Notice of cancellation

The Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food (RAAF), informs all the candidates that the notice to expression of interest N°ARAA/USAID/2023/SCI/025, relating to the selection of an  resource mobilization expert for the operationalization of FRAA, published on October 12, 2023 is cancelled. 

RAAF  apologizes to all candidates who have expressed interest in this selection

BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION

The ECOWAS Council of Ministers, at its sixty-sixth ordinary session held in Abuja from 17 to 19 August 2011, decided, by Regulation C/REG.02/08/11 of 19 August 2011, to put in place mechanisms for the implementation of the ECOWAS Agricultural Policy (ECOWAP), in particular the creation of the Regional Agriculture and Food Fund (RAFF).

The Regional Agriculture and Food Fund is an autonomous institution housed at the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) and enjoys financial management autonomy. The Fund is managed by EBID, which is owned by the 15 member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS): Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. Its headquarters are in Lomé, Togo.

In line with the implementation of its Agricultural Policy (ECOWAP), the ECOWAS Commission has launched the West Africa Initiative for Climate Smart Agriculture and Resilient Supply Chains in 15 West African countries (WAICSA). This is a mixed funding mechanism that will be implemented through a window integrated into the AARF, with a particular focus on climate-smart agriculture.

WAICSA comprises two facilities: (i) the Financing Facility (at least 80% of the fund) provides loans, guarantees and equity investments to smallholder farmers, smallholder organisations and agro-entrepreneurs, directly and through local financial institutions, and (ii) the Technical Assistance Facility (up to 20% of the fund) is financed by grants and subsidies from ECOWAS and donors.

Through this financial mechanism, the ECOWAS Commission hopes to improve the food security of 90,000 smallholder farming households in the region and convert more than 185,000 hectares to climate-resilient farming practices. Priority will be given in particular to investment projects adopting profitable and sustainable AIC techniques in the forestry, agriculture and fisheries sectors.

WAICSA will target six (6) of the 15 ECOWAS Member States in its pilot phase, with the aim of being replicated in all 15 States once the concept has been proven.

To achieve this, the ECOWAS Commission has decided to allocate resources from the contributions of ECOWAS Member States, concessional resources from technical and financial partners and mobilise investments from EBID and private investors.

Following the diligent evaluation phase of the pre-selected expressions of interest, which consisted of circular missions to the countries, during which the financial and operational issues relating to the implementation of the credit line were analysed in greater detail, the next steps will have to focus on the remaining activities required to operationalise the WAICSA and the FRAA, in particular, contracting with the selected financial institutions, having the FRAA operationalisation documents approved and proceeding with the official launch of the first WAICSA operations.

The launch of the first WAICSA operations requires the mobilisation of additional resources to complement the resources available to continue the launch of the first WAICSA operations with the selected financial institutions in the pilot countries.

The mobilisation of resources from technical and financial partners, donors and private investors remains a major challenge to be met in order to ensure the sustainability of operations.

It is therefore to realise these ambitions that these terms of reference have been drawn up for the recruitment of a Resource Mobilisation Expert to provide technical assistance to support the implementation of the Fund's resource mobilisation strategy and mobilise resources to ensure the sustainability and durability of operations.

OBJECTIVES

The Expert will be responsible for providing technical assistance to the Fund Management Unit and its technical support in implementing the Fund's resource mobilisation strategy and mobilising resources to ensure the sustainability and durability of operations.

WORKING METHOD

The ECOWAS Commission and EBID will make all the necessary documentation available to the Expert.

Meetings will be organised with the Expert to ensure a better understanding of the assignment. The documentary review will be supplemented by videoconference interviews with key players in the governance and implementation of the AARF. Field missions may be carried out. In this case, their duration and content will be defined by mutual agreement after acceptance of the service offer proposal.

The document and the various tools developed will be submitted for analysis and validation by the stakeholders (BIDC, Direction Agriculture, Environnement et Développement Rural, ARAA, as well as any other actor who will have been consulted).

SPECIFIC TASKS OF THE EXPERT

The Expert will provide technical support to the FRAA Management Unit in implementing the Fund's resource mobilisation strategy. In concrete terms, this will involve mobilising resources to ensure the sustainability and durability of operations.

The main tasks are as follows:

• Implement the resource mobilisation action plan set out in the AARF Resource Mobilisation Strategy,
• Organise a round table of technical and financial partners, donors and private investors to mobilise WAICSA resources with a view to launching WAICSA operations,
• Carry out concrete actions to mobilise resources from potential investors identified by the FROA's Resource Mobilisation Strategy,
• Raise concessional resources and funds in the form of donations from technical and financial partners and donors,
• Interacting with ARAA and providing technical support for mobilising climate finance resources to promote climate-smart agriculture,
• Identify and carry out concrete actions to mobilise resources from potential new partners and donors relevant to the FRAA/WAICSA,
• Actively contribute to the efforts of EBID and ARAA in terms of mobilising resources within the framework of WAICSA,
• Identify special funds and propose ways and means of channelling them to EBID and raising resources in the form of donations from them for the operationalisation of WAICSA and FRAA,
• All other activities and initiatives aimed at mobilising partnerships and resources for the operationalisation of WAICSA and FRAA.

EXPECTED RESULTS

At the end of the assignment, concrete results in terms of the amount of resources mobilised and concrete actions carried out are expected:

• Raise concessional resources and funds in the form of grants from technical and financial partners and donors for a minimum amount of five to ten million US dollars,
• A round table of technical and financial partners, lenders and private investors has been organised and plans to mobilise resources have been announced,
• 70% of the resources expected from the TFPs (financing of the 2023 PTBA) are announced at the round table by the TFPs and donors to be mobilised,
• 90% of the resources pledged by the TFPs and donors at the round table have been mobilised,
• 90% of the conclusions and recommendations made at the round table have been implemented,
• The launch of WAICSA's 1st operations is assured by the financing of around 1 to 3 billion units of account to the FIs to eventually impact more than 90,000 small farmer households in the ECOWAS region,
• Potential new partners and donors relevant to the FRAA/WAICSA are identified and resource mobilisation actions are carried out with them,
• The resource mobilisation action plan set out in the AARF Resource Mobilisation Strategy is being implemented.

DELIVERABLES

• A monthly activity report describing, among other things, the activities carried out and results achieved during the month,
• An end-of-assignment report,
• Technical notes to prepare for the organisation of the round table of technical and financial partners, donors and private investors,
• Technical notes on the summary and dissemination of the results of the announcements made by the TFPs and donors at the round table,
• Technical notes on monitoring the fulfilment of pledges of resources to be mobilised made by TFPs and donors at the round table,
• Technical notes on monitoring the implementation of the conclusions and recommendations of the Round Table,
• Note on the opportunities for mobilising resources from potential new partners and donors relevant to the FRAA/WAICSA identified and on the concrete resource mobilisation actions carried out,
• Additional documents drawn up as part of the mobilisation of resources for the FRAA/WAICSA.

PROFILE REQUIRED OF THE EXPERT

Experts called to compete must :

• An international reputation with a good knowledge of the ECOWAS region,
• Be in good standing with the tax authorities in your country for the payment of tax and social security contributions,
• To have carried out similar complex services.

Qualifications and experience

• University degree (Bac+5) in Management, Banking Finance, Economics, Development Economics, Business Administration, Financial Engineering or any other degree relevant to the position. Qualifications in business or related development fields may be considered positively if complemented by a specialisation in communications,
• High-level experience of at least five (05) years in similar funds or Development Financial Institutions, ideally as an international consultant or as an associate of an international/regional firm,
• At least five (05) years' experience as an international consultant or as an associate of an international consultancy firm, with at least two (02) similar assignments,
• Experience in developing and structuring financial instruments and innovative investment projects relating to climate change,
• Networking with several categories of stakeholders (government, private sector, partners),
• Experience of working with ECOWAS, ARAA and EBID would be an advantage,
• At least two years' experience in the cooperation sector, having acquired knowledge of the issues and players in the agricultural sector, climate change and rural development, and having provided at least two (02) similar services;
• Good communication skills and ability to prepare national and regional reports,
• Good command of word-processing software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.),
• Good knowledge of United Nations and ECOWAS procedures.

Languages

• Fluent in one of the official ECOWAS languages: English, French or Portuguese, 
• A working knowledge of another language would be an additional asset.

General conditions for all positions

• The consultant will be based in Lomé, Togo, at the headquarters of the Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food;
• The duration of the contract is one year, renewable after a satisfactory evaluation and depending on the availability of resources.
• The assignment is full-time and excludes any other commitment incompatible with this condition.
• The Consultant is asked to refrain from any situation that could put him/her in conflict.

Selection procedures

1. Eligibility and qualifications

The ECOWAS Commission, through the Regional Agriculture and Food Agency (RAAA), hereby invites individuals to express their interest in providing the required services by providing information demonstrating that they possess the necessary qualifications and relevant experience to carry out the assignment. The qualification and experience criteria are best described in the terms of reference.

The attention of interested individual consultants is particularly drawn to Article 117 of the revised ECOWAS Public Procurement Code ("Offences committed by candidates, tenderers and successful tenderers"), which provides information on corrupt or fraudulent practices in the competition or execution of a contract. In addition, please refer to the following specific information on conflicts of interest related to this assignment in accordance with Article 118 of the revised ECOWAS Public Procurement Code.

2. Application file

The application file consists of :

• A covering letter, including a deadline for availability;
• A recent curriculum vitae detailing professional experience and similar assignments;
• Three professional references (first and last names, current position, position at the time of collaboration with the Consultant, e-mail and telephone contacts);
• Copy of the highest diploma in Management, Banking Finance, Economics, Development Economics, Business Administration, Financial Engineering or any other diploma relevant to the post;
• Copies of work or service certificates listed in the curriculum vitae.

3. Selection method

A consultant will be selected according to the individual consultant selection method described in the ECOWAS "Procurement Regulations". An interview to assess knowledge, skills and abilities may be organised with the best candidates. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. Where skills are equal, preference will be given to female candidates. The RAAA reserves the right not to follow up on this notice.

4.  Request for further information

Interested consultants may obtain further information by writing to the following e-mail addresses: procurement@araa.org cc: ctienon@araa.org, mnakorba@araa.org with "SCI025- USAID- Resource Mobilisation Expert" in the subject line.

How to Apply:

• Deadline for receipt of applications: 02 November 2023 at 17:00 GMT.
• Submission links: applications must be submitted by download to the following address: Dropbox https://www.dropbox.com/request/cFh6AI5C7U5v2rynHEgk
• Application format: the application must be in the form of a single PDF file.
• The ARAA reserves the right not to consider applications that do not comply with the above conditions for submission.