Annual Program Statement: Feed the Future Market Systems and Partnerships Cambodia Agricultural Investment Activity
Feed the Future Market Systems and Partnerships Cambodia Agricultural Investment Activity
Issuance Date: February 24, 2021
Deadline for Questions: 8 p.m. Indochina Time (ICT) March 15, 2021
Virtual Applicant’s Conference: 7 p.m. ICT March 17, 2021
Closing Date Concept Papers: 8 p.m. ICT April 16, 2021
Solicitation Type: Annual Program Statement (APS)
Announcement Number: APS-CAM-001
Through this notice of funding opportunity, The Feed the Future Market Systems and Partnerships (MSP) Cambodia Agricultural Investment Activity (hereinafter referred to as the MSP activity), managed by Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI) on behalf of USAID/Cambodia, is offering opportunities for coinvestment with private sector actors in Cambodia to improve:
- Cold chain (temperature-controlled supply chain);
- Agricultural storage capacity (warehouses, deposits or holdings of farm products); and
- Logistics (connectivity between production and consumption centers over space and time, with minimal loss in quality and quantity) in the agriculture sector.
The objective of these activities is to advance the country’s economic competitiveness and inclusiveness by expanding market access for Cambodian agricultural products, improving infrastructure and logistics, enhancing agricultural services and promoting private sector engagement and investment across the agriculture value chain.
The aim of this MSP activity is to address challenges in Cambodia’s storage and logistics capacity, currently impeding growth of the agriculture sector, which accounts for a quarter of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and employs approximately half of its rural population. MSP will issue performance-based grants to establish partnerships with firms and investors with a required matching investment of equal or greater value. By partnering with firms and investors — focusing strongly on entrepreneurs — to test innovative business models, pilot new technology or expand into new high-risk markets and scale innovative agricultural storage, cold-chain storage and logistics technologies, MSP will help to reduce post-harvest losses, increase smallholder incomes and better integrate women and youth into supply chains. These new MSP partnerships will test and promote the uptake of successful storage and logistics innovations that will ultimately crowd in further private sector investment along Cambodia’s agricultural value chains and increase regional and international trade integration. Illustrative examples of potential partnerships are reflected in the adjacent text box.
MSP Grant Program Summary
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Available grant funding and type |
MSP performance-based grants will range between $100,000-1,000,000 per activity. Applicants must contribute a cash investment to the activity equal to or greater than the value of MSP’s grant. |
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Period of performance |
Partnership grants will be implemented over no more than a 24-month period. |
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Eligible applicants |
Financial institutions, investors, businesses, business service organizations, industry/sector organizations, trade or other private sector associations legally registered to operate in Cambodia. If firms are not currently registered in Cambodia, they must demonstrate their plan and confirm that the timeline for achieving the right to work in Cambodia would not negatively impact the success of the anticipated activity. |
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Eligible activities |
Eligible activities include novel ideas and innovative business models in cold chain and logistics. Illustrative examples are found in the text box above. All applications should demonstrate potential for significant impact on facilitating domestic, regional and international market access for Cambodian agricultural products through means including reducing post-harvest loss, improving supply chain management and enhancing the competitiveness of Cambodian agricultural products. |
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Application process |
DAI will apply a streamlined, two-stage review and selection process that begins with registering online at the DAI online grants platform (www.mspgrants.com/registration). Submitted concept papers will be evaluated according to the criteria below, if considered complete based on the requirements in the full APS. First stage:
Please see graphic on page 3 for an overview of the entire application process. |
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Concept paper evaluation criteria |
The idea: Describe the challenge the applicant seeks to address, the proposed partnership focal area or areas (as described on page 1), the novel idea and innovative business model to improve cold-chain, agricultural storage and logistics in Cambodia. Explain what the applicant proposes to fund, what they are requesting MSP to fund and how it is outside of business as usual or normal operating expenditures. The value of the partnership: Explain how the proposed concept is a departure from regular business operations and how the MSP grant will be used to reduce risks that are stopping the businesses from trying the novel idea and innovative business model on their own. The future of the business: Describe how the proposed novel idea and innovative business model can be sustained and expanded beyond the life of the partnership. Explain how the proposed partnership will attract additional private sector investment, if relevant. The business and community impact: Describe how this novel idea and innovative business model will benefit the applicant, create positive change in the industry beyond the partner’s immediate suppliers/consumers and create additional benefits for other market actors. |
Issuance of this announcement does not constitute an award or commitment on the part of DAI, nor does it commit DAI to pay for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of concept papers. Further, DAI reserves the right to reject or approve any or all submitted concept papers.
Contacts
Submit questions to: [email protected].
Submit concept papers to: Concept papers must be uploaded to www.mspgrants.com/cambodia.
Submit full applications to: Full applications must be uploaded to www.mspgrants.com/cambodia
Submit general inquiries to: [email protected]
