Terms of Reference

Start date: 15.06.2022

End date: 30.04.2023

BACKGROUND

Business development in rural Sudan is often limited by the very low purchasing power of community members, and the lack of sufficient transportation services linking the local communities to wider market networks. Moreover, the lack of adequate storage facilities means that farmers have to sell their produce as soon as it is harvested, when it is the cheapest.

As a result, community members and businesses rely largely on networks of traders and brokers to bring products and inputs from outside the community and to access wider market networks. Such trading and brokering services significantly drive up the price levels at local markets and reduce farmers’ share of profits vis à vis middlemen in the value chain.

Traders not only provide essential transport services, they are often also the main source of finance for the farmers, with the relationship largely depending on trust - where guarantees or collateral requirements from borrowers are not possible. The amount borrowed comes in the form of cash and must be repaid after harvest in an amount equivalent to the cost of the produce at the time of receiving the loan. This leads to challenges, for instance when the price of the crop at the time of repayment is lower than that at the time when the loan was received. 

Despite the fact that they fulfill a critical role in the Sudanese market for agricultural commodities, these middlemen are often seen acting predatory, with Woman and Forcibly Displaced individuals being twice as vulnerable to their price-setting power, predatory lending, and other forms of discrimination in the market.

In addition, with crops being bought and sold several times along the value chain; quality assurance is impossible. Exporting buyers have no means to communicate quality issues to producer groups and hence there is little room for improvement. Groundnuts for example, are often stored in inadequate facilities or storage units throughout all stages in the value chain. This increases the level of Aflatoxin contamination, which lowers the quality and grade of the crop for processing and/or export. Leading processors of groundnuts in Sudan state that the poor storage and transport of groundnuts results in their manufacturing facilities running below total capacity. Crop quality is of particular importance for agricultural value chains in which competition is steep and value addition low, such as with the Hibiscus Value Chain where Sudan is facing intense competition from countries like Egypt and Nigeria.

PROSPECTS SUDAN

To that end, PROSPECTS Partnership, that is implemented by ILO, UNICEF, UNHCR and IFC and funded by the Government of the Netherlands, aims to enhance the enabling environment, enhance access to decent work, education, training, protection and strengthen the resilience and develop the socio- economic status of Host Communities and Forcibly Displaced People. To address the issue of infrastructure that prevents communities from connecting to larger markets, education, and service networks, the ILO aims to make the development of trading and transportation networks an integral part of its programming.

As part of the project, assessments have been undertaken to investigate the market systems and actors across the groundnuts and hibiscus value chains in East Darfur and West Kordofan, Sudan. More specifically, the Integrated Enterprise and Market Systems Assessment on Livelihoods in Sudan and the Socio-Economic Assessment have found that traders are the link between markets at locality, state and federal levels. However, it was found that better linkages between traders, productive cooperatives and larger market networks is needed as well  ascoaching to the demand side of the market to build its confidence to extend its operations and investments to the targeted locations of Assalaya, El-Nimir, Keilak/Kharasana and Al-Meiram.

OVERALL OBJECTIVES

Under the direct leadership of the ILO selected implementing partner, the national consultant will be expected to contribute to a 5-day Workshop to 200 traders, a Crop Fair and a Networking Event for the groundnuts and hibiscus value chains actorsin El-Obaied, North Kordofan.This to further include:

1. Participate and technically and logistically support in the scoping assessment undertaken by the international implementing partner. This includes instantaneous interpretation that might be needed across this contract;
2. Contribute to the development of the activities to strengthen market linkages and grow businesses engaged in the targeted value chains. This incudes contribution to adapting the training material and events to the context as well as translation of all relevant guides, presentations, etc.
3. Participate in the preparation for the delivery of the Business Development Coaching Workshop targeting ,the Groundnuts and Hibiscus Fair and Networking Event;
4. Participate in the delivery of the Business Development Coaching Workshops, the Groundnuts Fair and Networking Event, and

All of this is to include, any other tasks requested by the Implementing Partner

This is to be achieved under the direct supervision of the implementing partner and the through consultations with PROSPECTS project team by using a results-based approach, as detailed below.

KEY DELIVERABLES

REPORTING LINES

The selected national business development consultant will work under the direct supervision of the Implementing Partner’s management and PROSPECTS team in Sudan. This includes regular planning and progress meetings, joint discussions, agreement on best approaches and logistical preparations.

SUBMISSION

To be considered in the selection process thecandidate must submit the following documents to ADDIS_PROCUREMENT@ilo.org no later than 08 June 2022, 4pm [CAT]:

1. A Resume including their qualification in business development and mentoring, indicating  the Consultancy Profile or a current CV, which details the number of businesses they have supported with business development services , the scope of work and location of each of the workshops, as well as target group characteristics (where applicable) and training deliveries;
2. Proven experience on adult learning and participatory methodologies
3. Technical proposal indicating detailed workplan for delivering the business development services and the networking/fair event as detailed in the key deliverables section;
4. A sample of prior End of training reports; and
5. The interested individual consultants are requested to provide a financial offer that is deliverable based AND includes ONLY professional fees related to the activity. Number of field mission dates are also to be accounted and reported at the activity level. The following Table has been prepared to assist Consultants in reporting their respective financial offers.

*Total Deliverable Cost = Daily Professional Fees X Total Activity Deliverable Days + Total number of mission day X DSA per day + Flight cost

INSTRUCTIONS TO CONSULTANT

• The CV submitted should include the Date of Birth and Nationality of the Consultant;
• Consultant should quote in USD prices and/or using prices calculated using the Official UN Exchange Rates for the country;
• Candidate should be prepared to submit a copy of their national Passport upon Notification of Award;
• Candidates planning field visits, movements, and/or DSA travel dates are required to completed the UN BSAFE security training course upon Notification of Award. Failure to complete the course will prevent the finalization of contracting between the Consultant and the ILO;
• Professional Fees should include all costs associated with the Activity Deliverable;
• Consultants are responsible for arranging their own travel arrangements to project sites;
• Consultants agree to be paid based upon compliance with UN Harmonized DSA rates set for the country;
• Consultants agree that all mission costs will be based upon the most economical direct fares AND that any travel-related costs cannot exceed those payable to an ILO official on the same itinerary;
• All mission cost days will be paid based upon actual receipts paid by the Consultant and actual travel/mission dates;
• Consultants are not to add the VAT to their financial offer unless they are a VAT Registered Individual with the Sudanese VAT Authority;
• Consultants should be aware that all intellectual property rights arising from the contract are vested with the ILO however authorship will be acknowledged by the Organization; and
• Consultants will bear all charges levied by their own bank in receiving of managing funds transferred by ILO.
• The consultant must adhere to Covid-19 measures and to factor that in his/her training approach

PAYMENT SCHEDULE

Payment of Professional Fees will be made in three instalments:

• First payment will be 20% of the total budget to be disbursed once the contract is signed and an inception report is submitted and cleared by the Programme Manager.
• Second payment will be 20% of the total budget to be disbursed on completion and submission of activities under Part A deliverables as indicated in the Key Deliverables section above;
• Third payment will be 20% of the total budget to be disbursed upon the satisfactory completion of Part B of the Key Deliverables section.
• Fourth payment will be 20% of the budget which is to be disbursed upon satisfactory progress on remainder deliverables C; and
• Fifth payment of 20% is to be disbursed upon the submission of deliverable D.
• IMPORTANT NOTE: 100% of DSA once all relevant receipts, boarding passes are submitted .All reimbursement cost items need to reflect the ILOs commitment to using the most economical, direct, and standardized fares.

SELECTION CRITERIA

The selected National Consultant will have a mix of expertise and qualifications in the focus areas related to this ToR. Evaluation of the suitability of the consultant to work on this assignment will be made against the following selection criteria:

1 -Applicant demonstrates (via submitted workplan and sample report) expertise working on business development and event preparation (30 points).

2 - Quality of the sample 'End of Training report' suggests that the applicant(s) possess the required level of knowledge, analytical skill and ability to write comprehensive documents (15 points).

3 - Applicant CVs demonstrate a clear link between the consultants competencies and the tasked areas of work (30 points).

4 - Applicants have relevant experience with the ILO or other UN agencies in the delivery of business development training at the states level (15 points).

5 - Applicant has an excellent command of spoken and written English (10 points).

Please note that the Minimum Acceptable Score for the Proposal to be financially reviewed is 60 points.