Consultancy Services for Green Economy Finance Facility Lebanon: Phase I and II

Item Description:

Building on the success of EBRD programme “Pilot GEFF Lebanon Programme”, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the EBRD or the Bank) is considering launching a larger programme – Green Economy Financing Facility Lebanon (“GEFF Lebanon” or “the Facility”). GEFF Lebanon will provide financing of up to USD 200 million for GET investments in line with the EBRD methodology and approach to intermediated financing of sustainable energy and resource efficiency technologies and in line with donor requirements/specific eligibility criteria. GEFF Lebanon will provide financing in the form of senior unsecured loans to Participating Financial Institutions (“PFIs”). These loans shall be dedicated to finance private sector sub-borrowers in Lebanon for investment in green technologies and services supporting Green Economy Transition (“GET technologies and services”).

It is envisaged that the GEFF Lebanon will be implemented in 2 phases as follows:
• Phase 1 would be a follow up on the Pilot GEFF Lebanon Programme combining the EBRD funding with expected concessional funding from donors (up to USD 100 million in total). Phase 1 is expected to be launched in late 2019 or early 2020 and it is expected that 2 PFIs will participate.
• Phase 2 would combine the EBRD funding of up to USD 100 million with incentive payments to end-borrowers. It is expected to be launched in second half of 2020 through 2-3 PFIs. The eligibility criteria for the second phase may differ from the first phase with incentives potentially used to target harder-to-reach market sectors or more innovative, high performance technologies.

Assignment Description:

EBRD intends to select and contract a consulting company (the Consultant) for the assignment and to enter into a Framework Contract with one Consultant to deliver professional consultancy services for the Facility as the Project Consultant for Phase 1 and 2 (the Assignment).

Individual Call-offs: Individual sub-assignments are envisaged to follow the progress of phases of implementation of the Facility.

The expected outcome of the Assignment is to transfer strategic know-how and raise awareness about modern energy performance standards to contribute to the creation of a demand-driven, self-sustaining market for investments in high performance technologies and services supporting a green economy The specific objective is to support all aspects of the implementation of the Lebanon Green Economy Financing Facility (the “Facility”), from preparation to successful implementation and sub-project verification.

The selected Consultant is expected to provide the following services:

• Support the implementation of Phase 1 of the Facility, resulting in a portfolio of eligible Sub-projects.
• Support the EBRD in preparation and implementation of Phase 2 of the Facility, resulting in a portfolio of eligible Sub-projects.
• Verify and confirm that Sub-projects financed by each Sub-loan (“Sub-projects”) have been completed substantially in line with eligibility requirements of the Facility. In Phase 2 it is expected that an independent (and separate to the Project Consultant) Verification Consultant will be engaged (subject to a separate procurement process ).

Facility Consultant will be expected to:

• Ensure successful Facility inception;
• Ensure that the PFIs are on boarded successfully, including training and capacity building, product development, marketing and project origination;
• Support the sub-project Lifecycle, including sub-project eligibility determination, Verification of sub-projects;
• Ensure the correct tracking, monitoring and reporting of the Facility Data and sub-projects.

Consultant Selection Procedure: Two stage open competitive selection. Interested firms or groups of firms seeking to be shortlisted for the assignment are invited to submit expressions of interest.

Assignment Start Date and Duration: The Assignment Phase 1 is expected to start in Q4 2019 – Q1 2020 and has an estimated overall duration of 36 months. Phase 2 is expected to start in Q4 2020 and has an estimated overall duration of 36 months (subject to availability of donor funding). Total estimated duration for the Consultancy is 48 months. The Consultant will be engaged via a Framework Contract with a validity of up to four years with separate call-offs issued under the Framework for individual Phases of implementation.

Cost Estimate for the Assignment: EUR 5,143,320.00 (exclusive of VAT) covering both Phase 1 and 2. It is envisaged that Phase 1 will be contracted in the first instance in one or more call-offs following the progress of the Programme.

Subject to availability of funding, the performance of the selected Consultant and the specific needs of the Bank the Contract may be extended in time and budget beyond the current scope.

The Consultant must determine whether any VAT would be chargeable on the services and the basis for that determination, without taking into consideration the special status of the Bank as an IFI and state this to the Bank in their response to the Invitation for Expressions of Interest. To the extent that a Consultant incurs input VAT on goods and services purchased in connection with the provision of services (e.g. VAT on airline ticket) which is not otherwise recoverable by the consultant from the local tax authority, the gross cost to the consultant of such expenses shall be treated as a reimbursable expense.

Funding Source: It is anticipated that the contract will be financed through the EBRD’s donor funded Technical Cooperation Funds Programme. Please note that selection and contracting will be subject to the availability of funding.

Eligibility: There are no eligibility restrictions based on Consultant’s nationality.

Consultant Profile: Corporate services are required. The Consultant will be a firm or a group of firms preferably with previous project experience related to:

1. implementation of comparable or relevant assignments related to financial product development, marketing, project appraisal and pipeline/portfolio of projects development, in cooperation with financial institutions and private sector businesses;
2. implementation of assignments related to transfer of climate change mitigation and adaptation technologies and solutions – energy and water efficiency, renewable energy technologies – in any of the agricultural-, industrial and commercial-, and the residential sector;
3. implementation of national regulations, global standards or best practices in relation to agricultural machinery and practices, energy performance of buildings, appliances and process equipment; in relation to energy/water/resource efficiency and/or renewable energy;
4. implementation of similar assignmentsin countries of North Africa and Middle East.

The Consultant’s expert team is expected to include key experts as follows:

1. Project Manager: preferably with previous professional experience as follows:

• preferably 15 years’ experience in project management;
• international technical experience in industrial/agricultural/building/residential/corporate EE and/or RE including related EE and RE financing schemes;
• experience in project implementation planning;
• fluent spoken and written English is essential; and
• knowledge of Arabic language would be an advantage.

2. Financial/Economic Expert(s): preferably with previous professional experience as follows:

• preferably 10 years’ experience as corporate finance expert, bank loan officer or economist with specialisation in financial analysis (including capital investment appraisal),
• experience in financial structuring of cash flow-based lending projects;
• fluent spoken and written English is essential for the expert(s) serving as PFI relationship managers; and
• knowledge of Arabic language would be an advantage.

3. Lead Engineer: preferably with previous professional experience as follows:

• preferably 15 years’ international project experience, including overseeing the work of a team of engineers;
• knowledge of regulations applicable to Lebanon as well as best practices in EU and in SEMED region for sustainable energy, water efficiency and resource efficiency in the agricultural-, industrial-, commercial-, and residential sectors; knowledge of regulations and best practices applicable to sustainable land management
• experience of explaining engineering measures in financial terms;
• fluent spoken and written English is essential; and
• knowledge of Arabic language would be an advantage.

4. Pool of Local Engineers: preferably with previous professional experience as follows:

• knowledge of regulations applicable to Lebanon as well as best practices for sustainable energy, water efficiency and resource efficiency in the agricultural-, industrial-, commercial-, and residential sectors.
• knowledge of regulations applicable to Lebanon as well as best practice in sustainable land management in the agricultural sectors
• experience in developing sustainable energy and climate adaptation projects, including: (i) conducting energy audits, (ii) assessment of project investment plan including its risks and mitigation strategy, (iii) commercially based sustainable green projects financing, and (iv) calculation of energy and/or resource savings, and/or greenhouse gas emission reduction for such projects;
• fluent spoken and written Arabic language is essential; and
• knowledge of English would be an advantage.

5. Environmental Expert: preferably with previous professional experience as follows:

• knowledge of environmental and safety regulations applicable to Lebanon as well as best practices for sustainable energy, water efficiency and resource efficiency projects
• preferably minimum 10 years’ experience of conducting environmental due diligence and environmental impact assessment for a variety of sustainable energy projects
• fluent spoken and written Arabic language is essential; and
• fluent spoken and written English is an advantage.

6. Communications and Marketing Experts: preferably with previous professional experience as follows:

• preferably 10 years’ experience in developing marketing strategy and marketing tools
• preferably 10 years’ experience in carrying out successful marketing projects in a business-to-business as well as business-to-consumer marketing context, particularly in the banking sector;
• experience in working with corporate clients and/or banks on marketing their products; experience in organising high-level marketing events with international audience;
• good understanding of Arabic and Lebanese culture;
• fluent spoken and written English and Arabic language is essential.

Submission Requirements: In order to determine the capability and experience of Consultants seeking to be shortlisted for the Programme, the information submitted should include the following:

1. Company/group of firms’ profile, organisation and staffing (max. 2-4 pages).
2. Details of previous project experience or similar assignments particularly undertaken in the previous five years, including information on contract value, contracting entity/client, project location/country, duration (mm/yy to mm/yy), expert months provided (if different from duration) , main activities, objectives.
3. CVs of key experts who could carry out the Assignments detailing qualifications, experience in similar assignments, particularly assignments undertaken in the previous five years, including information on contracting entity/client, project location/country, duration (mm/yy to mm/yy), expert months provided, assignment budget, main activities, objectives.
4. Completed Consultant Declaration Form and Contact Sheet, the template for which is available from the following web-link:

http://www.ebrd.com/pages/workingwithus/procurement/notices/csu/contact_sheet.doc.

5. Lead Consultant’s registration number.

The above information should not exceed 15 pages excluding CVs and contact sheet.

Expressions of Interest should be submitted in English electronically through e-Selection, to reach the Bank not later than the closing date. The complete expression of interest (including cover letter, CV, declaration and contact sheet etc.) shall be one file (pdf) to be uploaded to eSelection. The EBRD reserves the right to reject applications of experts submitting more than one file. Only if the permissible file size (4 MB) is exceeded, the Consultant may split the expression of interest into 2 files.

Bank Contact Person:

Maria Haugh
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
One Exchange Square
London EC2A 2JN

e-mail: haughm@ebrd.com (submissions should be sent through eSelection and NOT to this email address)

Notes:

1. Following this invitation for expressions of interest, a shortlist of qualified firms will be formally invited to submit proposals. Consultant selection and contracting will be subject to availability of funding.
2. The shortlist criteria are:
   • Firm’s previous project experience in implementation of comparable or relevant assignments related to financial product development, marketing, project appraisal and pipeline/portfolio of projects development, in cooperation with financial institutions and private sector businesses (15%)
   • Firm’s previous project experience in implementation of assignments related to transfer of climate change mitigation and adaptation technologies and solutions – energy and water efficiency, renewable energy technologies – in any of the agricultural-, industrial and commercial-, and the residential sector (15%)
   • Firm’s previous project experience in applying national regulations, global standards or best practices in relation to agricultural machinery and practices, energy performance of buildings, appliances and process equipment; in relation to energy/water/resource efficiency and/or renewable energy (15%)
   • Firm’s previous project experience in similar assignments in countries of North Africa and Middle East (15%)
   • CVs of Key Experts (40%).