Following is a description of the various support mechanisms that will be implemented during the year 2007 / 2008 and their respective conditions and terms:


Support Program

Evaluation and Selection Criteria

 

Support Program

The EPF provides financial support through different forms of mechanisms according to the Fund's policies and each project needs. Out of the EPF support programs the following is a description for the ones approved and selected for this year: 

1. Grants

Grants are mainly EPF funds given out to specific parties without the need to be refunded.

1.1 The Applicant

Applicants to the Grants program include any governmental agencies, NGOs, universities and research centers on condition that the projects are applicable and not research projects. The Grants program also includes EEAA and governorates provided that the projects fall under the Governorate Environmental Action Plan (GEAP).

1.2 The Project

• The project targets any of the Fund’s environmental priorities

• The project has to achieve revenues sufficient to recollect the investment cost after a specific time period in order to ensure continuity of operation, maintenance, replacement and renewal.

1.3 Financial Information

• Fund contribution up to 50% of project costs with a maximum contribution per project up to L.E. 350,000
• The applicant’s contribution can be in the form of cash or in-kind contribution.

2. Soft Loans Program

Soft Loans are loans provided by the EPF with lower interest rate than the market.

2.1 The Applicant

Applicants to the soft loan program include any small or medium sized organization that plans to undertake a project within the Fund’s environmental priorities, provided that the applying organization is legally established, and demonstrates seriousness, sound reputation, and capacity for project execution and long-term project sustainability. 

2.2 The Project

• The project targets any of the Fund’s environmental priorities

• Project has to achieve revenues to achieve long term sustainability and be able to meet loan payments

• Approval of the loan by the lending participating bank

2.3 Financial Information

• Loan accounts for 60 to 90 percent of total project cost. Applicant's contribution can be in the form of cash or in-kind contribution.
• Minimum project cost is L.E. 50,000.
• Interest rate is 7% p.a. on the given loan. However, differentiation of interest rates could be applied according to credit risk and/or loan duration.
• Maximum limit for the loan is L.E. 4 million per project.
• The loans are used to fund new and present projects.
• The loan term is maximum 5 years including the grace period.

3. Interest Rate Subsidy Program

The EPF subsidies the interest rate of any commercial loan used to implement environmental projects through the Interest Rate Subsidy program.

3.1 The Applicant

Applicants to the interest rate subsidy program include any small or medium sized organization that plans to undertake a project within the Fund’s environmental priorities, provided that the applying organization is legally established, and demonstrates seriousness, sound reputation, and capacity for project execution and long-term project sustainability. 

3.2 The Project

• The project targets any of the Fund’s environmental priorities

• Project is suitable, feasible and acceptable both financially and environmentally

• Project has to achieve revenues to achieve long term sustainability and be able to meet loan payments

• Approval of the loan by the lending participating bank

3.3 Financial Information

• Loans represents 50-60% from the projects value
• Minimum project cost is 100,000 L.E and maximum cost is 10 million L.E
• EPF contribution = 360,000 L.E with an average of 165,000 L.E per project annually
• EPF provides subsidy of 6% of the bank’s interest rate.
• The loan term is maximum 5 years including the grace period
   

Costs Covered by the Support Programs

(i.e. Grants, Soft Loans and Interest Rate Subsidy)

The funds may be used to finance the purchase of equipment and machinery pertaining to the project. The funds may also be used to cover the operating expenses including power supply, raw materials and training of the project’s administrative and technical units. Other expenditures necessary for the project execution may as well be covered by the funds provided by the EPF such as cost for project design, project implementation.. etc (equivalent to a maximum of 50% from the EPF share). Any other expenditure has to be identified and approved first by the EPF according to the internal procedures. This does not include any taxes or customs imposed.
 

Disbursement Procedures for the Support Programs

• Grants are disbursed in accordance with the project implementation time-schedule.

• Disbursement is conditional on fulfillment of all conditions stated in the contract agreement between the project (project holder) and EEAA (the EPF).

• Funds can be disbursed up to the allocations made in each item. No transfer of cash allocations among the various items is authorized without the EPF’s approval.

• Upon contract agreement and the Fund’s approval, a bank account is opened for the project in one of the banks.

• All receipts and bills pertaining to the various expenditures must be maintained by the project holder. For each payment, the project holder is responsible for submitting to the Fund an original copy of all bills and receipts along with a detailed expenditure statement.

Evaluation and Selection Criteria 

EPF Schedule

The following table is a summary of the EPF schedule for this year and is mainly prepared to serve as an informative tool for the applicants to distinguish in which stage to submit their project and track down the progress of their applications.  

1. Public Awareness Campaign and Submission of Application

The EPF launches a public awareness campaign in the beginning of each year to promote the Fund activities, support programs and environmental priorities selected and approved for the year. The campaign includes advertising in the mass media, participating in environmental conferences and exhibitions and conducting workshops for interested parties to answer any inquires about the Fund's activities.
 
During the awareness campaign, interested parties can apply for funding through filling in and submitting the Project Information Form (PIF) which can be acquired form the EPF Office or online (www.eeaa.gov.eg/epf). Deadlines for submitting applications are set by the EPF to coincide with evaluation and selection schedules. Any PIFs presented after the deadline will not be considered.

2. Evaluation of PIFs

As soon as the PIFs are received, the Fund starts a preliminary evaluation based on the EPF eligibility criteria. The evaluation process takes around 30 days after which the EPF notifies the applicants of rejection or approval. In case of rejection, the applicant will receive a rejection letter from the Fund summarizing the basis for the rejection. In case of approval, the applicant will be requested to fill in a more detailed and descriptive form known as the Projects Application Form (PAF).

The EPF eligibility criteria - upon which the PIFs are evaluated - are as follows:

• Project targets one or more of the environmental fields that address the Fund’s environmental priorities as mentioned above in the environmental priorities.  

• Applicant's institution is a legally registered local entity.

• Applicant demonstrates the availability of own-resources to contribute its share of project cost in accordance with financial conditions established for each support mechanism. 

• Applicant’s institution/organization is of sound reputation (approval of Social Affairs for NGOs, and a no objection of the lending bank for loans).

• Absence of any restrictions such as problems related to the applicant’s current activities or relationship with banks (if applicable).

• Project ensures sustainability after receiving the loan or the grant.

• Commitment to disburse the funds on the allocated items.

• The project data has to include a list of job opportunities which will be provided by the project implementation.

3. EPF technically evaluates the PAFs 

In this stage, the Fund evaluates the received PAFs technically in cooperation with EEAA concerned departments. The PAFs are evaluated according to a scoring system. The scoring scale is based on a set of criteria established by the Fund to reflect the environmental priorities determined for the year. This evaluation process usually takes approximately 2 month before presenting the projects to the FMC. For soft loans and interest rate subsidies, an initial financial assessment will be completed by the Fund, while the final financial and credit assessment will be completed by the participating bank. In the event the bank rejects the project, the Fund will decline its support to the project.

The following table provides an overview for the proposed EPF evaluation standards and scoring system for the PAFs:

4. Presentation and approval of the projects by the Fund Management Committee 

The Fund Management Committee (FMC) is the one responsible for the final selection of the projects which will receive funding from the EPF. The evaluated and scored PAFs are presented to the FMC for approval or rejection. The FMC decisions are usually based on the scores of each project and the EPF management recommendations.

5. Final notification of approval or rejection of project 

Once the FMC decides, the Fund sends out letters of approval or rejection to the applicants. The applicants whose projects are approved will be requested to sign a project contract with the EPF based on the support program under which the project falls.

6. Sign the support agreement with the projects approved by the FMC 

The beneficiaries whose projects are approve by the FMC signs out the support agreement with the Fund in the EPF headquarters.

7. Start giving the funds and project implementation 

In this stage, the EPF starts disbursing the funds for the beneficiaries. In case of the Soft Loans program, the funds will be managed by the participating bank. However, the grants will be managed by the EPF directly as the beneficiary will be required to periodically to submit a progress report describing the project implementation and expenditures.

8. Follow-up and monitor projects implementation

During the project implementation, the EPF conducts field visits so as to follow up and monitor the project. The follow-up process aims at ensuring the disbursement of funds on their allocations as well as ensuring that the project follows the required procedures.