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Four co-financing grant schemes under the Private Sector Development Programme, totalling around €18m, have been financed by the European Union to date, one managed by UNDP, and three directly managed by the European Commission (EC). Under the three grant programmes directly managed by the EC, a total of 101 SMEs and business associations have been supported.
The focus of EU support under the grant schemes is the provision of new equipment and machinery, and specialised consultancy services for existing and start-up enterprises. Investments in new technologies particularly relate to the strengthening of the information and communications technology (ICT) sector in areas such as e-business, trade portals, exports on line, ICT products; the introduction of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies with a concentration on solar energy; and the introduction of quality and environment standards (ISO EN 9000 and 14000 series). Other technology areas include food processing, cold storage and waste water treatment. A strong focus of the ongoing third SME grant scheme is to support private sector job creation and enhance SME skills.