Polish Challenge Fund
- Thanks to the Polish Challenge Fund project, Belarusian cities received an air quality monitoring system
- Thanks to the Polish Challenge Fund, new technologies are helping to track bisons in Ukraine
- Results of Polish Challenge Fund-BOOST Solutions for COVID-19 for Ukraine and Belarus are announced
- Polish innovations head to developing countries thanks to the Polish Challenge Fund
- How to prepare a successful application for the Polish Challenge Fund Call for Proposals?
- Key information about PCF
- Polish Challenge Fund is joining the multi-donor programme BOOST Solutions for COVID-19 in partnership with UNDP
- Invitation to the webinar "Polish Challenge Fund - Boost Solutions for COVID-19. How to succeed with your Application?"
As recommended by international organisations, including the United Nations (UN) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation (OECD), it is now becoming a standard procedure worldwide to use instruments to engage entrepreneurs in development policy.
The OECD Development Assistance Committee presented Poland with recommendations in this respect as part of the 2017 edition of the so-called Peer Review, a periodic review of development assistance efforts of the OECD DAC members.
Pursuant to the provisions of the agreement signed on 5 December 2019 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub (UNDP IRH), a pilot project titled Polish Challenge Fund (PCF) has been launched.
The project aims to engage Polish companies in development activities in two priority countries of Polish Aid – Ukraine and Belarus.
The main objective of PCF is to facilitate the transfer of Polish know-how, technology, and innovative solutions in the area of green technologies and ICT to partner countries of Polish Aid. The transfer is to help to address complex development challenges in those countries, while taking into account the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
PCF funds will be allocated to Polish entities only (companies as well as science and research institutes) under a grant competition organised by the UNDP IRH. The maximum amount of funding a Polish applicant can be granted to implement a project (i.e. to carry out a feasibility study or a pilot implementation of a product or service) will be USD 40 000. The entities that will receive granting will have to ensure financial or in-kind contribution at 20% of the project value.
Katarzyna Rozesłaniec from the Department of Development Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be the project manager. She has been seconded to the UNDP IRH in Istanbul until the end of 2020.