REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANT)

Industrial and Trade Department (PITD)

Ethiopia Country Office (COET)

Title of the assignment : Improve industrial competitiveness to accelerate recovery of manufacturing exports post-COVID-19 in Ethiopia

Brief description of the Assignment : Assess the impact of COVID-19 on selected export and manufacturing industries, define industrial recovery measures and a monitoring and evaluation plan.

Department issuing the request : Industrial and Trade Department (PITD)

Place of assignment : Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Duration of the assignment : Six (6) months assignment per consultant for three (03) individual consultants

Tentative Date of commencement : 7 December 2020

Deadline for applications : 27 November 2020 at 17:00 GMT

Applications to be submitted to [email protected] and [email protected]

Any questions and requests for clarifications may be sent to : [email protected] and [email protected]

Terms of Reference

 

 

Background :

The African Development Bank (“AfDB” or “the Bank”) is the premier pan-African development institution, promoting economic growth and social progress across the continent. There are 80 member states, including 54 in Africa (Regional Member Countries or RMC). The Bank’s development agenda is delivering financial and technical support for transformative projects that will significantly reduce poverty through inclusive and sustainable economic growth. In order to sharply focus the objectives of the Ten Year Strategy (2013 – 2022) and ensure greater developmental impact, five major areas, all of which will accelerate the Bank’s delivery for Africa, have been identified for scaling up, namely; Light up and Power Africa, Feed Africa, Industrialise Africa, Integrate Africa and Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa.

The Vice Presidency for Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialization (“PIVP” or “the Complex”) is central to the Bank’s mission of developing the private sector, improving infrastructure and accelerating industrialization. The role of the Bank’s Industrial and Trade Development department is to promote Industrialize Africa HI 5 initiative. The department leads the Bank’s activities in the area of industrial policies, ICT and 4th Industrial Revolution, trade and investment climate, and private sector investments in industry and services.

In Ethiopia, the Bank is supporting the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI) to assess the impact of COVID-19 on selected export and manufacturing industries and define industrial recovery measures and a monitoring and evaluation plan. MoTI and lead institutions are expected to drive the implementation of the country’s trade and industrial policies with the responsibility of creating a conducive environment for exporting firms with an aim of improving the ever-widening negative trade balance and reducing the negative effects of foreign exchange shortage. MoTI is expected to drive national export agenda from end-to-end and play a facilitation role across relevant commissions and ministries to ensure an integrated ecosystem of support for enterprises in Ethiopia.

Currently, in addition to the various systemic challenges hampering the export sector of the country, the COVID-19 pandemic has added multifaceted challenges. Both local and global demand are being affected negatively with an uncertain recovery outlook. The shock on the global supply chains has reduced the availability of raw materials and hence increased the cost of production and also cost of logistics for both importing and exporting of products. Access to finance in all forms is reduced, which limits the ability of businesses to maintain operations or reinvent their operating model. It is expected that all sectors of the Ethiopian economy will be impacted at various degrees. In the short-term, businesses are already impacted in tourism, construction, manufacturing and other services sectors, which translates into business closures and poses a long-term uncertainty to economic recovery.

In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, MoTI has partnered with Dalberg Advisors to carry out a rapid impact assessment aimed at: identification/prioritization of sectors at high risk of being impacted; developing interventions; and identification of opportunities arising due to COVID-19 that Ethiopia could take advantage of. The rapid assessment focused on eight exportable commodities: oilseeds, pulses, meat and meat products, khat, textile and apparel, leather and leather products, live animals and chemical and construction, highlighting quick measures the Government could put in place to support export sectors. Findings from this rapid assessment confirm that without further action, the current situation will make it much harder for most export sectors to meet their export targets.

However, the rapid assessment excluded some export commodities like coffee, horticulture and minerals. It also excluded import substitute commodities which equally saves foreign exchange. The assessment’s primary focus was to address immediate survival issues, without focusing on post-COVID-19 recovery. The assessment did not also cost the interventions and package them as follow-up policy actions with its governance architecture. As a result, the interventions are not being implemented with the required breadth and depth; and MoTI management have no visibility on the overall process required to provide adequate direction and support to the private sector.

Therefore, a team of experts is required to produce analytical underpinnings and industrial competitiveness assessments to support the implementation of policy measures aimed at post-COVID recovery in select industries, complementing the work carried out by MoTI, as well as developing a monitoring and evaluation framework to support implementation and efficiency.

Objectives of the Assignment :

The overall objective of the assignment is to complement the existing assessments done by MoTI on the impact of COVID-19 on selected export and manufacturing industries including oilseeds, pulses, meat and meat products, khat, textile and apparel, leather and leather products, live animals and chemical and construction, coffee, horticulture and minerals, as well as defining an industrial recovery plan, including assessment of the potential cost of the relevant response measures, and a monitoring and evaluation plan.

The specific objectives include :

  1. Review MOTI COVID-19 Response Strategy on priority sectors and develop a revised industrial recovery plan including recommendations/interventions for implementation ;
  2. Devise implementation and Performance Management Framework (M&E System) to kick-off implementation and evaluate actual impact of initiatives on elevating industrial competitiveness in light of the COVID-19 pandemic ;

Main activities and deliverables :

The Following Outputs will be delivered by the consultant :

Work stream Deliverable
Economic and Sector 1.  Produce analytical underpinnings and industrial competitiveness
Work assessments to support the implementation of policy measures
aimed at post-COVID recovery in select industries:
o  Agriculture: Oilseeds, pulses, live animals
o  Manufacturing: meat and meat products, , textile and
apparel, leather and leather products, chemical and
construction inputs, food and beverage, .
o  Other manufacturing industries including rubber and plastic
products, and furniture with important export promotion
and/or import substitution effects.
This deliverable will include the following tasks:
–   Review and deepen the rapid assessment conducted by MoTI on
Oilseeds, pulses, meat and meat products, khat, textile and
apparel, leather and leather products, live animals and chemical
and construction to identify the most impacted commodities and
the associated sectors using a prioritization tools and ensuring
that key issues are addressed;
–   Carry out market intelligence studies for the prioritized sectors,
including forecasting market trends;
–   Revise the list of the COVID 19 impacted export and import
substitute commodities;
–   Detail the necessary intervention measures to address the key
issues identified and develop consolidated intervention measures
for priority commodities and the associated sectors.
–   Review and map on-going export promotion and import
substitute reform initiatives
–   Support the implementation of the initiatives in collaboration
with all relevant stakeholders
Monitoring and 2.  Develop a monitoring and evaluation framework to enable MoTI to
evaluation carry out and evaluate recovery interventions
This deliverable will include the following tasks:
–   Develop key performance indicators for the evaluation of
performance of interventions in collaboration with sector experts
–   Develop tracking tool for data collection and analysis for the
intervention developed
–   Training of MoTI staff on the utilization of the developed tools
–   Ensure inclusion of the Private Sector in the M&E process and
gauge the actual impact of the interventions on firms

Implementation and Reporting :

This assignment will be carried out under the supervision of the Ministry of Trade and Industry in Ethiopia. Quality assurance of the deliverables will be provided by the Bank task team led by the Industrial Development Division (PITD1) and the Country Economists at the Ethiopia Country Office (COET).

All deliverables are expected to be validated by the MoTI and the Bank’s task team.

Assignment Duration : The duration of this contract will be six (06) months, with an expected commencement date of December 2020.

Required Skills and Experience  : Three consultants are envisaged to carry out the assignment. The Consultants shall demonstrate appropriate qualifications and skills necessary for the assignment as described above:

Expert 1 : Agribusiness or agricultural commodities expert :

  • A minimum of a Master’s degree (or its equivalent) in economics, public policy or related fields ;
  • At least seven (07) years of relevant experience ;
  • Knowledge of Agribusiness or agricultural commodities issues ;
  • Knowledge of Ethiopian policymaking environment in the export and industrial sector ;
  • Experience in an advisory role to the public sector on industry/trade/investment ;
  • Excellent written and verbal communication in English and Amharic ;
  • Excellent interpersonal and communication skills; ability to work in a team and interface between members of cross-functional teams ;
  • Personal sensitivity and commitment to Bank Group values and ethics.

Expert 2: Manufacturing industries expert :

  • A minimum of a Master’s degree (or its equivalent) in economics, public policy or related fields ;
  • At least seven (07) years of relevant experience ;
  • Knowledge of manufacturing industries development issues, preferably with private sector experience ;
  • Knowledge of Ethiopian policymaking environment in the industrial sector ;
  • Experience in an advisory role to the public sector on industry/trade/investment ;
  • Excellent written and verbal communication in English and Amharic ;
  • Excellent interpersonal and communication skills; ability to work in a team and interface between members of cross-functional teams ;
  • Personal sensitivity and commitment to Bank Group values and ethics.

Expert 3: Monitoring and Evaluation expert :

  • Hold at least a Master’s degree in Economics, Development Studies, Monitoring and Evaluation, Statistics, or related disciplines ;
  • Additional qualification or Certification in Results Management, Monitoring and Evaluation or equivalent (desirable) ;
  • Have a minimum of six (06) years of relevant professional experience in the field of monitoring and evaluation, or more broadly results measurement, preferably within the context of international development ;
  • Knowledge of industrial development issues ;
  • Knowledge of Ethiopian policymaking environment in the industrial sector ;
  • Experience in an advisory role to the public sector on industry/trade/investment ;
  • Excellent written and verbal communication in English and Amharic ;
  • Excellent interpersonal and communication skills; ability to work in a team and interface between members of cross-functional teams ;
  • Personal sensitivity and commitment to Bank Group values and ethics.

Reference :

The bidder is requested to quote the DACON reference number when submitting bids.

Application Process

Interested consultants are invited to apply by submitting the following application documents :

  1. Resume/Curriculum Vitae (CV) ;
  2. Cover letter outlining how your experience, skills, qualifications and professional networks fit with the required deliverables (one page maximum);

Expressions of interest must be submitted to: Olivier STOULLIG [email protected] and Admit ZERIHUN [email protected] must be received no later than 27 November 2020 at 17:00 GMT and specifically mentioning title: EOI Improve industrial competitiveness to accelerate recovery of manufacturing exports post-COVID-19.