I. About TechnoServe
TechnoServe works with enterprising women and men in the developing world to build competitive farms, businesses, and industries. We are a non-profit organization that develops business solutions to poverty by linking people to information, capital, and markets. With more than five decades of proven results, we believe in the power of private enterprise to transform lives.
II. Background
Many cooperative unions in Ethiopia lack the capacity to market and export their coffee efficiently or effectively, which can pose a serious risk to the financial viability of unions and their member cooperatives. Key challenges include: (1) poor relationship management with roasters, which can threaten the long-term viability of trusted buying relationships, and (2) delayed payments to cooperatives and farmers, which can destabilize already uneven cash flows and increase their risk of defaulting on outstanding loans. Cooperatives’ inability to pay back loans on time could undo the credibility and goodwill the sector has built with lenders over the past years, further constraining cooperatives’ already limited access to finance to invest in improved productivity and quality. Important new developments in the past year include the creation of a new cooperative union - the Kata Mudunga Union - created by cooperatives previously supported by TechnoServe, and the entry into the coffee business by existing unions, such as Torban Anfilo Union in Kelem Wellega and Sorgeba Union in Illubabur, who used to focus on input distribution. However, these unions are young or new to coffee exporting and lack the management experience and systems they will need to successfully serve their member cooperatives, who collectively produce over $8 million of coffee annually.
With the GoE policy change, cooperative unions will face increased pressure to improve their performance to meet market demands. Thus, TechnoServe proposes to help bridge this gap by building their capacity in coffee marketing and export, targeting both nascent unions formed by Coffee Initiative alumni, as well as older unions now incentivized to change their operational practices.
III. Duties and Responsibilities
The local consultant will train cooperative union staff on recommended marketing, export, and accounting procedures. The consultants will further coach and assist unions in creating and operationalizing action plans, and providing recommendations for effective export process management, with a focus on improving relationship management with buyers and ensuring a well-managed export process that minimizes the risk of delayed payments.
Deliverables
By the end of October 2018, the consultant will have developed a coffee marketing and export procedure manual for cooperatives unions to use going forward. The consultant will also have assisted at least three cooperative unions to commit resources to strengthen their internal systems for managing marketing and export in line with recommended best practices. By building cooperative unions’ capacity to better manage the marketing and export process overall, we seek to improve the quality of their service offering to farmers and increase buyers’ confidence in doing business with them.
Activity | Deliverable type | Anticipated due date |
Select three cooperative unions to receive coaching support; obtain letters of commitment from cooperative union leadership committing to implement to advisory support | Letters of commitment from 3 cooperative unions | 26 August 2018 |
Conduct needs assessment at each cooperative union to determine marketing and export capacity weaknesses; propose coaching/training plan | Written Report | 11 September 2018 |
Develop table of contents for a coffee marketing and export procedure manual for cooperative unions | Written Report | 11 September 2018 |
Complete first draft of coffee marketing and export procedure manual for cooperative unions | Written Report | 11 October 2018 |
Complete final version of coffee marketing and export procedure manual for cooperative unions | Written Report | 26 September 2018 |
Complete coaching/training of 3 cooperative unions | Written Report detailing delivery of coaching/training and changes made by the unions to improve marketing and export practices | 26 November 2018 |
BID EVALUATION AND AWARD
Evaluation and award will be based on the Consultant’s experience, adequacy of proposed work plan (i.e., the technical evaluation) and its offer (i.e., the financial evaluation). A two-stage procedure will be adopted for evaluation of the proposals, with the technical proposal opened and compared first. Selection will be based on a “best-value” basis.
Only Consultants whose technical proposals score 60% or above will be considered for the financial evaluations. The financial proposals for Consultants scoring below 60% on their technical proposals will be returned unopened.
The Technical Proposal
Technical proposals will be evaluated using the following criteria:
1) Project Approach/Methodology, 20% (soundness and feasibility of technical approach and methodology; demonstrated capacity to conduct proposed scope)
2) Quality of Work Plan, 5% (appropriateness, specificity, and feasibility of the activities to be implemented in the work plan)
3) Project Schedule, 5% (coherence and timeliness of tasks to be completed over the course of the project)
4) Project Deliverables, 5% (clear understanding of the desired deliverables as reflected in the proposal submission)
5) Project Team Structure, 15% (clarity and appropriateness of the management and staffing plan to carry out the proposed activities)
6) Staff Qualifications/Experience, 15% (extent to which key personnel have relevant qualifications and experience, including technical skills, management skills, and education levels)
7) Experience of the Firm, 15% (demonstration of strong past performance in implementing programs of similar scope and complexity)
8) Cost Proposal, 20% (cost appropriateness to complete the proposed activities)
Financial Evaluation
Proposed costs will be reviewed for reasonableness. Please note that TNS Ethiopia is not necessarily bound by any of the Consultant’s submitted proposals. Further, as quality is the principal selection criterion, selection will be based on the principle of “best value,” and TNS Ethiopia does not bind itself in any way to select the firm offering the lowest price.
Overall Evaluation
The total score shall be obtained by weighting the technical evaluation and price scores and adding them. The weight for the technical and financial evaluations shall be 70% and 30% respectively.
The Consultant obtaining the highest total score shall be invited for negotiations. If the negotiation fails, TNS Ethiopia shall terminate the negotiation and invite the next ranked firm for negotiation.
- Bachelor’s Degree with at least 3-5 years of experience working in the private sector
- Experience in Ethiopia related to small business development or agribusiness
- Experience advising coffee cooperatives and coffee cooperative unions
- Demonstrated leadership skills, teamwork and relationship building
- Excellent written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills
- Strong computer skills, including MS Word, Powerpoint and Excel
- Ability to work independently, flexibly and responsively
- Advanced degree in business management or other relevant field preferred