Business Plan Preparation Brokers (26 Positions)

CULTURE COMMERCIALIZATION (AGCOM) PROJECT

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST
(CONSULTING SERVICES – INDIVIDUAL SELECTION)
COUNTRY: MALAWI
NAME OF PROJECT: FOOD SECURITY AND RESILIENCE PROGRAM (FSRP)
CONTRACT TITLE: BUSINESS PLAN PREPARATION BROKERS (26 POSITIONS)

GRANT NUMBER: IDA-E1840
REFERENCE NO.: MW-MOA-376229-CS-INDV
DATE OF ISSUE: 13TH JANUARY,202

BACKGROUND

The Government of the Republic of Malawi has received financing from the World Bank toward the cost of the Food Systems and Resilience Program (FSRP) and it intends to apply part of the proceeds for consulting services.

The consulting services (“the Services”) include Business Plan Preparation Consultants as individual consultants who shall work with the Producer Organisations (POs), and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the development of detailed business plans based on the Productive Alliance (PA) approach.

The Ministry of Agriculture now invites eligible and interest individuals to indicate their interest for the Business Plan Preparation Consultants. Interested individual consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services. The detailed Terms of Reference (TORs) for the assignment are set out below:

SCOPE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The Business Plan Preparation (BPP) Consultants will work with POs and SMEs in the development of detailed business plans based on the Productive Alliance (PA) approach. The MFSRP will assign the BPP Consultants to work with potential POs and SMEs depending on the availability of Productive Alliances (PAs).

The BPP Consultants will follow the guidelines and procedures of the MFSRP Matching Grants in the development of the business plans. The submission of the business plans will comply with the standard format and within the agreed deadlines. PIU will provide technical backstopping during the assignment based on the shared workplans submitted by the BPP Consultants in the inception reports.

The Business Plan Preparation Consultants will be recruited in a competitive process and will be reporting to the Agribusiness Specialist in the PIU. Apart from the business plans, the BPP Consultants will be required to submit field reports from the data collection exercise with the PA members.

TASKS AND EXPECTED DELIVERABLES

The BPP Consultants will comply with the MFSRP Matching Grants procedures when preparing the business plans. The business plans and other deliverables e.g. field reports will be submitted with the agreed deadline. PIU will conduct on- site monitoring during this period. Each BPP Consultant will send the workplans to PIU for effective monitoring.

The BPP Consultant will carry out the specific tasks below:

a) First meeting and data collection. The BPP Consultant will carry out a field visit to interface with the PA members. During the first visit to the PA, the BPP Consultant will collect information from the PA to complete the technical, financial and safeguards sections in the business plan template. The Consultant will submit a field activity report after the exercise.
b) First business plan draft. The BPP Consultant will prepare the draft business plan from the information collected from the PA immediately after the field visit.
c) Second field visit and PA meeting. The BPP Consultant will present the first draft business plan to the PA members. During this meeting, the PA members will review and provide feedback on the draft business plan. Subsequently, the BPP Consultant will collect any remaining information to finetune the final draft. PIU will backstop the business plan development exercise. The BPP Consultant will be required to submit an activity report on the field visits, the attendance and pictorial records.
d) Final business plan. The BPP Consultant will revise the business plan based on the comments/ feedback from the PA applicants. The BPP Consultants will send the final copy of the business plan to the PA to sign off and submit to PIU.
e) Evaluation of the Business plan: the business plan will be reviewed at two levels. First, there will be screening for safeguards followed by a technical and financial review by the Independent Evaluation Committee (IEC).
f) Feedback on the business plan: PIU will consolidate feedback on the business plan from the IEC to the BPP Consultant for action.
g) Handover of the Business Plan to Matching Grants awardees: AGCOM PIU will organize a meeting to facilitate the handing over of the business plan to the Matching Grant awardees. The meeting will involve the BPP Consultant, the TIS Consultant assigned to the PA, the field staff from the District Council and Agriculture Office and members of the PA.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

The interested applicants should meet the following minimum qualifications:

i. Master’s degree in Agriculture, Agribusiness, Agricultural Economics, Economics, Business Accountancy or Business Administration with at least 5 years work experience in Agribusiness or a Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture, Agribusiness, Agricultural Economics, Economics, Accounting or Business Administration with at least 10 years work experience in Agribusiness Development;
ii. At least five (5) years of experience working on similar projects with an emphasis on building community-based organizations (e.g. cooperatives, producer associations, and marketing associations), value chain and enterprise development;
iii. Experience and skills in working with the private sector;
iv. Extensive knowledge of value chain development;
v. Excellent facilitation, communication and writing skills;
vi. Experience in working with rural communities, farmer organizations and Cooperatives;
vii. Demonstrated experience with gender mainstreaming in agriculture projects;
viii. Experience in leading and building the capacity of farmer organizations, SMEs and field-based staff;
ix. Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including demonstrated advanced ICT skills;
x. Previous experience in World Bank-funded agricultural/agribusiness development programs.

LOCATION OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The assignment shall cover all the twenty-eight (28) districts of Malawi. Each Business Plan Preparation Consultant will be assigned to one district and region to operate.

DURATION OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The duration of the assignment is twelve (12) months subject to annual renewal based on satisfactory performance.

SELECTION METHOD

The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to Section III, paragraphs, 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers” of November 2020 (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest.

A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Individual Consultant (INDV) selection method set out in the Procurement Regulations.

Expressions of interest with a detailed Curriculum Vitae (CV) and copies of supporting qualification documents, including names of three traceable referees must be delivered in a written form to the address below (in person, or by mail, or by e-mail)

NOT later than 27th January, 2025

Address for submission by email is [email protected]

The Chairperson
Internal Procurement and Disposal Committee
Ministry of Agriculture
Agricultural Commercialisation (AGCOM) Project,
Off Paul Kagame Road – Opposite MRA Domestic Taxes Offices,
P.O. Box 727,
Lilongwe, MALAWI