Ethiopia: Consultancy to provide technical assistance for Investing in Women competition management in Ethiopia

CONSULTANCY TO PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR INVESTING IN WOMEN COMPETITION MANAGEMENT IN ETHIOPIA

1.0 The AECF

The Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF) is a development finance institution leading holistic transformation of rural communities in Africa. We seek to alleviate poverty in the continent by unlocking the power of the private sector working in agri-business, renewable energy and gender to impact rural and marginalized communities in order to achieve Sustainable Development Goals. With the vision to build “A Prosperous and Enterprising Rural Africa”, AECF provides high-risk, small and growing businesses with patient, low-cost financing and advisory support services to pilot, refine and scale their operations and ideas. The fund has mobilized US$ 356 million to date along with US$ 658 million in matching capital from the private sector, supporting 268 companies across 26 sub - Saharan African countries, in more than 40 value chains in agribusiness and renewable energy. AECF is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. In the next three years, we are targeting to achieve a cumulative US$ 1 billion in additional beneficiary income; US$ 1 billion in matching funds attracted; 25 million lives positively impacted annually, 50% being women; and 20,000 jobs directly created by funded investees, 70% being youth.

2.0 Investing in Women Funding Window.

The AECF formally announced its commitment to advance women’s economic empowerment through the launch of a new funding window, the Investing in Women Fund, at the 2017 Africa Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. The AECF board sponsored and led a side event, under the theme “Improving the Prosperity of Women in Agribusiness”. The event was organized to increase the appetite for funding of innovative businesses in the agricultural sector, that offer a disproportionately high-impact on women’s empowerment, preferably, through the Challenge Fund Mechanism.

The overarching goal of the Investing in Women Fund is to contribute to the promotion of gender equality, food security and inclusive growth by reducing rural poverty in sub-Saharan Africa through the economic empowerment of women in agribusiness. The AECF will launch the Investing in Women Fund in August 2018 as its flagship fund on gender which seeks to make targeted investments in specific agribusiness value chains in Ethiopia, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone which have a high impact on women. The fund will target investments in agribusiness companies, namely:

 Businesses owned or led by women, preferably with substantive leadership in management;

 Businesses that increase women’s access to and participation throughout the value chain;

 Businesses that create employment opportunities for women;

 Businesses that offer products or services that have a positive impact on women and girls;

AECF seeks a consultant to manage the competition selection process for Ethiopia in conjunction with AECF staff.

3.0 Purpose and deliverables of the Assignment.
Manage the concept note competition selection process for applicants from Ethiopia.

Competition Management

The consultant will be responsible for developing a work plan for providing technical support for the review of the applications from Ethiopia at the concept note stage. The consultant will work with the IIW program team to facilitate the review of applications from the aforementioned countries. The details of the assignment are outlined below:

Concept Note Application Stage

 Receive virtual training on the use of the competition management system and AECF’s competition process.

 Provide technical assistance to applicants for the development of concept notes as needed

 Organise information sessions for technical assistance support to potential applicants in liaison with AECF program team

 Mark business concept note applications submitted by applicants from Ethiopia on the competition application platform against a scoring guideline provided by AECF.

 Provide a short list of successful applicants who will proceed to the Business Plan Stage of the competition.

 Provide feedback to applicants (both successful and unsuccessful) via the AECF competition software platform.

Additional Technical Support

 Provide additional technical support to AECF as required on an ad-hoc basis, e.g. liaison with government officials, donors, etc.

4.0 Outputs and Reporting Requirements.

a) List of successful and unsuccessful applicants at concept note and business plan stages

b) Due diligence reports of companies assessed

c) Justification outline for rejected applicants at the business plan stage

d) One pager summaries of applicants for IRC

5.0 Duration of Service.
The competition management assignment will run for 8 weeks.
The Consultant will be accountable to AECF Portfolio Manager Women in Business. The day-to-day assignment and contact will be managed through a Focal Person – i.e. the Senior Programme Officer- Investing in Women to whom the Consultant will report directly.

6.0 Pricing. The proposed price for this exercise must be fixed, must be VAT inclusive and should be quoted in US dollars. Price should only include the consultant’s fee and not include cost relating to the events or facilities for the event. A detailed schedule of the cost including an explanation of the services included as well as excluded should be provided.

The AECF is obliged by the Kenyan tax authorities to withhold taxes on services fees as well as any applicable VAT. Tenderers are advised to ensure that they have a clear understanding of their tax position with regard to the provisions of Kenyan tax legislation when formulating their proposals. All bids received must be Gross

7.0 Proposal submission Interested and qualified (individual or institutional) consultants are invited to submit their proposal(s) comprising the following:
a) An understanding of the consultancy requirements.

b) Methodology and work plan for performing the assignment.

c) Detailed reference list indicating the scope and magnitude of similar assignments.

d) Relevant services undertaken in the past five (5) years.

e) Registration and other relevant statutory documents (this applies to Institutional consultants).

f) Financial proposal showing clearly the budgeted cost for the work to be conducted by the consultant under the scope of work above.

8.0 Qualifications

g) At least 8 years’ experience in development, management and /or monitoring Agribusiness programmes in Sub Saharan Africa.

h) An in-depth understanding of the Agribusiness sector, including an understanding of the Agribusiness sector in Ethiopia.

i) Experience in managing challenge funds or similar assignments j) Demonstrated capacity to deliver in the timeframe outlined.

k) Fluency in written, spoken English and Amharic.

l) Consultants who are resident in Ethiopia are preferred.

Annexe 1: Evaluation Grid

EVALUATION CRITERIA FORM

RFP: AECF – Competition Management

NAME OF Tenderer:

No. Criteria for Assessment Marks Score

1. Understanding the terms of reference 15
2. Explanation of the background to the sector 5
3. Description of the problem to be solved 5
4. Understanding of what AECF is expecting from the work 5
5. Methodology and work plan 10
6. The relevance of the methodology proposed to the needs of the assignment 5
7. Adequacy of the work plan, including key deliverables and timing 5
8. Technical experience of staff offered 15
9. Relevant tertiary level qualification 2
10. Years of professional experience 3
11. Evidence of similar work done 10
12. Financial Proposal 10
    • The financial proposal within 10
      Total Score 50

To be considered, your application should be submitted to procurement@aecfafrica.org and clearly marked “**Consultancy to provide technical assistance for IIW Competition Management Ethiopia**” must be received by 13th November 2018 by 1200 noon EAT. Alternatively, visit our website through this link:

https://www.aecfafrica.org/index.php/work_with_us/consultancy_to_provide_technical_assistance_for_investing_in_women_competition_management_in_ethiopia