Consultancy -Development of Business Development Strategies (INT10202) At Oxfam GB

Terms of Reference (TOR) for Consultation Firm, or National Consultant team.

Scope: Development of Business Development Strategies for 20 Medium-size Agro-processors in Anbar.

Starting date: 24th Dec.2023

Estimated end date of the service: Mid of March 2023.

Introduction:

This TOR outlines the requirements and expectations for a consultation firm or a national consultant’s team who will be responsible for developing business development strategies for 20 medium-size Agro-Processors to expand their businesses on different business aspects such as product diversification and development, branding, marketing, increased customer reach, financial planning, accounting records and access to financing facilities from local MFIs/bank or government packages etc). Through conducting an extensive training for the selected businesses on the topics above, as well as hiring business mentors who will be providing mentorship to the same 20 medium-size Agro-Processors over a period of two months, to ensure their correct application of action plan in their business development strategy, and provide Oxfam with a full report covering the training, the business development strategies, the mentorship period, and recommendation for support packages for the businesses to implement the action plans in their business development strategies.

Project summary:

Objectives:

The primary objectives of this engagement are as follows:

1. Deliver business development training to 20 medium-size agro-processors aimed at developing business development strategies for these 20 agro-processors on product diversification and development, branding, marketing, increased customer reach, financial planning, accounting records and access to financing facilities from local MFIs/bank or government packages etc.).
2. Develop comprehensive and viable business development strategies to the 20 medium-size agro-processors in Anbar.
3. Provide mentoring and coaching to the 20 selected medium-sized agro-processors to enhance their growth and sustainability and ensure their application of the business development strategy.

Scope of Work:

1. Business Development Training:

• Conduct an initial assessment of the 20 selected medium-sized agro-processors to understand their needs, goals, and challenges.
• Develop tailored training materials that include marketing, costing, buying and stock control, record keeping, planning for your business, and people and productivity).
• Deliver the training to the 20 selected medium-sized agro-processors for 5-10 days or 40 Hrs., based on the developed training material requirement.

1. Developing the business developing strategy:

• Work closely with the 20 trained medium-size agro-processors to develop tailored business development strategies for these businesses.
• Submit the draft business development strategies for Oxfam and the medium-sized businesses to be validated by both parties.

1. Mentoring and coaching:

• Conduct mentoring and coaching services to the selected and trained 20 medium-sized agro-processors for one month, following the training and development of the strategies.
• Provide a finalized report for the training, the strategies, and mentoring phase with directions on future steps to further implement the business development strategies.

Methodology:

During the preparation phase of the materials, the contracted consultants or consultant firm will:

• Be consulted closely with the contracting authority,
• Hold regular meetings with contracting authority,
• The deliverables (including the first and final versions) should always be delivered via email,
• Ownership & Copyrights: The materials will be owned by OXFAM.

Deliverables:

A. Training materials and training:

• Needs assessment report on the specified learning and development needs of the selected 20 medium-sized agro-processors.
• Comprehensive training materials for the business development training.
• Deliver 5-10 days or 40 Hrs of training to the selected 20 businesses, and provide Oxfam with the training report, pre and post test results, and training evaluation forms.

B. Business Development Strategies:

• Develop and produce 20 business development strategies specified for each of the selected businesses.

C. Mentoring and coaching:

• Provide one month of mentoring and coaching sessions on the business sites of the selected 20 businesses.
• Progress reports on the impact and outcomes of the mentoring and coaching sessions.

D. Final report:

• Submit the comprehensive final report for the 20 medium-sized agro-procesors, encompassing aspects such as their business progress, and the implementation of the business development strategies.

Roles and responsibilities

Key responsibilities of the contracted party are:

• Close collaboration with the staff engaged in the project from the contracting authority.
• Meet the agreed deadlines and expected quality standards.
• Consider all the suggestions coming from the contracting authority for the materials.
• If contacted as a short listed potential contracted party, prepare and submit an activity plan and timeline responsive to the listed requirements as per this ToR,
• Report regularly to OXFAM and be responsive to OXFAM’s project related requests.
• Prepare a final report.

Key responsibilities of the contracting authority are:

• Comment on the content of the materials.
• Review the content of the prepared materials and approve it.
• Provide necessary support to the contracted party.
• Inform the company/agency duly on any potential changes and deviations from the initial plan.
• Hold the company/agency accountable to the agreed terms.

Timeline:

The national team of consultants or the consultation firm is expected to complete the full requirements and scope of work within a two and half month’s period,

Activity

Duration in weeks

A

Business Development Training:

A.1

initial assessment of the 20 selected medium size agro processors

2 weeks

A.2

Develop tailored training materials

2 weeks

A.3

Deliver the training

2 weeks

B

Developing the business development strategies:

B.1

Working with the selected agro-processors to develop the strategies.

2 weeks (same as the training weeks)

C

Mentoring and coaching:

C.1

Follow up on the 20 agro-processors that received the training and developed the business development strategies.

Daily bases for 1 month.

C.2

Provide reporting, documentation, and means of verification on regular basis for the 20 selected agro-processors.

Weekly bases

D

Final report submission:

1 week

Required documentation:

Interested parties that would like to submit their offers must submit the following documents:

• Expression of Interest

A cover letter with a maximum of two pages which introduces the consulting/company/organization with an expression of interest to carry out the work as described in this ToR.

• Technical & Financial Proposal

Technical proposal should include, but not limited to, understanding of the ToR, methodology and tentative work plan. The company should clearly indicate the relevance of their previous experiences and the application of these methods to this project.

While the financial proposal includes the total financial expected implications to carry out this work, including a detailed breakdown of costs for each activity to be accomplished.

• Resume

Provide resumes for the main consultant/s and trainers, as well as the mentors, along with the resumes of any company personnel who will be spearheading, coordinating, or participating in this project.

• Professional Portfolio.

The consultation firm should:

• Have experience in business development and mentoring, coaching and monitoring, follow up and evaluation for small businesses.
• Have experience and knowledge in the agriculture sector, food processing, and food production.
• Possess a team of experts with diverse skills and knowledge.
• Demonstrate a commitment to community development and the success of the agro-processors.
• The consultation firm or the nationals consultants’ team is required to provide regular progress reports to the project officer and project manager. These reports should include status updates on business plan development and mentorship activities and monitoring progress.

Note: The business development training and mentorship materials and guidance will be conducted in Arabic, but the reports submitted to OXFAM should be in English.