Access to EU Funds for Agribusiness and Rural Development through USAID Support Cristina Manescu, Executive Director CEED Romania 3rd Regional Competitiveness Conference in Southeast EuropeEnhancing Regional Competitiveness: Past, Present and FuturePrzno, Montenegro, May 20 – 22, 2008
Agenda Who we are Context Romanian case story Lessons learned
Power through know-how and networks
Who We Are CEED Romaniawas established by USAID in collaboration with Small Enterprise Assistance Funds (SEAF), with the aim to carry out the legacy of USAID in the area of SME support in Romania and in the South Eastern European Region.
Mission We are devoted to strengthening entrepreneurship and empowering the leaders of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises with the know-how and networks needed to accelerate business growth and to promote a true entrepreneurial culture throughout South Eastern Europe. Power through know-how and networks
Where we are • Regional CEED Network • 5 active centers in Slovenia, • Bulgaria, Romania, Montenegro, • and Macedonia • Partnership with the • Russian Center for • Entrepreneurship • Expecting to open NEW centers in • Poland and Serbia later in 2008. Slovenia Romania Bulgaria Montenegro Macedonia
CEED Model – Three pillars Business Accelerators Market Access Forums Regional - International Trade & Invest Events Business Training Modules Short Practical Training for Owners and Key Executives Local SME Networking Platform Expanding your Network to Build your Business
Objectives Firmly establish CEED as a trusted resource to entrepreneurs within Southeast Europe Regionally expand Create a legacy and build equity for SEAF and USAID Goals Achieve local sustainability within 5-6 years Raise additional donor support Strategies Provide products and services that help SMEs get access to finance and expand to new markets Target those who can afford and value support Create a ‘community’ Leverage partnerships CEED Objectives, Goals, Strategies
CEED Romania – Two years of activity • Our approach in implementing the CEED model while achieving sustainability goals: • Consolidation • Through an active presence on the market and our wide network of partners, we gained recognition, and proved CEED unique / innovative and practical approach. • Expansion of client base • 2800 clients served in 2007, over 3300 since 2006 • Diversification of offer • Advisory services / mentoring • Donor funded projects
The Rural Leadership Development Program in Romania Run since 2003 under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agribusiness and Policy Support Project New phase started in October 2006. Context • Driven by the new need to tackle the new challenges and exploit new opportunities for growth open with Romania’s EU accession. • RLDP coordinated by CEED continued to assist in attracting financial resources for business and community development in the rural area.
Pilot and repeat training seminars on “How to access EU Funds for Rural Development”- 13 training events for 29 days of seminars, attended by over 260 participants 5 Regional and International workshopsattended by over 140 participants Results • Two 8-day study tours to Ireland • for 37 participants • Brochure “Leading Rural Romania from Challenge to Change” prepared and disseminated in 1300 copies During one year, CEED & RLDP organized 20 local, regional and International events, comprising over 50 days. Over 440 clients have benefit of various forms of training and practical experience for over 1300 person-days.
Key actions and events Training seminars on “How to access EU Funds for Rural Development” • Intensive, highly interactive and practical • Learning by doing and peer learning • Optimal participant mix: business people, farmers, producers associations, local consultants, representatives of local authorities • Experts and resource persons from relevant bodies involved in promoting rural / local / agribusiness development. • Participants prepared their own project outlines
Key actions and events International workshop “Practical Experience of the Approaches and Application of EU Structural Funds in Member States” • Int’l Speakers: Tim Woods, Agricultural Economist, University of Kentucky, USA and Brian Milton, Senior Partner, Economic Development and Training Ltd, Ireland. • Practical examples and successful models for agribusiness development and marketing of agri-food products both from the US and Western Europe. • Active support from US Embassy, USAID Mission, USDA and RO Govt. representatives • Active debates on how to apply these models in Romania
The participants gained the know-how that enablesaccess to EU financing: Understood key elements governing the EU SF & other financial instruments institutions, programming cycle, financing & payment mechanisms; procedures which projects can be financed from which source Exposure to a wide range of successful models (USA and Ireland); How to set & develop PPPs - a basis for project design, funding and implementation; Gained practical skills in project design & management; Identified areas where they could immediately apply the knowledge acquired. Outcomes
Key actions and events Study tours to Ireland • Rich and inspiring experience • Impressive follow-up actions by participants • Knowledge spread wider in the RLDP regions
Key actions and events Study tours to Ireland Visits, discussions and engagements with relevant Govt. bodies – national and local NGO institutions, producers / processors / farmers co-operatives Public and private consultants, community development and network organizations.
Key actions and events Study tours to Ireland Small & Medium food processors Wide range of projects financed under LEADER+ and other EU funded community support program. Farms, non-agricultural off-farm businesses, micro-enterprises in rural areas
Projects developed and funding attracted: 95 outline projects developed by training participants. 25 projects obtained funding of a total value of Euro 1,770,000. 13 projects were in the process of evaluation for a total value of Euro 2,657,000 (as of end September 2007). International contacts and business development opportunities: Ms. Hortensia Gorski, Deputy Dean of the Romanian German University in Sibiu has contacted Tipperary Institute Ireland to initiate a joint higher education programme for rural development. Irish business people visited a number of companies in Transylvania to investigate possibilities for business cooperation in areas such as horse breeding and milk processing. Impact
Partnership agreements: Between private consultants, County Office for Agricultural Consulting (OJCA) Iaşi, World Vision and Community based organizations from Iasi County, North East of Romania. The partners have submitted 3 projects. Exchange of relevant information: Many of the participants became an informal network to support rural, local and agribusiness development. They are receiving regularly electronic information on relevant aspects. Access to the rural portal called www.agra.ro managed by SC Pagini Internet SRL Iaşi – a RFLD client New project proposals and plans: Plan to further strengthen the RDLP rural leaders network under CEED umbrella. Initiatives underway. Mr. Calin Nicolae, has prepared a project in support of developing partnerships of producers associations, local authorities and leaders in Oltenia, South West of Romania Impact (continued)
“Sincere thanks to the CEED team of trainers. I learned a lot from you, and I applied what I learned. My company has submitted 9 project proposals to obtain EU finding. I am very proud that I was able to prepare good grant applications. This gives me courage and trust for the future. I would like to establish a long-term cooperation with CEED.” Ruxandra Marcu, Entrepreneur, EURO SB 2000 SRL, Sibiu “We learned a lot from you, we gained courage and we are now able to help others. Ion Stuparu, public expert, Oltenia “The project has produced excellent long-term effects, and more effects are expected in future. The great gain from the project was that we can now work as a team. We learned the value of teamwork.” Stela Marcu, private consultant, Timisoara Client feedback
“I was very pleased to have the opportunity to understand how the “Irish successful model” works. I saw how important it is to have proper project management skills. We must share positive experiences on adequate use of the European funds and adopt successful models.” Adriana ECOBICI, Craiova, Study tour participant “The entire study tour was successful and interesting as I had the opportunity to identify new strategies and models that could be applied in Romania” Aurel Simion, Craiova, Study tour participant Client feedback
Communication among the various actors and groups working together tosolve problems - the most useful aspect Creation of strong networks and linkages among businesses, consultants, financial institutions, government agencies and programs. Demonstrated capacity of entrepreneurs to get financing from financial institutions & donors Demonstrated benefits of business consulting services The only suggestion for improvement was the expansion of the program. Many interviewees stated that RFLD, because it was so successful, should have been expanded to other counties. Conclusions & Lessons Focus group & final assessment
Flexibility: Administrative procedures and requirements - easy to follow, efficient, not burdensome. Open to working with any stakeholders that could supply the enterprises with the technical and financial support needed. Capacity building: Bottom-up approach and empowering local leaders. Building a community of leaders based on trust and respect relationship. Power of information sharing and networking. Result oriented approach: Specific needs and circumstances were considered throughout the whole project lifetime. Strategy to partner and leverage resources from other sources. The approach was well received by rural private sector, government and donor stakeholders. Sustainability of skills and know-how transferred: Beneficiary enterprises and to other stakeholders continued to be in contact and use skills acquired. The quality of the services and the tools provided are still well regarded by the businesses. Increasingly, banks are lending to rural and agricultural businesses. Keys of success
Thank you Contact us for any further details: Tel/Fax: (+4021) 313.42.92 GSM: (+40) 740.18.22.57 www.ceed-romania.org; cristina.manescu@ceed-romania.org; office@ceed-romania.org Cristina Manescu, Executive Director CEED Romania
