Closing date: 25 Jun 2017
1.0 Scope of Work and Proposal.
1.1 Purpose
DAI Global LLC, the implementer of the “USAID-funded, East Africa Trade and Investment Hub program (the Hub), invites qualified offerors to submit proposals to provide Business Development Services to the 10 finalists of the EAPTC 2017 to help the innovators run their businesses more effectively*,* in fulfillment of the requested specifications detailed in the scope of work below.
1.2 Scope of Work for Services or Technical Specifications
A.Background and Justification
The East Africa Trade and Investment Hub (the Hub) is the U.S. Government’s flagship project under the presidential Trade Africa initiative, launched in 2013 to boost trade and investment with and within Africa. The East Africa Trade and Investment Hub partners with East African and U.S. businesses to attract investment needed to drive economic growth and transform the East African private sector into vibrant global trading partners. The project pursues these goals through four integrated components:
- Policy environment for EAC integration, trade and investment improved and implemented.
- Competitiveness of selected regional agricultural value chains increased.
- Exports and trade promotion, particularly with the U.S. under AGOA, increased.
- Investment and technology transfer between Eastern and Sub‐Saharan Africa and global markets.
The Agriculture and Agribusiness component of the Hub works to increase intra-regional and global trade of agricultural commodities directly contributing to economic growth and consequently to the attainment of Feed the Future outcomes. The Hub’s activities seek to make agricultural and trade enhancing technologies commercially available to East African farmers and agribusinesses, with the purpose of increasing the efficiency of farming operations, reducing post-harvest loses, lowering transaction costs and in general increasing the efficiency of agricultural markets. This is done by assisting home-grown technology developers to cost their products, make manufacturing arrangements, produce comprehensive business plans and present them to private investors
B.Objectives, Tasks, and Deliverables
1.1 Objectives:**
Agriculture is a core sector and pillar in the EAC integration process. The East Africa Community (EAC) has enormous potential, not only to feed itself and eliminate hunger and food insecurity however post-harvest loss continues to negatively impact food security, nutrition and economic stability. Reduction of postharvest loss is an important and viable strategy to ensure food and nutritional security in efficient and sustainable food systems. The good news is that there are proven technologies and strategies to effectively reduce the postharvest losses. However the technologies remain largely under-utilized due to various factors including lack of awareness; unaffordability; and lack of access due to limited distribution among other constraints.
In view of the above, the Hub in partnership with Inter Region Economic Network (IREN) and Syngenta organized the East Africa Postharvest Technologies Competition (EAPTF) 2017 which took place between December 2016 and May 2017. The EAPTF-2017 was a 6 month-long competition process that attracted 249 entries from across East Africa states. The EAPTF-2017 showcased technologies that covered aspects of drying, storage, ICT, logistics and postharvest labor enhancing technologies. The key objective of the EAPTF-2017 was to provide a unique platform for the top East African innovators to showcase and pitch their technologies that offer practical solutions to postharvest handling challenges to potential partners such as development projects, donors, governments, farmers/traders associations, investors among others. Following the competition process one of the main gaps identified is the need for Business Development Services (BDS) for these innovators to help them operate better and grow their businesses. More than ever before, organizations especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are confronted by dynamic and complex business environments resulting in the need for greater efficiency and effectiveness. Therefore the owners and managers of these organizations need to respond to these challenges in order to foster their competitiveness.
1.2 Main tasks:**
This assignment will involve the following tasks;
- Carry out an in depth analysis of the business development needs of the 10 SMEs
- Identify and prioritize the training, development, mentorship support needs for each finalist. Design interventions on how to best offer the business development support as per identified needs for each SME.
- Implement and monitor the program.
- Follow up with the SMEs after the BDS support to keep track of their progress.
1.3 Deliverables:
The indicators below serve as a guide to show the deliverable expected upon award;
- Report highlighting and prioritizing the business development needs of the SMEs.
- Tailored business development plans and technical support designed for each of the 10 firms. The plans should be based on the needs assessment conducted and should include both theoretical and practical training and one-on-one mentorship for each finalist.
- BDS report of the SMEs and identified partners; this should include the training content, mentorship provided, duration of the business development support, lessons learnt and any other relevant information
- Approved post BDS support report including an analysis of the BDS program and overall outcomes of the both the theoretical and practical training, one on one mentorship for the SMEs which is expected to contribute to improved quality of product, increased or new sales, increased access to finance/investment. In the longer term, support the Hub’s monitoring and evaluation team in reviewing the impact of the BDS.
1.4 Call for Expression of Interest
The Hub is therefore looking for a company that can provide Business Development Services to the 10 finalists of the EAPTC 2017 to help the innovators run their businesses more effectively. The BDS will equip the finalist in the areas of;
- Preparation of viable business plans
- Cost reduction
- Profitability
- Quality improvement
- Distribution models
- Intellectual property rights
- Marketing
- Quality assurance
- Access to finance/investment among others
C.Eligibility:
The company/ firm must satisfy the following eligibility criteria:
Legally registered to operate in any of the East African countries specifically Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania (provide evidence for example certificate of registration and business license).
Provide evidence of at least three years of extensive experience in offering BDS in East Africa
Three (3) past client referral letters and/or testimonials for similar training programs: letters must have name of contact person, their email and telephone numbers
Provide CV’s of key staff proposed for this assignment.
Demonstrated understanding of the East African trade and investment environment
D.Work Location
This assignment will cover the EAC member countries of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
E.Period of Performance
The overall assignment will take 3 months, this will be on /around July 01, 2017 to September 30, 2017.
F. Technical Direction
The assignment will be undertaken under the supervision of the Hub’s Director for Agriculture and Agribusiness.
How to apply:
Interested and qualified applicants should submit their applications in PDF (preferred) or other electronic formats on or before Sunday June 25, 2017 at 11.59 pm East African Time to tendersTIH@eatradehub.org.
The longer Request for proposal (RFP) document can be obtained on the Hub’s website: http://www.eatradehub.org/provision_of_business_development_services_for_east_africa_postharvest_technologies_competition_finalists