AgriFin Program in Colombia Tender, USA - 30152943

Procurement Summary

Country : USA

Summary : AgriFin Program in Colombia

Deadline : 30 Jan 2019

Other Information

Notice Type : Tender

TOT Ref.No.: 30152943

Document Ref. No. :

Competition : ICB

Financier : Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)

Purchaser Ownership : -

Tender Value : Refer Document

Purchaser's Detail

Purchaser : MERCY CORPS
Attn: Mark Spencer | Global Procurement National Processing Center P.O. Box 80020 Prescott, AZ 86304-9801 Tel: (888) 747-7440
USA
Email :mspencer@mercycorps.org
URL :http://www.mercycorps.org

Tender Details

Request for proposals are invited for AgriFin Program in Colombia.

The Mercy Corps AgriFin (MCAF) Program is a global initiative that comprises coordinated, complementary programs working toward a shared vision and mission with common core program elements. MCAF has been predominantly implemented through the AgriFin Mobile program (funded by SDC), operating in Indonesia, Uganda and Zimbabwe since 2012, the AgriFin Accelerate program (funded by MasterCard Foundation) operating in Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia since 2015, and the AgriFin Digital Farmer program (funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) operating in Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Ethiopia since November 2018. Jointly these programs reach more than 2.6 million farmers.

Drawing on our experience implementing the AgriFin Mobile & AgriFin Accelerate programs, as well as years of work in the agriculture, finance and ICT sectors, Mercy Corps has prioritized the expansion of the Mercy Corps AgriFin model across the networks of its existing country programming and potentially beyond.

The purpose of this engagement is to collect market intelligence and make programming recommendations on Colombia, a country targeted for AgriFin expansion. Although widespread mobile money adoption in Colombia has been slow, flexible regulatory laws, a robust banking and investment landscape and a strong regional startup ecosystem are starting to drive activity in a quickly emerging economy. However, little is known about how these services are being offered to and accepted by small holder farmers and other key players on agricultural value chains, such as buyers and suppliers.

· Tendering office:Portland HQ

· Country of destination:United States

· Open date:Wednesday, January 23, 2019 - 5:00pm to Wednesday, January 30, 2019 - 5:00pm

I. MERCY CORPS OVERVIEW

Since 1979, we have helped people grappling with the toughest hardships survive — and then thrive.

That-s the heart of our approach: We help communities turn crisis into opportunity. Throughout our history, Mercy Corps has demonstrated innovation, timeliness and the ability to adapt quickly to changing realities.

Today, Mercy Corps is working in more than 40 countries to help people recover from disasters, build stronger communities and find their own solutions to poverty. The agency consistently ranks as one of America-s most effective and efficient charitable organizations. Over the last five years, more than 87 percent of resources have been allocated directly to programs that help families turn crisis into opportunity in some of the world-s toughest places.

Our impact in 2017:

? Reached nearly 22 million people - three-quarters of whom were women, children and young people under 25

? Nearly half of the people impacted by our work this year - 9 million - were people facing conflict

? Connected more than 1 million people to cash during emergencies, infusing more than $46 million into local economies

? Helped 1.2 million farmers increase their production, feed their families and boost their incomes

? We-ve provided cash transfers to help more than 7, 500 families buy food and emergency supplies to survive the lean season in South Sudan

? Our response to the global refugee crisis made a difference for more than 3.8 million refugees and host community members in 24 countries

? We helped more than 8, 000 children with disabilities access formal education in Jordan

? Mercy Corps programs are modernizing and improving agriculture across 27 countries

? So far on-demand weather forecasting has helped 30, 000 people in 15 provinces make decisions for their communities and livestock

See more details about our impact in 2017: http://www.mercycorps.org

II. PROJECT BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

The Mercy Corps AgriFin (MCAF) Program is a global initiative that comprises coordinated, complementary programs working toward a shared vision and mission with common core program elements. MCAF has been predominantly implemented through the AgriFin Mobile program (funded by SDC), operating in Indonesia, Uganda and Zimbabwe since 2012, the AgriFin Accelerate program (funded by MasterCard Foundation) operating in Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia since 2015, and the AgriFin Digital Farmer program (funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) operating in Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Ethiopia since November 2018. Jointly these programs reach more than 2.6 million farmers.


Drawing on our experience implementing the AgriFin Mobile & AgriFin Accelerate programs, as well as years of work in the agriculture, finance and ICT sectors, Mercy Corps has prioritized the expansion of the Mercy Corps AgriFin model across the networks of its existing country programming and potentially beyond.

III. DESIRED SERVICES & SCOPE OF WORK

The purpose of this engagement is to collect market intelligence and make programming recommendations on Colombia, a country targeted for AgriFin expansion. Although widespread mobile money adoption in Colombia has been slow, flexible regulatory laws, a robust banking and investment landscape and a strong regional startup ecosystem are starting to drive activity in a quickly emerging economy. However, little is known about how these services are being offered to and accepted by small holder farmers and other key players on agricultural value chains, such as buyers and suppliers.

Consultant objectives:

The consultant objective is to scope the market in Colombia for implementation of the AgriFin model by developing an informed understanding of both agricultural ecosystems for smallholder farmers (SHF) and key players in this space, as well as identification of mobile enabled services targeting SHF and potential core platform partners which could enable digital services in rural areas. The consultant must evaluate feasibility of program implementation, including identification of potential partners, most importantly the core scale partners (MNOs, payment companies, banks, major agribusinesses, etc.). The partners will span both local and regional partners outside of Colombia who would be relevant for the regional Mercy Corps AgriFin programming in LATAM. The consultant should also determine whether the AgriFin model has a strong value proposition, as well as identify potential barriers to implementation such as existence of competing donor programming, strong regulatory constraints or fundamental market instability. A core objective is to prepare the groundwork for implementation of the AgriFin program in Colombia.

Consultant activities:

The Consultant will work with the Colombia Drive Team to:

? Conduct desk review on Colombia, focusing on financial inclusion for rural areas and SHF, mobile penetration, and digital financial services in general, to include payments, savings, loans and insurance. The review will also include identifying market enablers and constraints for smallholder farmers, as well as key ecosystem actors committed to and/or reaching smallholder farmers;

? Identify potential Core and Value Added Service (VAS) partners that the AgriFin program could work with, both in Colombia and in the LATAM region, to include digitally enabled agricultural service providers, fintech providers, agricultural ecosystem actors, relevant government programming, etc.

? Identify up to 10 key value chains and related geographies which could drive scale of programming in Colombia;

? Prepare a report with completed country analysis which will include a SWOT analysis of Colombia (building on existing information in the MCAF Expansion Strategy report), a prioritization of potential Core and VAS partners that Mercy Corps should consider for partnership, and recommendations on implementation strategy, together with risk analysis and full data on all research collected

Final deliverables of this engagement will be:

1. Draft report of findings and recommendations (max 10 pages); this will include a list of potential Core and VAS partners, with prioritization / recommendations

2. Data / research notes and materials

3. A final report of findings and recommendations following team comments, to include all studies and additional information and meeting notes gathered over the assignment

Ownership and control of all work product related to this scope of work and partner engagement will belong to Mercy Corps.

Documents

 Tender Notice