VEGA/BIZ+ Quarterly Report October - December 2013

The report follows the structure of the work plan and the two overall program components. Activities carried out this quarter are reported under their relevant components, and cross-referenced between components when applicable. As BIZ+ enters its third year, the program is well-placed to meet program targets. The majority of investment grants are awarded, service grants are in place to build capacity, and solid operational systems support the numerous aspects of grant implementation. Highlights of program achievements this quarter include the approval of a revised Performance Management Plan, including a revised four-year work plan and performance monitoring plan that reflects the Total Estimated Cost (TEC) and scope reduction. Seven additional investment grants were approved this quarter, bringing the total number to 28 grants, against a life of project target of 35. These 28 grants, whose collective value is $6,639,426, will result in 4,518 jobs created. The total to be leveraged from the 28 businesses is valued at $15,164,514, coming in well over the 1:1 requirement, and on track to exceed program-level leverage target of $13 million. The program's cost share target of $2.6 has been met. Ceylon Chamber of Commerce has completed 11 additional Business Development Services (BDS) assessments to make a total of 25 assessments completed. Six BDS Action plans were agreed with investment grants, and five BDS assignments were carried out. As of the end of this quarter, BIZ+ has 28 investment grants under implementation. An additional seven partnerships are in development, four of which will have been submitted to USAID for approval as of the writing of this report. BIZ+ expects to reach its life of project target of 35 investment grants by the end of February 2014. Five of the seven partnerships in the final stages of development are for businesses located in the North Central Province (NCP). BIZ+ only began its outreach in the NCP in July 2013. Twenty-four concepts were received from businesses in Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa in response to Request for Applications (RFAs) released in early October 2013. BIZ+ made a final selection of five businesses with whom the business planning process began in mid-November 2013. Intensive time and effort on the part of the Enterprise Development Team, namely due diligence experts, and one of the MBAs Without Borders volunteer experts, has greatly expedited the partnership development process for these five businesses, reducing the outreach to subaward approval timeline from an average of 9-12 months to six months. In Figure I, the final summary table of all business concepts received by BIZ+ to date across all targeted Districts is presented. It is expected that all targeted Districts will benefit from at least one investment grant. Presuming that all 35 investment grants are approved and awarded, which is likely based on a 100% approval record thus far, BIZ+ expects to have 17 grants in the North, 13 in the East, and 5 in the North Central Province. All investment grant activities will be completed by 30 April 2015. Progress Update on Grants in Implementation BIZ+ has a total of 28 investment grants currently in implementation. By the end of Year 3, Q2, all 35 investment grants will have begun implementation. The total number of jobs expected to be created under the current 28 grants is 4,518, whose collective value is $6,639,426. The expected jobs to be created under the remaining 7 grants will accomplish the program target. The total amount to be leveraged from the grantee businesses is valued at $15,164,514, coming in well over the 1:1 grantee to BIZ+ requirement. During this quarter, seven new partnerships were finalized and the grants approved by USAID. The remaining seven grants are expected to be awarded this quarter. Given the relatively short amount of time remaining, and in order to ensure that grant activities begin as soon as possible after the award decision, the BIZ+ team begins to prepare for implementation even while USAID is processing approvals. The BIZ+ team has made significant progress in implementing the program's activities, including the approval of investment grants, provision of Business Development Services, and capacity building support to enterprises. The program's results achieved this quarter are presented in the final section, supported by a full data table in Annex A.