Provision of Technical Support to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States to develop and produce value added products from coconut, cocoa and kava

The International Trade Centre (ITC) is a joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization for trade-related technical cooperation in developing countries. The Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (OLAC), as a geographical section of the Division of Country Programmes (DCP), is responsible for defining the ITC strategy and coordinating all interventions in the region, either for individual countries or at the sub-regional and regional levels. The Sector Competitiveness Unit (SEC) is responsible for developing and disseminating sector level expertise for sustainable market driven solutions in ITC, including the Alliances for Action (A4A) methodology. The Alliances for Action (A4A) is a participatory partnership model that engages smallholder farmers and MSMEs in order to support agri-business development, manage risk and facilitate networks that provide the required technical expertise and capacity building.

Objectives of the project

The EU/ACP “Support to Business Friendly and Inclusive National and Regional Policies, and Strengthening Productive Capabilities and Value Chains” Programme aims to complement the European Union support for private sector development in ACP countries. ITCs is collaborating with UNIDO (Industrial Development Organisation) and the World Bank in the implementation of the program. ITC will lead the implementation of the micro pillar level of the Programme, which will focus on two core themes:

1. Promoting inclusive productive and commercial Alliances and investment to strengthen value chain governance and MSME competitiveness; and
2. Increase small farmers and processors value addition, productivity and competitiveness.

Purpose and Objective of the Tender

ITC seeks a service provider with experience in the gastronomic research and development industry to provide technical support to ITC’s Alliances for Action and SMEs across the target value chains. The key objective of the intervention is to develop the capacity of SMEs in the ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States) to develop and produce value added products from coconut, cocoa and kava.

The selected service provider will:

• Conduct a study of the gastronomic potential of the cocoa, coconut, kava produced by social enterprises supported by Alliances for Action;
• Develop prototypes and recipes;
• Liaise with a network of chefs from European Union, UK and ACP countries to test prototypes of developed products;
• Build the capacity of the SMEs in target countries to replicate these recipes and develop marketable products;
• Conduct promotional activities to establish commercial alliances with regional and international stakeholders to commercialize and promote the consumption of the products;
• Integrate the research and development process with scientific research and culinary institutions as well as other relevant stakeholders in ACP countries.

Scope of Work

The activities will target countries under ITCs Alliance for Action (A4A) agri-business programmes in the African, Caribbean, Pacific (ACP) region. The list of countries and key local institutions will be shared with the selected service provider. The prioritization and product selection will cover:

• Cocoa: at least one (1) African and one (1) Caribbean country;
• Coconuts: at least two (2) countries from the Caribbean and Pacific;
• Kava: at least one (1) country from the Pacific;
• Activities will entail the participation of key local partners and institutions.

Documents

RFQ2200179375-AK Cover Letter.pdf
RFQ2200179375-AK Annex C FinancialProposal.xlsx
RFQ2200179375-AK Annex C FinancialProposal.pdf
RFQ2200179375-AK Annex B UN General Conditions of Contract.pdf
RFQ2200179375-AK Annex A ToR.pdf