Partnership and Cluster planning – Terms of Reference

This document sets out the Terms of Reference for a strategic agribusiness cluster planning and investment partnership promotion consultancy to map existing and potential partner activities, identify and prioritize clusters, identify and prioritize public and private investment opportunities, and create cluster development plans for two (2) clusters in the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT). Background The Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (“SAGCOT”) 1 has been established as a public private partnership with three overarching objectives: 1) Enhance Tanzania’s food security and accelerate agricultural transformation and green growth, 2) Safeguard that this happens in a sustainable and responsible manner, 3) Improve livelihoods for smallholder farmers and their communities. The mandate of the partnership is to achieve this by catalyzing responsible private sector led agriculture development. SAGCOT envisions that USD $2.1 billion of private investment can be mobilized over a twenty-year period, alongside public sector grants and loans of USD$1.3 billion. The impact will be a tripling of the area’s agricultural output and income improvement for millions of Tanzanians. Partners in the partnership include government, global business, the Tanzanian private sector, farmers, foundations and donor institutions. Each SAGCOT “partner” commits to a number of principles of green and inclusive growth 2 and looks forward to contributing to the objectives of SAGCOT within their respective mandate. While private sector partners (local and international agribusiness companies, input suppliers and support services) are looking to invest profitably in the corridor while keeping with the SAGCOT principles, public sector partners (Government of Tanzania, international development partners) have a key role to play in creating a favourable business enabling environment and incentivizing greener and more inclusive agribusiness development through both physical and policy infrastructure development, land use planning, investment promotion, agricultural research and extension services, etc. A number of additional partners, such as civil society and academia also play a role in the SAGCOT initiative. To act as an institutionally neutral coordinating body and secretariat to the SAGCOT Partnership, the SAGCOT Centre Ltd (the Centre) was established in May 2011. The SAGCOT Centre’s Mission is to play the unique role of an honest, non-partisan partnership broker within the SAGCOT Partnership. Its role is to facilitate partners to deliver on inclusive, sustainable and commercial agricultural value chains in the corridor. In addition, the Centre will monitor successes and challenges of cluster and partnership development and feed best practices and lessons back through the Partnership. The SAGCOT initiative aims to facilitate the development of profitable agribusiness “partnerships” in 'clusters' along the corridor to achieve economies of scale, synergies and increased efficiency. Clusters are geographic concentrations of interconnected farmers, companies, specialized suppliers, service 1

Tanzania’s southern corridor links the port of Dar es Salaam to Malawi, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The SAGCOT Initiative focuses on the rail and road corridor stretching from Dar es Salaam in the east through Morogoro, Iringa, and Mbeya, and west to Sumbawanga. 2 In the context of SAGCOT, inclusive and green growth refers to the development of agricultural value chains that offer strong linkages opportunities to a large number of smallholder farmers and local SMEs, and where the use of environmentally and socially sound and efficient technologies and business models is maximized.

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providers, and associated institutions. Individual partnerships are understood as either government – business, business-business, or business-smallholder farmer partnerships. The existence of committed agribusiness partners already in place and of a large potential to expand inclusive and green agricultural value chains constitute much of the basis for cluster identification. Potential cluster areas have already been identified as part of the design of the SAGCOT initiative (SAGCOT Investment Blueprint), and new agribusiness projects in the pipeline offer additional cluster options. Also, since its inception in 2011, the Centre has already attracted a number of private agribusiness partners, some of them already in place in the corridor, and developed letters of intent describing their intended investments, type of partnership sought, and expectations on the government of Tanzania and SAGCOT Centre. As a basis for engaging existing and potential new private SAGCOT partners as well as the public sector partners, the Centre wishes to recruit a strategic agribusiness cluster planning and investment partnership promotion consultancy (“the consultants”) to help select two initial clusters, identify and prioritize public and private investment and partnership opportunities within them, create cluster development plans for each, and help the Centre start partnership promotion activities. After the first wave of two clusters, the Centre will likely replicate (and adapt where relevant) the approach on several other clusters every year. Objectives of the assignment This assignment will provide the underpinning analysis and practical tools to the SAGCOT Centre as it strives to facilitate improved communication and trust between the private sector, the government and other stakeholders, to encourage better coordination and targeting of government and donor programs in the agriculture sector, and to make information on investment opportunities available to the private sector. The specific objective of the assignment is to provide the SAGCOT Centre and key SAGCOT partners with cluster development and partner engagement strategies for one cluster in the SAGCOT, as well as practical partner engagement tools to implement them. In particular, the “cluster plans” will identify commercially attractive inclusive and green (private) investment and partnership opportunities in and around relevant agricultural value chains, and priority public sector investments and actions to accelerate private investment and catalyse green and inclusive growth. The engagement tools will serve the SAGCOT Centre to identify and engage relevant public and private partners to implement the cluster plans. A second, preliminary objective of the assignment is to help the Centre derive consensus among key stakeholders on a choice of two clusters to form the first wave of cluster planning, taking into account a range of criteria. A third objective is to build SAGCOT’s institutional capacity in terms of partnership and relationship management. Scope of work A. Phase 1: Identify Partnership opportunities and build relationship management capacity The consultant will work closely with the Head of Cluster to conduct the following: i) completion of the assessment of all existing partner activities and identification of cross value chain partnership opportunities ii) facilitate partnership meetings and incubation of early stage partnerships identified iii) training and backstopping of the Head of Cluster B. Phase 2: Selection of 1 cluster 2

The consultants will work closely with relevant SAGCOT Centre staff to design and validate a simple set of cluster prioritization criteria. These will likely include: (i) presence of existing of pipeline anchor agribusiness investors committed to the SAGCOT Partnership and Principles and to green and inclusive development, (ii) potential to rapidly develop significant gains in terms of smallholder farmer inclusion in value chains, as well as additional investment by other agribusinesses, local SMEs, and support services, (iii) scale and nature of public investments (infrastructure, social services, etc.) required to achieve the development of competitive green and inclusive clusters, and (iv) scale and nature of the environmental and social risks related to a concentration of agribusiness activities in a given area. The consultants will establish a long list of clusters in the corridor, taking into account areas initially identified as part of the SAGCOT investment blueprint as well as new areas identified since then based on existing and pipeline agribusiness projects. The consultants will quickly evaluate each cluster option against the chosen criteria, rank them, and present a choice of 2 priority clusters (and second best options) to the SAGCOT Centre Board of Directors and management and its funders (including Government of Tanzania Prime Minister’s Office, and development partners funding the Centre) to validate the selection. Cluster identification and selection should not be a protracted process, and the focus should be on quickly selecting 2 clusters to start with, by providing a strong rationale in each case. The outputs should be provided in the form of powerpoint presentations that can be used to engage stakeholders on the selection of the first 2 clusters. It is anticipated that this first phase will be completed over a 1 month period culminating with stakeholder validation. C. Phase 3: Cluster plans and implementation tools Shortly after the selection of two clusters, the consultants will start cluster planning in one of the selected clusters (2). Each cluster plan will include the following: 1) Situation analysis: existing or pipeline anchor agribusiness projects, smallholder and emergent farmers, existing input suppliers and support services, physical and social infrastructures, critical environmental and social issues (a strategic regional environmental and social assessment covering SAGCOT has been completed and will be provided to the consultants) 2) Identification and prioritization of the top private investment opportunities (new or expansions), based on strategic priorities of the Government of Tanzania, existing SAGCOT partner commitments and potential investors' interests, relative commercial attractiveness and competitiveness, smallholder and emergent farmer inclusion potential, cluster-level synergies, green growth opportunities, food security, and environmental and social risks 3) Identification and prioritization of public sector investments and actions to accelerate and facilitate the private sector investments identified and maximize gains for smallholder and emergent farmers in the cluster (i.e. backbone, last mile and market support infrastructure, public extension services and agricultural research, village land use planning and land titling, special economic zones, priority policy reforms, etc.) 4) Cluster plan implementation tools, including: • Investment and partnership opportunity presentations for existing and potential private sector investors and operators providing strong business case arguments and highlighting key environmental and social issues to take into account, along with lists of target investors for

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each investment and partnership opportunity and outreach strategies for each target investor 3 • Detailed roadmap for public sector investment priorities indicating responsible implementing agencies, estimated budget, anticipated development returns, and relevant sources of support from development partners, along with individual presentations for each key responsible implementing agency 5. Partnership and value chain initiative case studies: • Two existing development and business cases for partnering with small and medium-scale farmers and business locally, highlighting both advantages and disadvantages of partnership. This should include a detailed analysis of the partnership approaches, management arrangements and tools used that can provide recommendations to the SAGCOT Partnership. The assessment should include practical lessons for replicating and enhancing agribusiness partnership approaches in SACGOT and recommendations for the studied partnership and its constituents to further enhance the partnership benefits 3 Phase 2 will likely take up to three months to complete, involving significant travel to the selected clusters, and culminate with a stakeholder workshop to present and validate the outputs of phase 2. D. Phase 4: Implementation support Following stakeholder validation of the two cluster plans and associated implementation tools, the consultants will support the SAGCOT Centre staff to start the implementation of the cluster plans by engaging public and private sector targets and promoting partnership opportunities. This will be done closely with the relevant Centre staff, using the tools prepared and the Centre’s systems (e.g. CRM), so that the Centre staff can continue the promotion, lobbying, and networking activities required to implement the cluster plans. Phase 3 will likely take up to two months with full-time presence alongside SAGCOT Centre staff.

Deliverables The consultants will be responsible for the following deliverables, as per scope of work described above: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Up to date partner activities overview Overview of potential partnership opportunities and recommendation for scaling Three potential partnerships incubated Cluster prioritization presentation Cluster selection validation meeting proceedings One cluster development plans and associated implementation tools Cluster development plans validation workshop Initial partner engagement and implementation support Partnership case study

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Private investors may include qualified local and international agribusiness companies, existing or new potential SAGCOT partners, financial institutions and private equity funds, conservation finance, Kilimo Kwanza catalytic fund, etc.

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Consulting firm profile The successful consulting firm for this project will have the experience and track record detailed below:  

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An internationally recognized consultancy firm, with at least 10 years of experience in offering quality and specialized government and business consultancy products and services. Experience in supporting agribusiness companies develop and implement international expansion strategies, adopt inclusive and green growth business models and technologies, and implement local sourcing strategies Experience of working with public sector organizations planning physical infrastructure projects, agricultural sector support policies, business support and policy advocacy actions Experience of working in sub-Saharan Africa. Specific experience of EAC and Tanzania would be an added advantage

It is expected that the consulting firm will be able to draw on a mixed international and local team of experts with knowledge of key agribusiness sectors and Tanzanian conditions and the combined skill sets that enable delivery of the requirements detailed in this TOR. Terms and Conditions 1. The Request for Proposal is not and shall not be considered an offer by SAGCOT Centre Limited. 2. All responses must be received on or before the date and time indicated on the RFP. All late responses will be rejected. 3. All unresponsive responses will be rejected. 4. All proposals will be considered binding offers. Prices proposed must be valid for entire period provided by respondent. 5. SAGCOT Centre Limited reserves the right to accept or reject any proposal or cancel the solicitation process at any time, and shall have no liability to the proposing organizations submitting proposals for such rejection or cancellation of the request for proposals. We also reserve the right to amend the contract to provide for additional or refocused services during the course of the contract. 6. SAGCOT Centre Limited reserves the right to accept all or part of the proposal when award is provided. 7. All information provided by SAGCOT Centre Limited in this RFP is offered in good faith. Individual items are subject to change at any time, and all bidders will be provided with notification of any changes. SAGCOT Centre Limited is not responsible or liable for any use of the information submitted by bidders or for any claims asserted therefrom. 8. SAGCOT Centre Limited reserves the right to require any bidder to enter into a non-disclosure agreement. 9. The bidders are solely obligated to pay for any costs, of any kind whatsoever, which maybe incurred by bidder or any third parties, in connection with the Response. Allresponses and supporting documentation shall become the property of SAGCOT Centre Limited, subject toclaims of confidentiality in respect of the response and supporting documentation, whichhave been clearly marked confidential by the bidder. 1. Proposal Form/Content of Response All proposals shall: 1. Be in the English language. 2. Be concise, specific, and complete, indicate proposed dates for performing the assignment, and demonstrate the applicant’s capabilities and expertise with respect to achieving the objectives and expected results of the proposed activity.

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3. Describe the qualifications, experience and capabilities of the firm in providing the type of services being requested by this RFP. Resumes or CVs of “key personnel” shall be submitted as an attachment. 4. Provide separate copies for the technical and financial. The financial proposal should contain detailed cost of conducting the different proposed activities and the payment terms and conditions. 5. Include a contact name, email address, and telephone number to facilitate communication between SAGCOT Centre Limited and the submitting organization. 6. A brief outline of the organization and services offered, including: • Full legal name, jurisdiction of incorporation and address of the company; and • Year business was established. 2. Instructions for Submission •

Interested biddersshould submit proposals electronically, as email with attachments (4MB limit) compatible with MS WORD, MS Excel. (Facsimile of the entire proposal is not authorized); To: [email protected] or hard copies to : Daniel Mgabonihela Operations Manager SAGCOT Centre ltd. TPSF Building Mwaya road, Masaki P.O. Box 11313 Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

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Two documents should be submitted, one for the technical and another for the financial response. If submission is done in hard copies –it should be in sealed envelope one for Financial and another for technical proposal.

1. Key dates Bidders Clarification

Submission: Technical and Financial Proposals

16June 2014,14:00hrs Bidders may seek clarifications from SCL in writing to the above address or by email at [email protected] to up to one week before the deadline. 20 June 2014, 14:00hrs

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