Global Gateway projects

A funding call for vocational education and training projects has opened this September. The call is part of the EU-funded Team Europe initiative “Opportunity-Driven Vocational Education and Training in Africa” (OP-VET), which aims to improve the ability of vocational education and training to respond to the labour market needs in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The funded projects should strengthen vocational training that responds to concrete employment opportunities created by EU investments in the fields of digitalisation, climate and energy, transport and health.

The call is open to European and African organisations between 6 September and 3 November. The amount of funding offered is EUR 1-2 million, and the duration of the projects is 24 months. More information on the call is published here.

Information sessions for applicants will be held on 12 September (in English), 16 September (in Portuguese), 18 September (in French) and 1 October (in English). Links to participate will be available on the Good Grants platform. For more information on the initiative, please see the Finnish National Agency for Education website or contact OP-VET@giz.de.

The OP-VET initiative is funded by the European Commission and implemented by the Finnish National Agency for Education in cooperation with the Belgian, French and German governmental development agencies.

Angola, Zambia, and the DRC are developing the Lobito transport corridor through a strategic partnership with the EU, the US, the ADB and the AFC.  This transport corridor will connect the southern part of the DRC and the north-western part of the Republic of Zambia to regional and global trade markets via the Port of Lobito in Angola.

As outlined in the recently signed MoU, between the EU its partners, the cooperation will focus on three areas: i) transport infrastructure investments; ii) measures to facilitate trade, economic development and transit; and iii) support to related sectors to fuel inclusive and sustainable economic growth and capital investment in the three African countries in the longer term.

Specifically, and for Finnish companies, this includes:

• developing clean energy projects to increase the power supply to surrounding communities,
• critical raw materials and clean energy sustainable value chain development,
• digital connectivity projects,
• agriculture value chains to enhance local food production,
• TVET and skills development for local workforce,
• support for SMEs and economic diversification,
• and engineering know-how in the form of surveys and planning.

The Lobito Corridor is also linked to the recently signed MoU between EU, DRC, and Zambia on strategic partnerships on critical raw materials value chains. The partnerships allow all sides to advance trade and investments into a secure, sustainable and resilient raw materials value chain, which is key to achieving the transition to climate-neutral and digitalised economies.

For more information, reach out to julian.blom@finnpartnership.fi

• Project: Regional Teachers’ Initiative for Africa
• Funded and implemented by: Team Europe

In early 2023, the European Commission launched a Regional Teachers’ Initiative in Africa. Through the project, the European Union will invest around €100 million in education in Africa. The project aims to improve the quality of education in sub-Saharan Africa by focusing on improving teachers’ working conditions and teacher training. The challenges can be many: the profession of teaching can be unattractive, teachers lack professional development opportunities, resources, competences or support in their work, and initial teacher training may be insufficient in scope or quality.

Finland is actively involved in the project together with France, Germany and Belgium. The Finnish National Agency for Education and in particular the Finnish Centre of expertise in Education and Development (FinCEED) are involved in the design of the project. The Regional Teachers’ Initiative for Africa project will open up opportunities for Finnish organisations that have carried out teacher training projects or done research on teacher training.

Call for proposals for the various projects within the Regional Teachers’ Initiative will open next year. Finnpartnership’s Business Partnership Support enables Finnish organisations to look for potential partners or launch pilot projects already before the call for proposals, providing support and better chances for Finnish actors to participate in the Regional Teachers’ Initiative.

• Project: Inclusive Green Growth – Tsau //Khaeb National Park (HyphenSCDI)
• Funded and implemented by: Team Europe, Hyphen Hydrogen Energy (Hyphen), Germany

Part of Team Europe’s “Inclusive Green Growth” project, German company Hyphen is investing €10 billion in Namibia to produce green hydrogen from wind and solar power. The project is part of a larger Team Europe project to develop access to renewable energy in Namibia. There is a demand for Finnish expertise, particularly in energy and water sectors. You can find more information on the project website.

• Project: Inclusive Green Growth
• Funded and implemented by: Team Europe

Part of Team Europe’s “Inclusive Green Growth” initiative, the project aims to promote responsible sourcing of critical raw materials and sustainable investment throughout the value chain. The project provides good opportunities for Finnish companies working in mining and water sectors. You can find more information about European Commission’s and Namibia’s strategic partnership here and Memorandum of Understanding here.

Namibian mining sector offers diverse market opportunities for Finnish operators. Namibia produces uranium, gold, tin, zinc, copper and battery minerals. In total, the mining sector accounts for about 13% of Namibia’s GDP and more than 60% of the country’s foreign trade earnings. Read more in the overview (in Finnish) written by the Embassy of Finland in Windhoek.

In Uganda several sectors, including infrastructure, mining, health and energy, are providing opportunities for investment and partnerships. Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) has issued a report of bankable projects in the country which gives an overview of how each sector has developed in the recent years.

For example in the minerals sector, companies have developed viable investment projects and are currently looking for partnerships to implement them. In the health sector, the Government of Uganda through the Ministry of Health is seeking private sector investment to increase energy supply in the low rural electrified areas, and to renovate and equip selected hospitals.

For the tourism sector, there has been identified several priority projects to be handled by both public and private sector entities. These include for example establishing the Lake Victoria Tourism circuit to enhance tourism activities and experiences around Entebbe for both domestic and regional visitors, and the construction of Hoima International Airport to essentially support the development and operation of the oil refinery as well as development and production of upstream oil.

A German solar company providing engineering, procurement and construction services is keen to introduce their company to Finnish companies for possible energy solutions they could offer, be it Africa or Latin America. The company is interested in collaboration on large energy projects across Africa with similar/complementary Finnish energy companies. Additionally, the company welcomes partnerships with Finnish infrastructure financiers for the industrial clients for PPA arrangements. Please contact julian.blom@finnpartnership.fi for further details.

Indonesia is planning to move its capital from Jakarta to a new city named Nusantara in East Kalimantan by 2024.  The new capital is expected to relieve pressure on Jakarta, with the aim to build a smart, high tech and green metropolis, run on renewable energy. At the same time, this project will require a huge investment capacity from Indonesia’s government and international communities.

The government of Indonesia is enhancing its collaboration with different international organisations, DFIs and governments, including Finnish government and the Team Finland organisations. Team Finland, including Business Finland, has organised several events to introduce Finnish technologies to the government of Indonesia. The development of Nusantara will welcome international companies in different sectors, such as education, connectivity, health, digitalisation, energy, housing, technology, financial center and development, as well as waste management.

If you are interested to learn more about the process and collaboration opportunities, please contact Huong Phan: huong.phan@finnpartnership.fi.

The Bac Ai energy project (1,200 MW) located in the Ninh Thuan province is the first pumped storage power project in Vietnam. The project aims to contribute to stabilising the national power system and provide power to meet the peak load demand. It enables Vietnam’s energy transition towards increased contributions from renewable energy and thereby reduces dependency on fossil fuels.

The total investment of Bac Ai project is about USD 900 million and co-financed by AFD, EIB, KfW and JICA. The project is currently undergoing due diligence for EDFI’s investment. Once the project has reached sufficient maturity, it will entail a concerted process by all entities involved, led by Vietnam Electricity (EVN). Numerous components of this sizeable investment project will be tendered through open and competitive procedures, both domestic and international, to which European private sector operators would be eligible to contest, directly or in consortium with Vietnamese companies. Finnish companies having relevant technical competence and technologies can contact Finnpartnership for further engagement.