A total budget of €2 million is available to select up to five projects, which will benefit from a grant to cover 75% of their eligible costs and up to a maximum of €400,000.

Description of call

"Supporting European SMEs to participate in public procurement outside EU"

This action will co-finance the activities of business organisations supporting SMEs’ internationalisation and participation in public procurement and will therefore enable these organisations to develop their capacities to help SMEs in this respect and offer more targeted and better support to SMEs. The activities shall be carried out in two phases:

1. A preparatory phase, where each funded consortium will be requested to develop an internationalisation strategy and its implementation roadmap, based on the targeted Member States and third countries, and
2. The implementation phase, where each consortium will apply the internationalisation strategy, gather data, promote the project and disseminate results.

Funding area:

EU Member States
Albania / Shqipëria
Armenia / Հայաստան
Azerbaijan
Belarus / Беларусь
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Georgia / საქართველო
Iceland / Ísland
Kosovo
Liechtenstein
Moldova
Montenegro / Crna Gora/Црна Гора
North Macedonia / Северна Македонија
Norway / Norge
Serbia / Сpбија
Turkey / Türkiye
Ukraine / Україна Oukraïna

Origin of Applicant:

Eligible Applicants

Education and Training Centres, Federal State / Region / City / Municipality / Local Authority, Research Institution, Lobby Group / Professional Association / Trade Union, International Organization, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, SMEs (between 10 and 249 employees), Microenterprises (fewer than 10 employees), NGO / NPO, Public Services, National Government, Start Up Company, University, Enterprise (more than 250 employees or not defined), Association

Project Partner Details

Proposals must be presented by consortia composed of at least three legal entities from at least three different EU Member States or COSME participating countries;
There must not be more than one partner from non-EU COSME participating country per consortium;
The proposal must explain in detail the added value of such a situation and show a clear separation of activities and roles between the consortia members and the partner institutions contributing from the third country perspective.

Deadline: Tuesday, 15 September, 2020

Project duration min: 30 months

Project duration max: 36 months

Program: COSME

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Eligible Applicants