EXPRESSION OF INTEREST AND PROPOSAL

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Requester: EU4Innovation, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ), Office Tirana. 

Subject of the call 

This call aims to invite ecosystem actors to implement an incubation program for early-stage startups. Collaboration with other public and private ecosystem actors is the most effective way to establish incubators. Any interested party shall form a consortium when applying. The title of the national wide call is “Innovate Albania: Empowering Early-stage Start-ups” 

The interested party should develop an innovative approach how to design, develop and implement an incubation programme that provides practical and directly applicable support to Albanian start-ups in their early stages.  

Objective of the call 

The main objective of the open call is to support min. 15 early-stage Start-ups in Albania. The objective of this call is to invite interested and eligible Innovation Support Organizations (ISOs) to submit proposals for the implementation of a topic-based incubator program (i.e., green & circular economy / Digitalization / Women entrepreneurs) that will support the development of innovative ideas and early-stage startups in Albania.  

Hence, in order to provide early-stage startups with proper trainings, mentoring, workspace but also access to funding and network, a consortium of 2-4 ecosystem actors (one of them preferably be an international player) 

The consortium ideally includes ecosystem actors, such as incubators, universities, co-working spaces, local/central governments, and private companies, preferably with one partner being an international hub.  

Timeframe and budget of the call 

  • Timeframe for this project is 6 months (June 2023 - December 2023). Within this timeframe all the activities of the project (setting up, planning, implementing, following up, reporting) shall be finished. 
  • The financial range for each project proposal is between 3,400,000 ALL – 5,700,000 ALL.  
  • The number of projects supported will depend on the quality of the proposals submitted. 

Background information and long-term objectives of responsible projects for the call 

The EU4Innovation project aims to support the development of a dynamic and innovative ecosystem in Albania by providing technical and financial support to start-ups and ISOs.  

The focus of EU4Innovation is to increase the maturity and exposure of the Albanian start-up and innovation ecosystem and its stakeholders. EU4Innovation is a Multi Donor Action, jointly co-financed by the EU, the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Sida, to be implemented by GIZ and Sida.

Eligibility of applicants 

Participation is open to all ecosystem actors, in a consortium as mentioned in the “Objective of the call” in the section above. Applicants should also demonstrate a strong understanding of the Albanian start-up ecosystem and the challenges faced by early-stage start-ups in the country. All partners of any consortium should be legally registered and active according to Albanian law in force.  

First step of the procedure 

All legal entities interested in the application process should ask for application form to the address: [email protected] latest by 18.04.2023. All interested parties will receive the Expression of Interest and Proposal form.  

Subsequent step in the selection procedure 

  • First step: All EOIPs will be evaluated based on the technical criteria listed in the evaluation grid included in the EOIP. In this phase no budget proposal is required.  
  • Second Step: All entities that have passed the 1st round of evaluation will be invited to submit a budget and the log-frame. Interviews and negotiations can take place before a final decision is made. 
  • Third Step: Contracts will be awarded to the applicants with the best technical and financial offer. Negotiations on the budget can take place before the contract is awarded.   

Deadline & submission of documents 

The deadline for submitting the application in pdf format via e-mail to [email protected] is 24.04.2023 

For further questions contact us via email to [email protected] at least 5 days before the deadline. 

All written communication for this procedure and the following successful ones must be in English. 


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