EMPOWER Private Sector USAID Kosovo – APS #3

To: / Prospective Applicants
Subject: / Annual Program Statement #3and Request for Expressions of Interest (Concept Note)
APS#3
From: / EMPOWER Private Sector Project – USAID Kosovo
Issuance Date: / June 01, 2017
Closing Date: / December 31, 2017(or earlier, depending on availability of funds)

1.Purpose

The purposes of this Annual Program Statement (APS)are (i) to solicit Expressions of Interest (EOIs), in the form of Concept Notes, for funding innovative activitiesto advance the economic development objectives of the EMPOWER Private Sector project, and (ii) to explain the process of evaluating and selecting activities that will be funded by awards of grants from EMPOWER Private Sector’s Strategic Activities Fund (SAF).

The EMPOWER Private Sector project is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and theSwedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). It is implemented by Cardno Emerging Markets USA, Ltd. (Cardno). It began in July 2014 and is scheduled to last until July 2019. EMPOWER Private Sector’s principal office is in Pristina, with a representative office in North Mitrovicë/a.

EMPOWER Private Sector’s overarching objective is creating new jobs in Kosovo, by helping enterprises fully realize their potential business opportunities, and by helping individuals qualify themselves for positions in demand in the labor market. EMPOWER Private Sector helps companies connect to buyers, improve product design and quality, and access finance. It increases workforce skills so that more people can be employed by companies needing them, or be self-employed. The project focuses on certain sectors but also supports significant job creation opportunities in any sector. It has a cross-cutting focus on job creation for priority populations: women, youth, and disadvantaged groups.

Any nongovernmental organization or association, or private company, whether not-for-profit or for-profit, that is legally-registered in Kosovo, may submit an Expression of Interest, in the manner described below, to implement an activity that addresses these objectives.

Subject to the availability of funds, EMPOWER Private Sector intends to award grants to fund eligible applications. Any awards resulting from this APS are expected to be in the range of EUR 5,000 to EUR 50,000 for activities whose implementation will be completedby December 31, 2018.

2.Project Performance Indicators and Work Areas

EMPOWER Private Sector will track results indicators as measures of its performance. All awards must be expected to advance some or all of these results indicators, which include:

  • Jobs growth, both in total and with an affirmative focus on the employment of women, youth, and disadvantaged groups
  • Sales growth, in general and with a focus on exports or import-competing products and services
  • Increased number of micro-, small, and medium-sized businesses connected to business opportunities
  • Increased number of individuals certified for specific qualifications
  • Increased number of companies with product quality and safety certifications.

It is to be emphasized that any activity that EMPOWER Private Sector will fund must have a concrete, realistic expectation that it will create employment. For example, if support for the expansion of the production capacities of a business is proposed – say by providing a grant for additional equipment– the applicant for EMPOWER Private Sector funding must clearly demonstrate that the capacity expansion responds to unfilled demand in the market for the company’s products. Or, if an applicant proposes to provide skills training to unemployed persons, it must be clearly demonstrated that market demand exists for these skills, so that upon completion of training participants are highly likely to be hired, or that it will result in increased employment at the host company. The number of jobs that can realistically be expected to be created will always be the most important single criterion for EMPOWER Private Sector funding.

EMPOWER Private Sector has selected certain sectors for particular focus, including wood products and textile goods (apparel and leather), and “green business” products (renewable fuels, recycling, and energy efficiency). Nevertheless, we are open to consideration of activities in mostother sectors, so long as they will create jobs. Examples of other sectors where we have seen opportunities for job creation includeinformation and communications technology (ICT), tourism, fabricated metal products, and food processing.

The only sector that EMPOWER Private Sector does not generally support is agriculture, because there is another USAID project dedicated to that sector in Kosovo.

We encourage activities that advance job creation among women, and those that move women into senior management. We also encourage activities that employ youth, and minorities.

Finally, in all cases EMPOWER Private Sector seeks to maximize the leverage of its own funding. This means that we will favor proposals that provide substantial co-investment from the beneficiary(s) of an activity, and that obtain co-funding from other donors, Kosovo government agencies, and / or financial institutions, in order to minimize the amount required from EMPOWER Private Sector’s fund.

The following table recapitulates the criteria that an activity proposed for funding under this APS must fulfill:

Table of Criteria
Economic Impact / Qualitative Criteria
Primary criteria for all proposals: /
  • Realistic job creation impact
/
  • Management capacity and experience of implementer

Additional criteria: /
  • Sales growth
  • Trade balance impact
  • Increased access to finance
  • Additionality *
  • Number of SMEs benefitted
  • Jobs for women
  • Jobs for youth, minorities & disadvantaged groups
/
  • Leverage (cost sharing, co-funding)
  • Sustainability

*Additionality = Private financing – from owner capital, operational cash flow, bank finance, or other investment is not currently available in an adequate amount on financially viable terms, with required tenor, in the right form.

3.Eligibility

All awards issued under the USAID EMPOWER Private Sector SAF will be subject to the eligibility requirements set forth below. Eligible organizations must be:

  • Legally registered Kosovo entities or institutions
  • For profit or non-profit private companies, nongovernmental organizations and associations, oreducational institutions (public or private).

Eligible organizations must also:

  • Demonstrate an ability to contribute to the objectives of the USAID EMPOWER Private Sector and perform the award in accordance with USAID and Cardno principles and practices
  • Display sound financial, administrative, and technical management in the form of a system of controls that safeguards assets, protects against fraud and waste
  • Have a satisfactory performance record and record of business integrity and ethicality
  • Be able to attest to and sign all mandatory certifications (listed in Annex C).

Ineligible organizations include:

  • Individuals
  • Political parties or institutions
  • Organizations that intend to use funding for religious objectives
  • Entities that are on the list of parties excluded from federal procurement and non-procurement programs or the United Nations Security Sanctions Committee, or have owners or managers that are so excluded.

Prior to the award of a grantunder this APS, successful applicants will also be subject to a pre-award responsibility determination.

EMPOWER Private Sector will not take in consideration activities that have negative environmental impact that cannot be mitigated.

Cost-sharing is required.

4.Expressions of Interest (Concept Notes) and Applications

This evaluation and selection of submitted proposalsconsists of the following steps.

i.Expressions of Interest: Concept Notes

First, applicants are required to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) in the form of a Concept Note.The Concept Note should clearly and concisely explain the proposed grant activity’s purpose, relevance, activities, and expected results in support of EMPOWER Private Sector’s principal objectives as set forth above. The Concept Note mustbe submitted in the format contained in Annex A of this solicitation, and must not exceed 5 pages.

EOIs/Concept Notes may be submitted to the Project at any pointup to the closing date of this solicitation, which is December 31, 2017, at 17:00 hours CET. The implementation of proposed activities must be scheduled for completion by December 31, 2018. However, this solicitation may be terminated earlier if and when available SAF funds are fully committed, by public announcement on the Project website ( ).

Applications should be submitted to:

EMPOWER Private Sector – SAF Manager

electronically via email

ii.Initial Evaluation

An EMPOWER Private Sector team will conduct an initial evaluation of each Concept Note submitted in response to this APS, on a rolling basis. The initial evaluation will be based on the criteria outlined above. Should an applicant’s Concept Note be accepted, the applicant will be invited to submit a Detailed Application as describedin the following section

iii.Detailed Application

EMPOWER Private Sector will invite organizations that submitted successful Concept Notes to submit a Detailed Application. All applications must be submitted in the DetailedApplication format containedin Annex B of this solicitation, or any other comparable format that EMPOWER Private Sector deems acceptable. This format requires applicants to expand in detail on the proposed activity, objectives and expected results, including a description of target beneficiaries and stakeholders, a proposed management / staffing structure, and a detailed budget. The Detailed Application must not exceed 15 pages.

iv.Final Evaluation and Selection

The Project will convene a Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) that will review the Detailed Applications on a rolling basis. The TEC will evaluate Detailed Applications based on the following questions:

  1. Logic and feasibility of proposed activity to contribute to EMPOWER Private Sector’s economic goals: Do the objectivesof the proposed activity contribute significantly to the Economic Impact results presented in the Table of Criteria in Section 2 above? Does the applicant demonstrate a clear understanding of the obstacles / issues that the proposed activity will address to produce its Economic Impact results? Are the specific tasks and deliverables in the proposed Scope of Work for the activity clearly connected to addressing these obstacles / issues? Is the Scope of Work realistic and the attainment of anticipated results feasible? Are the results verifiable?
  2. Management ability of implementer: Can the applicant demonstrate confidently that it has the management expertise and relevant past experience to implement the proposed activity?Does the proposed staffing plan address the management needs of the activity? Can the applicant demonstratepast performance experience in successfully implementing similaror related activities?
  3. Budget realism, cost-sharing, co-funding, and level of SAF investment: Is the proposed budget realistic and are the proposed costs reasonable, allowable, and allocable to the activity? Will the applicant and / or the beneficiaries of the proposed activity contribute a significant share of the total costs of the activity? Has the applicant identified other sources of co-funding for the activity (from financial institutions, other donors, or Kosovo governmental agencies)?Weighing the required SAF investment against the realistic expected economic impact, does the proposed activity present a good value for money opportunity for EMPOWER Private Sector?
  4. Sustainability: To what extent will the impact of the proposed activity be sustainable by its beneficiaries and long-lasting?

Caveats

EMPOWER Private Sector reserves the right to fund any or none of the applications submitted. Issuance of this APS does not constitute an award commitment on the part of the EMPOWER Private Sector, nor does it commit the EMPOWER Private Sector to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of an EOI or application. Further, the EMPOWER Private Sector reserves the right to reject any or all applications received if such action is considered to be in the best interest of the US Government. Applications are submitted at the risk of the applicant; should circumstances prevent making an award, all preparation and submission costs are at the applicant’s expense.

5.Award Administration

Pursuant to 22 CFR 226.81, it is USAID policy not to award profit under assistance instruments. However, all reasonable, allocable and allowable expenses, both direct and indirect which are related to the activity and are in accordance with applicable cost standards (22 CFR 226, OMB Circular A-122 for non-profit organizations, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 31 for for-profit organizations, and OMB Circular A-21 for educational institutions), may be paid under the funding.

Any resultant award will be subject to the terms and conditions of the Prime Contract for the USAID EMPOWER Private Sector.

Annexes:

  1. Concept Note Template
  2. Detailed Application Template
  3. Certifications, Assurances and Other Statements of Offerors

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