Scope of work
SSTP wishes to contract a consultant or consultants from March – May, 2018. The assignment consists of two separate but related components. The first component will be to i) review the SEI, ii) to propose both financial and technical indicators to assess the financial and technical performance of small and medium scale seed businesses, and iii) to propose enhancements to the SEI as a tool for assessing and monitoring performance towards financial sustainability.
The second component will be to i) identify potential sources and types of non-grant funding for small and medium scale seed companies, ii) identify the financial and technical indicators that financial providers require as part of the due diligence process prior to lending, and iii) identify technical assistance needs of small and medium scale seed companies to develop and provide the financial and technical information that will attract non-grant funding.
The second component will be undertaken both virtually and through visits to selected financial institutions.
Both components of the consultancy will require a visit to Nairobi, Kenya to meet with SSTP headquarters-based staff, African Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF) staff, and other AGRA staff. The first part of the consultancy will require visits to Ghana, Malawi and Tanzania to interview SSTP country teams and selected seed company personnel that have received SSTP grant funding. Each country visit will be for a total of four days including travel to/from the country (16 days), with an additional five days for report writing on completion of the assignment making a total of 21 days.
Deliverables
The consultancy will be expected to deliver, the following outputs:
A review of the SEI
A list and description of technical and financial indicators to assess the financial and technical performance of small and medium scale seed businesses
Proposed enhancements to the SEI as a tool for assessing and monitoring performance towards financial sustainability
A list of potential financial providers categorized according to the type of lending offered
Detailed description of the technical assistance needs for small and medium scale seed enterprises to attract non-grant funding
Technical and Financial proposals will need to be submitted as separate documents. Financial proposals will not be opened until the conclusion of the technical evaluation and then only for those proposals that are deemed qualified and responsive.
