Women's funding-get it while you can
With the country's accession to the European Union, where a fair amount of deference is given to women's issues, it was only a matter of time before we started seeing some new efforts in Poland. Among the first of these, the Ministry of the Economy and Labor recently issued an ordinance that applies only to women. For all you male readers out there, feel free to read on, but realize that no amount of imitation, including attempting to join the Trokadero ballet troupe or casting for a sequel to Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, will qualify you.
The Ordinance of September 21, 2004 on Specific Conditions and Manner of Providing to Women De Minimis Funding to Start Their Own Economic Activity establishes a framework to assist women in establishing their own business activity. The Ordinance is not ground-breaking, nor does it address any of the endemic issues, such as glass ceilings, that have plagued women in business. It does, however, provide a source of aid to start-up enterprises in a country where small businesses can find it difficult to obtain funding.
Eligibility
Despite the breadth of the title, the ordinance is limited to women who have been out of the mainstream workplace for a variety of reasons. To be eligible for this aid, a woman would need to meet one of the following criteria:
- unemployed;
- unskilled or if skilled, her qualifications have become invalid;
- returning to the workplace after taking child care or other care leave; or
- resident of the countryside or a town or village of less than 5,000 inhabitants.
In other words, the aid is meant to help women take themselves off the unemployment rosters or get back into the market.
The other eligibility requirement relates to the amount of money available. As an American, I find that EU definitions can be interesting and sometimes counter-intuitive. A prime example is the term "de minimis" in the title of the ordinance. To me, de minimis (one of those Latin terms we lawyers love) when used in association with money means pocket change. In the ordinance, this trifling amount is E100,000. In all fairness, this is the maximum amount of aid that a beneficiary may receive over a three-year period.
Procedures
The ordinance is laconic about the use of the funding, but has a lot to say about the procedures to obtain funding. Actually, the ordinance has much more to say about the bureaucracy of the process than the aid offered.
If a woman is interested in obtaining this aid, she must file an application to an 'implementing institution'. An implementing institution may be any of a number of entities, including employers, local administrative authorities, educational institutions, and professional and psychological help centers. Of course, these entities must have gone through the appropriate bureaucratic procedures to become an implementing institution.
Assuming that the application is accepted, our beneficiary would then sign an agreement in which it would be specified how the aid is to be used. Also, every beneficiary of this aid must agree to maintain all relevant documents for 10 years after the grant, provide information to and allow authorized officials to review these documents, and certify whether she has received any other aid in the last three years (remember that de minimis limit?).
Timing
Got those pencils out, ready to start filling out paperwork? Well, put them back for a while. The ordinance came into effect less than a month ago, on October 28, 2004. Don't sit back too long, however, the ordinance will expire in two years, on December 31, 2006.
Judith Gliniecki is a partner with Rymar i Wspólnicy Sp. k.
The Ordinance of September 21, 2004 on Specific Conditions and Manner of Providing to Women De Minimis Funding to Start Their Own Economic Activity establishes a framework to assist women in establishing their own business activity. The Ordinance is not ground-breaking, nor does it address any of the endemic issues, such as glass ceilings, that have plagued women in business. It does, however, provide a source of aid to start-up enterprises in a country where small businesses can find it difficult to obtain funding.
Eligibility
Despite the breadth of the title, the ordinance is limited to women who have been out of the mainstream workplace for a variety of reasons. To be eligible for this aid, a woman would need to meet one of the following criteria:
- unemployed;
- unskilled or if skilled, her qualifications have become invalid;
- returning to the workplace after taking child care or other care leave; or
- resident of the countryside or a town or village of less than 5,000 inhabitants.
In other words, the aid is meant to help women take themselves off the unemployment rosters or get back into the market.
The other eligibility requirement relates to the amount of money available. As an American, I find that EU definitions can be interesting and sometimes counter-intuitive. A prime example is the term "de minimis" in the title of the ordinance. To me, de minimis (one of those Latin terms we lawyers love) when used in association with money means pocket change. In the ordinance, this trifling amount is E100,000. In all fairness, this is the maximum amount of aid that a beneficiary may receive over a three-year period.
Procedures
The ordinance is laconic about the use of the funding, but has a lot to say about the procedures to obtain funding. Actually, the ordinance has much more to say about the bureaucracy of the process than the aid offered.
If a woman is interested in obtaining this aid, she must file an application to an 'implementing institution'. An implementing institution may be any of a number of entities, including employers, local administrative authorities, educational institutions, and professional and psychological help centers. Of course, these entities must have gone through the appropriate bureaucratic procedures to become an implementing institution.
Assuming that the application is accepted, our beneficiary would then sign an agreement in which it would be specified how the aid is to be used. Also, every beneficiary of this aid must agree to maintain all relevant documents for 10 years after the grant, provide information to and allow authorized officials to review these documents, and certify whether she has received any other aid in the last three years (remember that de minimis limit?).
Timing
Got those pencils out, ready to start filling out paperwork? Well, put them back for a while. The ordinance came into effect less than a month ago, on October 28, 2004. Don't sit back too long, however, the ordinance will expire in two years, on December 31, 2006.
Judith Gliniecki is a partner with Rymar i Wspólnicy Sp. k.
