USAID Feed the Future Bangladesh Agricultural Infrastructure Development Activity PAE Bangladesh

Private Sector Engagement Specialist - Firm Fixed Price Subcontract

INRODUCTION

PAE requires support from a Bangladesh Private Sector Engagement Specialist for a short-term consultancy of approximately two months to be priced as a firm fixed price subcontract.

The USAID Feed the Future Bangladesh Agricultural Infrastructure Development Activity, implemented by PAE, seeks to address the infrastructure needs of farmers through investments in rural roads, market centers, collection centers, cold storage facilities, and irrigation systems. By investing in rural infrastructure, the Activity will increase incomes, create jobs, reduce crop losses, improve agricultural productivity, and strengthen food security. The main five objectives of the program are:

• Increase access to markets for agricultural produce, inputs, and services by improving transportation of agricultural produce and inputs, while improving the capacity of Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) to maintain rural roads.
• Enhance post-harvest handling and storage of agricultural produce by increasing access to post-harvest handling and storage facilities and improving the operation and maintenance of aggregation and storage facilities.
• Improve women’s participation in the markets.
• Engage the private sector in order to maximize the impact of the Activity.
• Build operation and maintenance capacity at the markets.

SCOPE OF WORK

The goal of the Private Sector Engagement Specialist will be to develop a private sector engagement approach which defines ways in which the Bangladesh Infrastructure Activity may support private sector actors develop post-harvest infrastructure with the intent of leveraging USAID funds to maximize post-harvest investments.

ASSIGNMENT INFORMATION

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Post-harvest losses of agricultural produce in Bangladesh are high, and constraints in infrastructure required to process and move products to markets limit the agriculture sector’s ability to drive economic growth. To address these issues, the USAID’s Agricultural Infrastructure Activity will upgrade and rehabilitate of union- and village-level earthen roads, and construct and rehabilitate agricultural market centers, collection centers, and sanitation installations at those centers.

The activity seeks to facilitate public-private partnerships and private sector engagement by providing support to the private sector (e.g. design work, budget planning, land obtention, etc.) in order to maximize private sector investment into activities which will decrease post-harvest loss or further support the infrastructure development undertaken by the activity.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ASSIGNMENT

PAE requires support from a Bangladesh Private Sector Engagement Specialist to define the Activity’s approach to engaging private sector entities to facilitate the private sector in making post-harvest infrastructure investments with the goal of leveraging USAID funds to maximize post-harvest infrastructure and program results. Examples of such activities include supporting the private sector with conducting feasibility and business studies to promote receiving private equity and/or investment loans, working with entrepreneurs to facilitate their obtention of land to allow them to operate toilets at market centers, etc.

The report should:

• Lay out the plan for identifying local micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), or other private sector actors who could be interested in agricultural post-harvest improvement activities.
• Define how USAID’s Agricultural Infrastructure Activity can forge public-private partnerships between the Government of Bangladesh, market management committees, other community organizations and private sector entities.
• Define what support USAID’s Agricultural Infrastructure Activity can provide to the private sector to encourage their investment in such activities.

This will be practical report with actionable suggestions and pursuits for engaging the private sector actors upon examination of areas of potential interest. It will be backed by research, interviews and meetings. The consultancy is expected to last approximately 2 months and will include close coordination with PAE’s senior management staff.  

DELIVERABLES

All deliverables must be in English.

• List of Recommended Actions: The subcontractor shall provide a short-list of recommended actions the Activity can undertake to support the private sector. The subcontractor will receive comments and recommendations from PAE on the breadth of the suggested actions, their feasibility, and cost implications in order to help him/her refine the actions. The deliverable will be accepted provided it proposes a comprehensive list of actions which are achievable, cost effective, and respond to the desired activity outcomes, as well as responds to the feedback provided to the subcontractor on the actions.
• Report Outline: The subcontractor shall develop a comprehensive outline of the Private Sector Engagement Approach report with the overall structure, bullet points or short write-ups of the sections. PAE will review the outline and provide comments in order to allow the subcontractor to make changes and finalize the outline for the report.
• Draft Report: The subcontractor shall provide a first draft of the full Private Sector Engagement Approach report. This draft should respond to the description of assignment in this scope of work.
• Final Report: The final report shall incorporate responses and adjustments based on PAE’s comments and feedback and shall fully define ways in which the Bangladesh Infrastructure Activity may support private sector actors develop post-harvest infrastructure with the intent of leveraging USAID funds to maximize post-harvest investments.

QUALIFICATIONS AND SELECTION:

The subcontractor should be Private Sector Expert with experience working with private sector actors in Bangladesh, preferably in the agricultural space. The candidate should have experience with designing public-private sector interventions, and/or working with the agricultural private sector in collaboration with donor-funded projects.