REOI for Assessment to set up an Investment Fund for Small and Medium Enterprises in the Agribusiness

Assam Agribusiness & Rural Transformation Project (APART)

 REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (EOI)

Assessment to set up an Investment Fund for Small and Medium Enterprises in the Agribusiness Sector in Assam

1.The Government of Assam (GoA) through the Government of India has applied for a loan of US$ 200 million from the World Bank (WB) for implementation of the APART. The APART’s objective is to “increase value-added and improve resilience of selected agriculture value chains, focusing on smallholder farmers and agro-entrepreneurs in targeted districts of Assam”. An important component of the APART is setting up an investment fund for SMEs in the Agribusiness Sector. This fund would be called as “Agribusiness Fund”. The ARIAS Society now intends to apply a portion of the loan for a consultancy service relating to “Feasibility Assessment to set up an Investment Fund for Small and Medium Enterprises in the Agribusiness Sector in Assam”.

2. The key indicators of the project would be (1) Farmers reached with agricultural assets or services (number) of which female (%) (2) Increase in quality as measured by prce premium of commodities sold by beneficiaries in the selected value chains (%) (3) Share of agricultural commodities sold through new marketing channels and (4) Farmers adopting improved agricultural technology (number).

3. APART activities are grouped into three major components: (i) Component A: Support to Agri Enterprise Development (ii) Component B: Facilitate Agro Cluster Development (iii) Component C: Market-led Production and Resilience Enhancement. The Agribusiness Fund mentioned above would be set up as a part of Component A.

4. Implementation of the project activities would be through the line Departments of the Govt. of Assam such as (i) Agriculture, (ii) Public Works Roads, (iii) Industries & Commerce, (iv) Cooperation, (v) Panchayat & Rural Development, (vi) Fisheries, (vii) Sericulture, Handloom & Textiles and (viii) Animal Husbandry and Veterinary. The Project Coordination Unit (PCU) of the ARIAS Society would act as the nodal coordinating & monitoring agency of the project and would also provide technical support to the implementing departments in a few areas.

5. Briefly the scope of the consultancy assignment would covera)

A detailed analysis of existing SME investment funds in Assam and other states,

b) An analysis of relevant local and international experience with sector-specific SME funds (particularly those that are government sponsored, or hybrid funds) and other types of interventions that catalyse risk financing for SMEs based on analysis of the desk based research and produce a draft report for review by the Government of Assam (GoA);

c) A study of legal, regulatory and taxation framework within which this Agribusiness Fund would be set up

d) Reporting the status of development of SMEs in general and SMEs in the agribusiness sector in particular in Assam and the business enabling environment within which they operate as inputs into the estimation of potential deal flow for the Agribusiness Fund

6. The short-listing criteria include:

a. The firm should be in business for the last five (05) years;

b. The firm should have an average annual turnover of Indian Rs. 1.00 crore in the last three (03) financial years;

c. Proven experience of having managed similar assignment (Governance/development sector) in government/externally aided projects in India in the last five years.

d. Availability of a multidisciplinary technical team and expert staff for the assignment.

7. The lists of documents to be submitted along with EOI are (Expression of Interest shall not be more than total 60 pages):

i. Document (s) to demonstrate that the firm is in the business for the last five (05) years;

ii. Details of Work Experience and Similar Assignments undertaken to support the short-listing criteria accompanied by completion or acceptance certificate(s);

iii. Self- certified CVs of available personnel with domain expertise and experience;

iv. Certificate from the statutory auditors/ Chartered Accountant certifying the turnover during the last three (03) financial years (i.e. 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16).

8. The Consultant would be selected in accordance with the CQS method set out in the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers: Procurement of Goods, Works, Non-Consulting and Consulting Services, July 2016. Attention of the interested Consultants is drawn to paragraph 3.14 of the said regulations relating to Conflict of Interest.

9. Consulting firm may associate with other firms in the form of a Joint Venture (JV) or a Sub-Consultancy (with joint and several liability) to enhance their qualifications, however this should be stated clearly in the Expression of Interest (EOI).

10. Further information may be obtained at the address below during 11:00 to 16:00 hours IST.

11. The State Project Director, ARIAS society now invites eligible consultancy firms/ agencies to register their Expression of Interest (EOI) in providing the above services by submitting the following information/ documents: (not more than 60 pages in total):

a) Name, address, e-mail, telephone, ownership and organizational structure of the consulting firm/ agency;

b) Expertise available with the firm/ agency for the services with emphasis on Specialists with appropriate skills in SME Investment Management, Finance, Entrepreneurship, Agribusiness, which would constitute the core team;

c) Audited Financial statements and Profit & Loss Accounts with annexure thereof for the last three years (i.e. 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16) with an Abstract showing year wise Total Financial Turnover on similar assignments, specifying the titles of assignments.

d) Statement of similar major assignments undertaken, with complete detailed address/ Telephone number/ email of the employer, contract amount for each assignment during the last five years (i.e. 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16).

12. Interested consultancy firms/agencies may submit their EoI to the following address not later than 31st January, 2017 (before 1600 hours) in soft as well as hard copy. The detailed terms of reference for this assignment will be available on website www.arias.in/notification

 State Project Director, ARIAS Society,

 Agricultural Complex, Khanapara, Guwahati-781 022, Assam, India.

 Ph-0361-2332125/2332564. Fax-0361-2332564, e-mail: spd@arias.in

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