Orange Corners Innovation Fund - OCIF
Do you want to help startups that have innovative solutions to local challenges? Would you like to manage an investment fund for early-stage startups? Apply for a subsidy from the Orange Corners Innovation Fund (OCIF). This programme provides fund managers with capital to invest in early-stage startups.
What is the Orange Corners Innovation Fund?
Funding for startups in Africa, Asia and the Middle East
OCIF is a subsidy programme that provides fund managers with capital to invest in early-stage startups. OCIF supports young, innovative entrepreneurs in Africa, Asia and the Middle East to scale up their businesses and create jobs. OCIF also helps young entrepreneurs prepare for investment and attract commercial follow-up investments.
OCIF is an addition to the existing Orange Corners Incubation and Acceleration Component (OCIAC). The Orange Corners programmes give young entrepreneurs access to training, networks and facilities to start or scale their businesses.
For whom?
OCIF is for fund managers who want to:
- Encourage young entrepreneurs in target locations to turn innovative solutions to local challenges into practical business plans;
- Help young entrepreneurs in the target locations prepare for investment;
- Support young entrepreneurs in the target locations to attract commercial follow-up investments;
- Support the medium- to long-term development of the private sector and the business environment in the target locations;
- Tackle youth unemployment and promote economic growth by supporting startups.
Applicants for OCIF must be private companies or NGOs. A financial authority in the target location must legally authorise the applicant to provide (interest-free) loans.
Budget
A total of €46.2 million is available for OCIF. Fund managers can apply for a subsidy of up to €2.2 million per target location.
Subsidies will be awarded for no more than 95% of the eligible costs. This means that private companies or NGOs must provide their own contribution of at least 5% of the eligible costs. The maximum subsidy amount does not include the 5% own contribution.
The own contribution can be monetary or in-kind. In the case of an in-kind contribution, you must quantify the monetary value in the budget tool.
OCIF countries
OCIF target locations include:
Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, Burundi, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Iraq (Kurdistan region), Iraq (proper), Jordan, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Palestinian Territories, Senegal, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan and Tunisia.
Application rounds 2023-2024
OCIF had 3 rounds of applications:
- The first round was for applications focused on Angola, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Morocco, Mozambique and Nigeria. It opened on 2 October 2023 at 12:00 CEST and closed on 20 November at 12:00 CET.
- The second round was for applications focused on Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Jordan, the Palestinian Territories, Senegal and South Africa. It opened on 12 February 2024 at 12:00 CET and closed on 1 April 2024 at 12:00 CEST.
- The third round was for applications focused on Bangladesh, Burundi, Iraq (Kurdistan region), Iraq (proper), Mali, South Sudan, Sudan and Tunisia. It opened on 6 May 2024 at 12:00 CEST and closed on 17 June 2024 at 12:00 CEST.
How to apply
This subsidy programme is temporarily closed.
To apply for this subsidy, you must first submit a quick scan. Follow the 'How to apply' steps to submit a formal subsidy application.
Step 1. Submit a quick scan
You can no longer submit a quick scan. The deadline for the previous application round was 28 May 2024, 12:00 CEST.
To apply for this subsidy, you must first submit a quick scan. The Orange Corners team uses this quick scan to review your project ideas and give you a non-binding recommendation on your proposal. Please carefully read the administrative rules listed under 'Publications' before completing your quick scan.
The advisory process may take up to 3 weeks. Once you have a recommendation on your quick scan, you can submit your formal subsidy application for your target location.
If you have questions or want to consult one of our advisors before submitting a quick scan, please email us at ocif@rvo.nl.
Step 2. Submit a formal subsidy application
You can only submit a formal subsidy application during an application round. The deadline for the previous application round was 17 June 2024, 12:00 CEST.
Please read all the administrative rules under Publications first. When completing your application, include the annexes listed under Required documents.
Required documents
Please read and complete the documents below and upload them with your application.
Publications
Please read the administrative rules in these documents carefully before applying.
Orange Corners Investment Fund (2024-2030) in the Government Gazette (official) (in Dutch, 25 September 2023)
Orange Corners Investment Fund (2024-2030) policy rules change in the Government Gazette (official) (in Dutch, 24 November 2023)
Previous publications
The administrative rules that apply to earlier OCIF application rounds are listed below.
After your application
We will assess your application based on the criteria in the Administrative Rules. Within 13 weeks of the application closing date, we will inform you whether you are eligible for a subsidy.
Please note that Orange Corners Innovation Fund only assesses applications that meet all the conditions. The highest-scoring application will qualify first, then the second-highest-scoring application, and so on.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. You can also apply with multiple organisations registered in different countries. The lead applicant must be registered in the target country.
A consortium can also apply in multiple countries. In this case, you must submit a quick scan and full proposal for each country.
No, if you apply in a consortium, the lead applicant does not have to have authorisation to provide interest-free loans. Still, one organisation in the consortium must be legally authorised by a recognised authority in the target location to provide interest-free loans.
Yes. We will accept documents submitted in French or any other language. If you submit documents in a language other than English, you must also provide an English translation. This does not have to be a certified translation.
The Orange Corners Innovation Fund is an add-on to the Orange Corners Incubation and Acceleration Component (OCIAC). This means that the majority of supported entrepreneurs must come from the OCIAC programme.
In OCIF Track I, the fund can provide a maximum of 5,000 euros to each entrepreneur enrolled in the OCIAC programme. Entrepreneurs who have successfully completed the programme are then eligible to receive OCIF Track II funding. In the OCIF quick scan and proposal, applicants must explain how they will select Track II entrepreneurs.
If we approve your proposal, you have 3 months at the start of the programme to coordinate with the OCIAC implementing partner. This period is for aligning the OCIF approach with OCIAC.
Yes, this is possible in Track II if these entrepreneurs have received support through other (Dutch-funded) entrepreneurship programmes. Please explain your reasoning and how you will select these entrepreneurs in your proposal.
The focus region depends on the OCIAC implementing partner. In most cases, the programme focuses on the capital of a target country. In some cases, programmes are nationwide, mostly involving online training courses.
At the start of the programme, there is a 3-month period to align approaches and the programme design with the OCIAC implementing partner. This period is for coordinating the final approach.
As a fund manager, you can determine the minimum and maximum investment amounts. Still, this needs to be within the range explained in the Administrative Rules.
For Track I, you can provide a maximum of 5,000 euros per entrepreneur. For Track II, you can provide a maximum of 50,000 euros per entrepreneur. OCIF Track II funding is usually part loan and part subsidy. In most cases, the interest rate charged on the loan varies between 0-10%.
In your OCIF Track II funding application, you can propose your own loan-to-grant ratios. You must explain your chosen interest rate and grant-to-loan ratio.
OCIF is a subsidy, so the lending institute will not experience loan loss for loans provided under the OCIF programme.
The expected indicators are explained and provided in the MEL guidelines. For example, you must clarify the number of supported entrepreneurs in your application. You should also include your targets in the detailed MEL plan. This is part of the complete application.
More information
For more information about OCIF, visit the Orange Corners website.
The Netherlands Enterprise Agency carries out the OCIF subsidy programme on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Questions about OCIF?
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs
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