Business Development Consultancy for Green Energy Tender - 42016362

Procurement Summary

Country: Liberia

Summary: Business Development Consultancy for Green Energy Market Facilitation

Deadline: 10 Apr 2020

Posting Date: 02 Apr 2020

Other Information

Notice Type: Tender

TOT Ref.No.: 42016362

Document Ref. No.:

Competition: ICB

Financier: Self Financed

Purchaser Ownership: -

Tender Value: Refer Document

CPV Classification

71314000 - Energy and related services

Purchaser's Detail

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Tender Details

Tenders are invited for Business Development Consultancy for Green Energy Market Facilitation.
Project/Consultancy Title:Business Development Consultancy for Green Energy Market Facilitation
Project Location(s):Montserrado,
Timeline:March - June, 2020
Deadline:April 10, 2020
About Mercy Corps:
Mercy Corps is a leading global humanitarian agency saving and improving lives in the world’s toughest places. With a network of experienced professionals in more than 40 countries, we partner with local communities to put bold ideas into action to help people recover, overcome hardship and build better lives now, and for the future. In these places, Mercy Corps listen to local voices to prioritize people’s most urgent need, taking a long-term view and promoting innovative solutions that drive true change. Mercy Corps Liberia has been working in Liberia since 2002 with focus on youth, agriculture, livelihoods, conflict resolution and emergency response.
Background and Context
Liberia has one of the lowest energy access rates and one of the and highest cost of energy in the world. With a total access rate of 12% largely from self-generation with gasoline or diesel, the need for alternative sources of energy cannot be over stated. The public electricity company, LEC serves roughly 12% of the entire population, both rural and urban. The huge energy gap has created an increased demand for cheaper and more reliable and sustainable sources of energy. In Liberia, monthly solar radiation on horizontal surface ranges from about 4 kWh/m2 /day during the rainy season in June, July, August to 6 kWh/m2 /day during the height of dry season in February and March. The humid, tropical climate in Liberia shows relatively constant temperatures throughout the year, around the average of 27° C (81° F ), hardly ever outside the range of 20° C (68° F ) to 36° C (97° F ). This high and consistent potential for solar energy across the country adds to an average level of 1, 712 kWh/m2/year, which could generate 1, 400 to 1, 500 kWh/kWp. PROSPECTS -3 renewable energy component is intended to build the capacity of youth in rural marketing, sales, services, maintenance and last mile distribution of solar energy products. This intervention is set to address two major challenges in Liberia: access to clean and affordable energy and job creation for youth. The intention is to employ market facilitation approaches that will yield a highly functioning solar eco system while at the same time creating employment/income generation sources for youths.
Objectives
 Increase access to renewable energy through the sale and distribution of solar products
 Create 40 new youth-led micro enterprises for young people (80% women owned) as solar supplier agents.
 Strengthen a solar supplier-distributor-agent network through the use of Pay-As-You-Go enabled solar products.
Methodology
The green energy market facilitation program will be implemented in the following steps
Step 1: MC will engage banks and non-bank financial institutions to set up a revolving fund program. The financial institution will connect with the mobile money platform for payment of solar products and deposit of capital repayment.
Step 2: Mercy Corps will partner with a local solar distributor and BDS firm to select, train and support youth agents to market and sell solar products.
Scope of Work

Scope of Work for Consultant – PR MNR-4314 Business Development Consultancy for Green Energy Market Facilitation

Step 3: Registered agents will sell products and repay investment capital to the bank.

Step 4: The bank sets aside the capital costs as a revolving fund available for the young agents to borrow from at agreed

rates.

Step 5: MC M&E team will work with consultant to capture learnings from partners for future programming

Implementing Partners Roles

The selected BDS firm hired by Mercy Corps will support the process of recruiting, training, and establishing 40 youth as

legal solar sales agents. The support will include hands on capacity building and business coaching of agents to distribute,

manage and sell solar products. MC has employed a gender and vulnerability approach therefore, 80% of the businesses

trained and set up will be female owned.

The BDS firm will also buttress Mercy Corps’ efforts in capturing useful market information for the expansion of the

program. To this end, it will be required to tailor the trainings to facilitate effective data-driven monitoring, evaluation,

quality assurance and control and management systems for integration and sustainability.

Key Deliverables

 RFA guidelines for selecting and training 40 Youth enterprises (80% Female) in solar business.

 Training manuals to train agents in marketing and sale of solar products

 Business registration certificate and customer acquisition plan solar agents

 Monthly progress reports

 Final detailed project implementation report

Proposed Timeline

The parties will collaborate in determining the price and commission structure of the solar products and an RFA will be

designed and launched for interested youths to participate in the program. Shortlisted applicants will be trained, organized

and registered in cohorts as solar agents. The cohort will then be recommended to MC for support.

No. Activity Responsible Party Deliverable Due Time

1. Design RFA for youth

agents

MC, BDS firm and

Solar business

RFA Document 20-Arpil20

2. Set up selected agents into

businesses with accounts

BDS firm, C Business registration, business plan,

identification cards, mobile money accounts

and bank accounts

May 1-20

3. Monitor, follow up and

support agents

MC, BDS firm, and

Solar business

Monitoring Reports May &

June 2020

4. Continuous coaching and

monitoring support agents

BDS frim Continuous process

Payment Plan

Payment will be made as per completed deliverables within the completion deadline. Payment structure will be decided

upon by the consultant and Mercy Corps.
Proposal:
A complete proposal to be submitted should include a detailed background of the firm/company, CV of key personnel that

will be actively involved with the training and or business advisory support to the distributors and youth entrepreneurs who

receive solar products.

Evaluation and Awarding of Contract

Evaluation of proposal will take the below approach in determining the best proposal offer to conduct the training of the

distributors and agents.

Technical Area Score

Relevant Experience in working with Business Development Services for solar

energy product distribution and sales is an added advantage.

30

Previous Performance Review of similar BDS trainings conducted before 20

Strong Organizational capacity and technical knowhow to develop train agents

in marketing and sale of solar energy products

25

Reasonable Cost of implementation that will reflect value for money 25

Total 100 pts
A competent firm with proven experience in Business Development Service for Liberian businesses is needed to provide such service.
Requirements for Consultancy Firm
 Business registration and tax clearance
 Proven experience in training and capacity development of SMEs in Liberia
 A clear and detailed approach and method to be used in developing training manuals including key personnel and work plan/activities timeline.
 Excellent understanding of the Liberian business environment
 Demonstrate ability and willingness to travel to other rural areas in Liberia to conduct trainings with young Liberian entrepreneurs.
All interested BDS firms should apply by sending their CV/firm portfolio and proposal in one PDF document and with the subject line “Capacity Development for Solar Energy distributors & Agents” to [email protected] or hard copy addressed and delivered to Mercy Corps Liberia’s office, Sophie Junction Opposite SOS Clinic, Oldest Congo Town, Monrovia, Liberia. The deadline for application is Friday April 10, 2020 at 4:00pm local time.

Documents

 Tender Notice