Germany - Development consultancy services - 81320368-Implementation of field activities to strengthen competitiveness in selected blue economy value chains in Mozambique

Background Causes preventing MSMEs and farmers from harnessing the potential of agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries to generate enough income and create jobs, especially for women and young people, are manifold. Public services are not sufficiently available, and laws and regulations are inadequate or not consistently applied. Most MSMEs and farmers lack skills and access to financial services, especially in rural areas. However, Mozambique has favorable land, inland water and marine resources for increasing productivity and value addition to meet growing demand for food. The Government of Mozambique recognizes the importance of agriculture and the blue economy for economic development and supports the sectors through strategies such as the National Strategic Development Plan for the Agricultural Sector 2030 and the National Blue Economy Development Strategy. Our approach Within the framework of these strategies under the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries and by building on the experiences of different private sector development projects of German development cooperation in Mozambique, VaMoz Competir applies an integrated approach aiming at the creation of a more conducive environment for the development of the sector in rural and coastal areas. The project promotes income and employment opportunities through three interlinked work streams. 1. Value chain promotion Partnerships with well-established companies that source products from MSMEs and small producers are established aiming at a win-win situation of development and business targets. Within these partnerships, the project provides training to enhance skills, supports the development of digital solutions for supply chain management, and facilitates market processes. Better skills and linkages between small producers, processors, and service providers improve both the income situation and resilience to climate change. In the blue economy sector sustainable and inclusive upgrading strategies are developed and implemented in a participatory and systematic manner for selected aquaculture and fisheries value chains through the EU co-financing. 2. Access to finance By improving the bankability of MSMEs and introducing innovative financial products that are specifically tailored to the needs of agriculture and the blue economy, better conditions are created for access to needs-based financial services. Special emphasis is placed on services that meet the needs of women and young people. In addition, small producers and their organisations are enabled to make greater use of savings and insurance products and are supported in connecting to the formal financial system. This increases their resilience to economic and climatic challenges and ensures their long-term economic stability. 3. Rural economic ecosystem This work stream aims to benefit the private sector in rural areas in the long term. With this goal in mind, local support services for farmers and MSMEs are improved, and regional networks and support structures are established. This also includes support for the implementation of recommendations from national strategies and action plans as well as the public-private platform for the coordination of agricultural financing (CIFAM) under the leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries. The contractor is responsible for providing the following work packages and for achieving the corresponding milestones in English language: General tasks (no specific output): - Prepare annual reports - Collect data for project monitoring following the guidance by the project M&E specialist - Support in the organization of missions and delegation visits (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, GIZ, BMZ) - Ad-hoc preparation of targeted updates for requests (e.g. from BMZ) - Contribute to the strategic development of the project approach and partnerships - Participation in project management and coordination meetings - List all inventory items immediately after procurement in a shared document on MS-Teams with GIZ project administration. Work package 1: Development partnerships with lead firms for improved competitiveness The contractor will prepare and facilitate "development partnerships with the private sector" (DPP) between private sector companies in the selected blue value chains and GIZ. The objective of the DPPs is to overall strengthen the competitiveness of partner companies and thereby improve sustainability of the value chain. The selection of the DPPs will be subject to review and approval by GIZ. The contractor will implement GIZ"s contribution to the partnerships as well as the supervision and monitoring of the overall partnership activities. The contractor will implement 10 partnerships with improvements in 2 out of 4 criteria: (1) increased production; (2) increased turnover; (3) new customers; (4) new products in the market. In alignment with GIZ"s "Bankability Process Guidance", the contractor is expected to review and assess the bankability levels of the lead firms, prepare and define their bankability/investment plans and, finally, provide the necessary support in their matchmaking preparation with commercial banks, concessional capital funds, investors, and others. Bankability support facilitates particularly the first two criteria and enhances the sustainability of the work package, which includes an improved business plan, organization of financial planning and accounting documents, participation in business coaching and in matchmaking events or bilateral negotiations with financial institutions and impact investors. Work package 2: Smallholder participation in markets is sustainably increased The objective of the work package is to increase the competitiveness of smallholder producers and to sustainably include them into the value chains of tilapia-aquaculture, artisanal salt production, seaweed farming and artisanal shrimp fishing. The contractor will identify regional production clusters for the selected value chains within the geographical scope of the project, namely: Sofala (coastal districts of Beira, Buzi, Dondo, Machanga); Inhambane (coastal districts of Zavala, Inharrime, Jangamo, Inhambane, Murrumbene, Massinga, Vilankulos, Inhassoro, Govuro); Nampula (Mossuril; Ilha de Moçambique) as well as along the Zambeze River Basin in Tete (Cahora Bassa), Zambezia and Sofala. The regional production clusters will be assessed and rated according to their potential to develop into coordination and service hubs for key actors in the region. Overall, a total of 5.000 smallholder producers will benefit from technical and entrepreneurial training and coaching systems. The goal is to successfully establish and / or strengthen 1.500 smallholder producers by the end of the project, achieving improvement in 2 out of the 4 criteria: (1) investments into their production (e.g. purchasing services, quality inputs, diversification of production, implementing record keeping); (2) increased productivity; (3) increased employment of seasonal workers; (4) improved level of formality of the business. Work package 3: Strengthening input and service provision in the selected value chains The objective of the work package is to train 250 MSME and to improve the competitiveness of 50 MSME that impact the selected value chains. The result is expected to be mainly achieved through business coaching and bankability measures. This work package is split into the following phases (partially in parallel): 1. Needs assessment for service provision for each partnership and target region. 2. Participatory concept development for the work package, involving IDEPA, local authorities and value chain actors. 3. Identification of suitable MSME for training. 4. Identification, preparation and implementation of trainings and coachings necessary to strengthen the service network. Work package 4: Market access and market development The objective of the work package is to increase national demand and market access through marketing campaigns. Together with implementing partners and the responsible government entities, the contractor will identify 2 products that can greatly benefit from positive marketing. They will design and implement a marketing campaign to improve the market uptake of the selected products. Work package 5: Certification & quality management The objective of the work package is to increase international market access and access to finance through certification in support of the competitiveness of companies and producers. In collaboration with IDEPA, the National Institute for Fisheries Inspection (INIP) and other relevant actors, the contractor will analyze the certification needs and priorities in each value chain. Direct certification support to private sector can be covered in DPP work packages. For fisheries and aquaculture, only schemes accredited by the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI) will be supported. The work packages are described in more detail on page 9-15 of the ToR.