Wanted Business Development Consultants in the Philippines

The International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, promotes sustainable private sector investment in developing countries as a way to reduce poverty and improve people's lives.

IFC has been active in the Philippines for more than 40 years and established an office in Manila in 1977. To complement its growing investments, IFC is expanding its advisory services to include public-private partnerships and private sector development. IFC is focusing on Mindanao and opened an office in Davao City in 2006. As part of its advisory services, IFC with support from the Governments of Australia and Canada, established a multilateral program to support the development of small and medium enterprises.

To further its Advisory Services work, IFC is seeking Expressions of Interest from Business Development Consultants (Individuals and Firms) with agribusiness sector expertise.

Background:  The IFC Advisory Services Philippines has implemented a pilot project on sustainable agriculture to improve and facilitate the integration of smallholder banana growers (or 'outgrowers') into a high value agribusiness chain in Davao City and Davao del Norte. The aim of the project was to help these outgrowers comply with Rainforest Alliance (RA) certification standards and acquire business management skills to enable them to access the premium Japan market. The expected result was that the outgrowers would increase their net incomes and improve their social and environmental performance.

Three outgrower farms located in Calinan, Davao and in Asuncion, Davao Del Norte successfully gained RA certification during the pilot phase of the project in year 1. After achieving certification we now wish to measure the impact of RA certification on these farms.

Scope of work: The services of a consultant are required to identify the impact of certification, identify the costs and benefits in terms of cost and operational efficiencies, classify and quantify other qualitative benefits and where possible, attribute a value. The objective is also to determine whether there is a final net benefit enjoyed by outgrowers as a result of RA certification. The period of engagement will be up to 100 days between December 2009 and June 2010.

Specifically, the independent Business Development Consultant or Consulting Firm shall  undertake the following: (1) Conduct extensive desk research to establish the data available on smallholder certification worldwide; (2)  Develop a framework and a design for measuring the impact, the costs and benefits derived by the three farms from RA certification; (3) Work with the 3 outgrower farms to review their entire operation and establish where RA might have impacted the operation; (4) Liaise with the representatives of the partner banana exporter and collate their experiences and any information they might have collected; and (5) Prepare the necessary progress and end of assignment reports.

Specific qualifications of the Business Development Consultant are as follows:

·       Graduate or masters qualification in agribusiness, agricultural economics, social development, small business development, or similar.

·       Demonstrated experience/knowledge of the agribusiness sector, with particular reference to the banana sector together with good operational and financial analysis skills.

·       Strong understanding of International Standards in Agriculture.

·       Knowledge/experience of banana growing operations is essential or demonstrated experience of having conducted similar assignments on banana operations in the past.

·       Strong interpersonal skills with a high level of computer, written and oral presentation skills in English.

·       English and Cebuano fluency.

·       A willingness to travel within Mindanao.

·       An ability to work in a team environment and deliver high quality output to tight deadlines.

The deliverables include: (a) Framework, Design, and work schedule for the assignment; and, (b) monthly progress reports, briefings and final report as required by IFC.

Interested applicants may submit Expressions of Interest along with proof of expertise and email these to KVinluan@ifc.org not later than close of business on December 21, 2009. For corporate information, please visit IFC.