Cav’ Platform, a project of the Goethe-Institut in partnership with the Gauteng Creative Industries Public Sector Steering Committee seeks to support South African Creative Small Enterprises and Creative Non Profit organisations to implement resilient business structures in light of the changes and challenges brought by the COVID 19 pandemic. Eligible enterprises and organisations need to be operating within these sectors: film, music, craft, visual art, animation and gaming

Which activities can be funded?
We aim to support collaborative and interactive activities that will allow Small Enterprises and nonprofit organisations in the fields of film, music, craft, visual art, animation and gaming to implement resilient structures to continue their work during the pandemic

The proposed project ideas must correspond with one of the following goals:

• creative entrepreneurship development
• sustainability
• youth development

Priority will be given to creative Small Enterprises and Non-Profit organisations owned or managed by women
Priority will also be given to activities that have a focus on youth development

This call is intentionally open and poses no restriction towards the format of the project. Innovative proposals, out-of-the-box ideas, and experimental arrangements are encouraged. The grant amount is €22,000 to be awarded per creative social enterprise. The activities need to be implemented between June – October 2021

Eligibility Criteria
Applicants should meet the following criteria to receive support:

• They must be South African registered Small Enterprises and Non-Profit organisation operating within this particular sectors; film, music, craft, visual art, animation and gaming
• Enterprises are considered small enterprises if they have fewer than 50 employees
• They need to have been in operation for a minimum of 3 years
• They must have existing business and operational systems and experience in financial and/or grant management; including a Bank account in the name of the business or organisation, electronic banking system, annual audited financial statements or similar reports, information on experience with bookkeeping system/personnel, procurement and internal and external control systems
• The enterprise or organisation must have been negatively impacted by COVID 19
• Priority will be given to creative Small Enterprises and Non-Profit organisations owned or managed by women
• Priority will also be given to activities that have a focus on youth development

SELECTION AND GRANT AWARDING PROCESS
A jury panel comprising of representatives from the partner organisation, the Gauteng Creative Industries Public Sector Steering Committee and external experts in Culture Creative Industries (CCI) Management and Entrepreneurship, will access and select the creative Small Enterprises and Non-Profit organisations to be awarded the grant. This process will be steered by the Cav’ Platform Project Manager

The selection process will be as follows:

• Submission of the application with all related documentation
• Long-listing of applications that fulfil the criteria
• Adjudication of the long-list by the jury panel
• Awarding and contracting of grants by Cav’ Platform
• The grant contract will include the planned activities, their timeframe as well as correlating budget
• Final beneficiaries will be selected by 31. May 2021.

How are the applications evaluated?
The jury panel will evaluate the long-listed applications based on the following selection criteria:

Relevance of the project
What needs does the project address?
How critical are these needs and the proposal to the current situation in the relevant sector and/or region?
How relevant are the activities in connection to creative entrepreneurship development or sustainability or youth development?
How innovative is the project idea? The activities applied for must show innovative ways of operating a business or organisation, which will be a positive departure from the standard operations.

COVID 19
This is to ascertain the level of impact COVID 19 has had on the enterprise.
How is the project adaptable to COVID 19 restrictions?

Budget in relation to timeline
Does the budget correspond to the planned scope of theproject?
Is the proposed budget accurate, credible, and realistic?
Do the planned costs correspond to the project activities?

Capacity
Do the applying institutions have relevant experience and/or skills in implementing projects in the field, and if yes, how successful was it?
Does the applicant have the capacity or access to expertise to implement the project?

Accommodation of Priorities
Is the enterprise women owned/lead?
Is the target group youth?

About Cav’ Platform
As Cav’ Creative Economies Platform, we aim to be a catalyst for furthering, enabling and improving income-generating opportunities for creative entrepreneurs through access to: skills-training, mentorship, relevant information, networks, networking opportunities, market/showcasing opportunities.
Cav’ Creative Economies is a Goethe-Institut initiative that comprises the two projects Cav’ Platform and Cav’ Township. The programme aims to contribute to the creative and cultural industries in South Africa, through enabling creative organisations and small businesses towards income generation. https://www.goethe.de/prj/cap/en/index.html

About Gauteng Creative Industries Public Sector Steering Committee
This is a body facilitated by the Gauteng Department of Economic Development aimed at addressing the lack of coordination amongst the various government department and tiers of government, supporting the Creative Industry. It is a communication channel between government and the Industries represented (music, film, craft/visual art, fashion, animation/gaming) for better coordination of services.

On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the GIZ
(Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) and the Goethe-Institut promote the
emerging market of cultural and creative industries in Africa and in the Middle East.