Call for Proposal at the African Union Commission (AUC)

The African Union Commission (AUC) is the AU’s secretariat and undertakes the day to day activities of the Union. It is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Applications are invited for:

Title: Call for Proposal - Consultancy Services for the Enterprise Africa Network (EAN)-Preliminary Phase - Mobilization of Resources

Reference No: AUC/ETIM/C/022

Background
The Africa Union Commission (AUC) commissioned a feasibility study on ''Enterprise Africa Network'' (EAN) within the framework of the European Union (EU)-funded programme, Joint Africa-EU Strategy (JAES) Support Mechanism II which started with the mobilisation of an Expert Working Group (EWG) Meeting in Abidjan (Ivory Coast), in December 2017. This meeting was aimed at discussing the EAN project’s goals and define its scope. A second Expert Working Group Meeting took place in November 2018 in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) within the framework of Africa Industrialisation Week with the objective to present the outcomes of the feasibility study to African private sector.

Following meetings, debates and deliberations with African continental and regional organisations, as well as business, trade and financing institutions, it was recommended to establish an EAN to facilitate connectivity with regional and international markets, and to increase trade between African and international businesses through marketplaces and e-commerce. To achieve its mandated goals; the proposed EAN platform should be able to provide and promote access to accurate, comprehensive and timely data and information on import/export rules, procedures, market opportunities and competition. Furthermore, it should facilitate linkages with the investment financing networks for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups from selected sectors.

EAN will encourage networking, collaboration, alliances and partnerships between the African and international business communities. To this end, it will enrol regional and continental intermediary organisations with a proven record in coaching and mentoring, and who also possess the ability to upgrade the capacity of start-ups and SMEs. EAN will focus on women and youth entrepreneurs who have developed competitive and innovative products, who can demonstrate growth potential for their market, with strong employment creation prospects. EAN will execute a thorough due diligence exercise to identify SMEs and start-up champions with regards to their strengths, experience and their capacity to become market leaders at regional or continental levels.

Objectives
The general objective of the assignment is to assist AUC Department of Trade and Industry to prepare the conditions for starting EAN in partnership with the donor organizations and financial organizations which expressed an interest to participate to this initiative.

The specific objectives are:

• Mobilize finance resources for EAN implementation;
• Conclude partnership agreement with donors’ organizations which expressed an interest to contribute to EAN; and
• Conclude partnership agreement with a finance organization for the execution of EAN pillar 3.

Scope of Work
For ownership purpose, the experts will engage AUC at each steps of the assignment. The consultants are expected to undertake the following tasks.

Assistance to the mobilization of finance resources:

• Review the Investment Financing Network’’ chapter of EAN feasibility study and design a Resource Mobilization Strategy (RMS), including an action plan. In addition to the finance institutions to be approached, private organizations (Corporates, Foundations active in Africa) will be also considered.
• Conduct a mapping of business and finance organizations, including the following intelligence information:
  • Their profiles, strategies and key priorities;
  • The budget forecast cycle and the size of the budget attributed to Trade and Private Sector in Africa and specifically to start-up and SMEs owned by women and young entrepreneurs;
  • Their pipeline of budget and the upcoming funding opportunities for Start-ups and SMEs in Africa;
  • The in-kind contribution (human resources/services, equipment) they provide to development projects;
  • The possibility for providing multi-year funding;
  • Their interests and expectations on EAN;
  • The preconditions requested by the donors and financial institutions before financing EAN;
  • The responsibilities they could have on EAN;
  • The type of reporting, monitoring requested for implementing their fund.
• Elaboration of a matrix of potential business and donors’ organizations, including information on how they will be engaged in the implementation of EAN; and:
  • Select business and donors’ organizations for further consultations. The outcomes of the donors’ intelligence information will be presented and discussed with AUC Department of Trade and Industry and the Division of International Cooperation and Resources Mobilization.
  • Identification of a continental financial organization for the implementation of pillar 3 (investment financing network) and preparation of partnership agreement with AUC.

Expected outputs

• An inception report, to be produced maximum two weeks after the signature of the contract and presenting the understanding of the assignment, the detailed methodology and the work plan for the assignment.
• An interim report describing the progress and eventual challenges of the mission;
• A final report summarizing the background, the activities and the results of the mission.
• EAN logical framework and work plan;
• Resource Mobilization Strategy for the EAN;
• Communication materials for approaching business and donors’ organizations;
• Mapping report of business and donors’ organizations;
• Round table report with business and donors’ organizations which expressed an interest on EAN implementation;
• Contribution agreements between AUC and selected business and donors’ organizations;

Expert Profile
The level of expertise required for this assignment necessitates the services of a finance expert. He/she will, therefore, be recruited for a total number 135 days.

Qualifications:

• An advanced degree in Economics, Business, Finance, International Relations or similar diplomas. Those with PhD will have an added advantage.

General professional experience:

• At least 10 years of work experience with international or bilateral cooperation agencies supporting the private sector in Africa ;
• At least 5 years’ work experience with Development Finance Institutions (AfDB, EIB, IFC, KfW, AFD…) Fundraising and resources mobilization experience would be an advantage;
• Strong network of Development Finance Institutions and bilateral cooperation agencies mandated to support the private sector in Africa;
• Demonstrate budgetary skills, including preparing fundraising budgets;
• Proven track record of writing concepts, proposals and templates that meet donors’ requirements;
• Knowledge of grant procedures applied by international organizations is an advantage.

Application Closing Date
24th May, 2022.

Submission of Documents
Proposal must be delivered in a written form to the:
Head of Procurement Travel and Store Division,
African Union Commission,
Building C, Room 327,
P.O.Box 3243, Roosevelt Street,
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Tel: +251 (0) 11 551 7700 – Ext 4305
Fax: +251 (0) 11 551 0442; +251 11-551-0430
E-mail: tender@africa-union.org and Meronw@africa-union.org

N/B: Consultant should send the proposal to both emails.

Click Here (PDF) for a detailed description of the RFP.