Contract Conditions for Granting Subsidies through the WIDU Platform (https://widu.africa)
0. Legal Basis Scope of Contract
These contract conditions apply to all Subsidies that are granted through the WIDU Platform operated by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (‘GIZ’). The Subsidy Provider is always GIZ. Thus, to the extent that ‘WIDU’ is used in the following, the legal relationship is with GIZ as the subsidy provider. The terms and conditions for users of the WIDU Platform and the rules on data protection apply in addition to these contract conditions.
1. Definitions
For the purposes of this Contract, the following terms shall have the meanings set out below. These definitions apply equally to the singular and plural forms of the terms.
WIDU Platform: The online platform accessible at www.widu.africa, operated by GIZ, which facilitates the application, administration, and monitoring of Subsidies granted under the WIDU Programme.
WIDU Programme or WIDU: The GIZ programme operating under the trademark “WIDU”, commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), which aims to strengthen micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) by leveraging private contributions from members of the African diaspora.
Subsidy or WIDU Grant: The financial contribution awarded by GIZ to the Recipient under the conditions of this Contract.
Diaspora Donor: A natural person residing outside the participating African countries who provides a private financial contribution to the Recipient for the purpose of implementing a WIDU Project.
Private Investment: Financial contribution of Diaspora Donor as well as the Recipient towards the WIDU Project.
WIDU Project: The specific business support initiative submitted by the Recipient, identifiable through the unique WIDU Project ID.
Project Implementation Period: The period during which the Recipient implements the WIDU Project. This includes the implementation of the Private Investment (where applicable) as well as the WIDU Grant.
Contribution Period: The period during which the Recipient must invest the WIDU Grant according to the Investment plan submitted on the WIDU Platform and approved by GIZ.
Investment Plan: The brief, structured business and investment proposal submitted on the WIDU Platform, detailing the purpose, budget, and timeline of the WIDU Project, including the intended use of the Subsidy.
Business Coach: A business expert contracted by GIZ to provide advisory support to the Recipient and to verify project progress and compliance with the conditions of this Contract.
2. WIDU Grant
The Subsidy shall be provided as a disbursement for the implementation of the WIDU Project submitted by the Recipient via the WIDU Platform. The disbursement covers the Contribution Period and is based on the Investment Plan. The Recipient is required to immediately inform GIZ if they risk to no longer achieve the project objective as indicated in the project description. The Recipient is also required to inform GIZ if their company is at risk of dissolution.
The WIDU Grant can take one of three forms: the Original WIDU Grant, the WIDU Rapid Response Grant, or the WIDU Local Call Grant. The Original WIDU Grant is continuously open to applications on the WIDU platform, whereas the WIDU Rapid Response Grant and the WIDU Local Calls are only available for limited time periods.
A Recipient may receive up to three consecutive Subsidies in the form of the Original WIDU Grant in total. In addition, the Recipient can receive one Rapid Response Subsidy and one Local Call Grant.
2.1 Original WIDU Grant
In the Original WIDU Grant, the amount is based on the financial contribution by the Diaspora Donor entered in EUR, which is converted into the respective African local currency using the monthly exchange rate officially indicated by the European Commission in the month the project application is created on the WIDU Platform. This amount in local currency defines the maximum WIDU Grant amount. In cases of strong currency fluctuation or differing country-specific regulations of GIZ, exceptions from this rule may occur.
The Recipient must provide proof that the Diaspora Donor’s funds were received and invested. The same amount must be matched through an own contribution by the Recipient.
In the first round of funding: The combined investment of Diaspora Donor and Recipient must total at least EUR 300 and shall not be more than EUR 3,000. The WIDU Grant covers 50% of the total investment, while the remaining 50% is equally funded by the Recipient and the Diaspora Donor (ratio 1 : 1 : 2, meaning Recipient : Diaspora Donor : WIDU).
In the second and third round of funding: Once an entrepreneur, who has already received support through the Original WIDU Grant, applies for a second or third round, the funding scheme in a ratio of 1:1:1 applies (Recipient : Diaspora Donor : WIDU). The combined investment of Diaspora Donor and Recipient must total at least EUR 1,000 and shall not be more than EUR 10,000.
2.2 WIDU Rapid Response Grant
For the WIDU Rapid Response Grant no proof of prior investment payment from Recipient is required. The prerequisite is that the company has already existed for at least one year, thus, previous investments are presumed. Additionally, the project proposal must contain a clear and comprehensible reference to a response measure addressing a specific crisis, such as the COVID pandemic, predefined by WIDU.
2.3 WIDU Local Call Grant
For the Local Call Grant, the Recipient applies without any involvement of a Diaspora Donor. The funding scheme in a ratio of 1:2.5 (Recipient : WIDU) applies. The contribution of the recipient shall not be less than EUR 500, while the maximum Subsidy amount is EUR 5,000. Each Local Call is dedicated to a thematic area or target group that must be central to the Recipient’s business purpose.
3. Eligibility Conditions and Disbursement Modalities
Upon application for the Subsidy and submission of all necessary documents listed below by the Recipient, GIZ shall decide at its sole discretion whether to approve the Subsidy, taking into account the development policy objectives of WIDU. The Subsidy amount shall be determined based on the Private Investments made and documented by the Recipient (does not apply to the Rapid Response Grant). The following mandatory criteria must be met before a decision on the Subsidy is made:
documented existence and identification of the Recipient (and the Diaspora Donor where applicable) and key project elements as presented in the project proposal on the WIDU Platform;
Evidence of financial transaction/s from the Diaspora Donor in the form of digital receipts for the Original WIDU Grant;
Evidence of Private Investment in the form of digital receipts (does not apply to the Rapid Response Grant);
GIZ’s sanctions list check shows no results;
the Recipient’s business employs up to 20 persons;
the submitted WIDU project must directly promote development cooperation objectives.
For the purpose of verifying the above, GIZ may engage Business Coaches to conduct one or more onsite visits to the Recipient’s business. The findings of these visits shall be documented on the WIDU Platform. In addition, GIZ may deploy auditors to validate and verify all relevant information.
The Contract shall come into effect following a positive grant decision by GIZ communicated to the Recipient as well as a Contract confirmation by the Recipient in text form. The Subsidy is provided as an advance payment for the remaining measures described in the Investment Plan.
The Subsidy shall be paid to the Recipient’s mobile banking number, personal or registered business bank account, or as a personal payment to the Recipient in the form of cash or cheque by a GIZ office.
The WIDU Grant is disbursed in two tranches. The first tranche of 90% is disbursed as an advance payment after approval by GIZ. The remaining 10% shall be disbursed once the 90% have been documented with receipts on the WIDU Platform. They cover administrative costs of the supported business and thus require no further documentation.
4. Fund Utilization and Documentation by the Recipient
The Subsidy is intended exclusively for payment of the measures described on the WIDU Platform and approved by GIZ. The Recipient must use the WIDU Grant within the Contribution Period. Costs incurred outside the Contribution Period are not eligible.
The Recipient shall provide evidence that the funds provided have been used for the stipulated purpose by uploading a project report and the following supporting documentation to the WIDU Platform:
a) photos of the businesses site, investment receipts;
b) an internally generated and personally confirmed online schedule of expenditures (with reference to the Investment Plan);
c) commercial invoices relating to expenditures, evidence that services have been performed and payments made, which the Recipient has checked and signed as factually correct. The Recipient shall keep these original documents for five years after the end of the Contribution Period.
The Recipient must submit the project report and the supporting documentation by uploading it to the WIDU platform no later than two months after the end of the Contribution Period or following early termination of this Contract.
GIZ is entitled to grant the third parties mentioned in Section 5 simple sub-rights of use free of charge, with particular regard to the reports, studies and documents, in fulfilment of its public-benefit purpose as stated in its articles of association.
5. Cooperation with Business Coaches, auditors and other third parties
For the purpose of verifying the proper use of the investments and the accuracy of the information provided, GIZ may engage independent Business Coaches. Besides their role in coaching the Recipient, these Business Coaches may, inter alia:
verify the identity of the Recipient, including via photos taken during the onsite visit and made available to GIZ;
verify the existence and operation of the business;
inspect and document (including by taking photos and making them available to GIZ) the investment items financed under the WIDU Project, and
review the evidence of expenditures and other relevant records.
The Recipient shall grant the Business Coaches reasonable access to its business premises, project sites, and relevant records, and shall cooperate fully with such verifications. The findings documented by the Business Coaches on the WIDU Platform form part of the basis for GIZ’s decision on the disbursement of the Subsidy.
Additionally, external audits may be conducted in which case Recipients shall cooperate with the mandated auditors and provide them with adequate access.
Furthermore, the Recipient enables GIZ, GIZ's Commissioning Party or GIZ's third-party funding providers (if such exist) and other representatives (e. g. German or European Federal Court of Auditors) to inspect the books and all other records and documents relevant to the implementation of the Project and the audit of the proper use of funds at any time and to visit the facilities required for this purpose
6. Compliance
a) Sanctions and Trade Restrictions
The Recipient shall not make available, neither directly nor indirectly, any funds or other economic resources from the GIZ Subsidy to third parties that are on a sanctions list of the United Nations and/or the EU. In the framework of their WIDU Project, the Recipient may enter into contractual or business relations and maintain such relations only with third parties that are reliable and to whom no statutory ban on doing business or entering into contracts applies. Furthermore, the Recipient shall comply with any embargoes or any other trade restrictions issued by the United Nations, the EU, and the Federal Republic of Germany in the framework of implementation of the WIDU Project.
b) Anti-Corruption, Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism
The Recipient must not, directly or indirectly, offer, promise, give, request or accept any undue advantage in connection with this Contract. The Recipient must not use any part of the WIDU Grant to support corruption, fraud, money laundering, the financing of terrorism or any other illegal purpose. The Recipient must avoid conflicts of interest in connection with this Contract.
c) Environmental and Social Standards
The Recipient shall use the WIDU Grant funds lawfully and respect basic standards in the project: no child or forced labour, no violence, no abuse or exploitation of any kind, no sexual harassment, no incitement to violence or hate, and no unjustified discrimination; and take reasonable, proportionate steps to avoid environmental harm and, where feasible, minimise greenhouse-gas emissions and promote gender equality.
d) Notification of breach
The Recipient shall promptly notify GIZ of any serious incident or breach of this Article 6. Serious incident means any allegations that are credible enough to warrant an investigation and are directly linked to the WIDU Project. Upon request by GIZ, the Recipient shall provide all available information concerning such allegations, including information on the subsequent measures taken. The rights of GIZ under Section 8 remain unaffected.
7. Force Majeure and Limitation of Liability
Force majeure is an unavoidable event (e. g. natural disaster, outbreak of disease or epidemic, serious unrest, war or terrorism) that no human foresight or experience could anticipate, that cannot be evaded or overcome applying reasonable efforts and utmost care and that constitutes an impediment to GIZ and/or the Recipient fulfilling their contractual obligations. Neither GIZ nor the Recipient shall be liable for failing to perform their obligations arising from this contract if they are impeded by force majeure in the fulfilment of such obligations, provided that the party affected by such an event has taken all appropriate precautionary measures, due care and appropriate alternative measures with the aim of fulfilling its obligations under this contract to the extent possible. Any party affected by an event as defined in this section must give notice to the other party of the impediment and its effect on its ability to perform as soon as possible.
8. Withholding and cancellation of disbursement, repayment of the Subsidy
GIZ is entitled to suspend or cancel disbursement of the Subsidy in part or in full if an event occurs that is detrimental to the Contract. In particular, such an event occurs when:
the Recipient is unable to provide evidence of the use of the Subsidy for the purpose laid down in this Contract;
the Recipient fails to use or no longer uses items purchased for the WIDU Project and financed from the Subsidy for the purposes of this Contract;
the Recipient reverses or refunds the investment payments that the Recipient and the Diaspora Donor have made which serve as the basis for the Subsidy;
the Recipient has breached other significant terms of this Contract;
the Recipient has made false statements or withheld relevant information prior to conclusion of the Contract or during implementation of the WIDU Project, if and to the extent that GIZ would not have awarded the Subsidy or would not have made one or more disbursements if the statements had been correct or the relevant information had been received;
exceptional circumstances (e.g. force majeure as defined under Section 7) arise that seriously jeopardise or entirely prevent achievement of the purpose of the Subsidy, the implementation of the WIDU Project or the fulfilment of the obligations entered in this Contract by the Recipient; or
the commissioning party and/or the third-party funding provider terminates, suspends or modifies the relevant agreement with GIZ that forms the basis for this Contract.
Payment of the Subsidy shall be ceased upon withdrawal. In the cases of Sections 8 a. to g, payments that have already been made must be repaid to GIZ.
GIZ is furthermore entitled to terminate this Contract in part or in full with immediate effect if any of the events set out in Article 8 a) to g) occur. If any of the events set out in Article 8 a) to e) occur, GIZ is entitled to terminate the Contract with immediate effect if the situation is not corrected within a period to be defined by GIZ; this period must not be less than 30 days. If the events set out in Section Article 8 f) or 8 g) occur, there is no requirement for such a period to be set by GIZ.
After termination of this Contract and upon demand from GIZ, the Recipient must immediately repay to GIZ the unused funds from the Subsidy for which there are no further liabilities of the Recipient within the meaning of this Contract. This also includes all earnings and returned funds.
If the event set out in 8 a) occurs, the Recipient must repay not only the unused funds from the Subsidy but also such funds as have not demonstrably been used correctly by it for the purpose set out in the Contract.
If the event set out in 8 b) occurs, the Recipient must repay not only the unused funds from the local contribution but also those funds that have been used for the items in question.
9. Final provisions
Should individual provisions of this Contract be or become invalid, will it not affect the validity of all other provisions under the Contract. In this event, GIZ and the Recipient must replace any such invalid provision with a valid provision that best reflects the meaning and purpose of the invalid provision.
Supplements and amendments to this Contract must be made in text form in order to be valid, in the form of an amendment to the Contract. In particular, a change is considered ‘material’ if a change in scope, structure, concept, cost category or objective of the Project results in the purpose or benefit of the Project being fundamentally affected.
Changes to the Investment Plan are possible on the WIDU Platform without a contract amendment. Material Changes require prior approval by GIZ via e-mail.
10. Place of Jurisdiction
This Agreement is governed by German law.
The place of jurisdiction is Frankfurt am Main if the Recipient is a merchant, a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law or does not have a general place of jurisdiction in the Federal Republic of Germany. GIZ may also bring legal action against the Recipient before the competent court at the location of the Recipient’s registered office.