COMMERCIAL MODELS FOR FAIRTRADE AFRICA -PHASE 2

BACKGROUND

Fairtrade Africa (FTA) is the independent non-profit umbrella organization representing all Fairtrade certified producers in Africa. FTA is owned by its members, who are African producer organizations certified against international Fairtrade standards producing traditional export commodities such as cocoa, coffee, bananas, flowers, wine, tea, cotton, mango and non-traditional commodities including shea butter, rooibos tea, herbs and spices. FTA represents over 600 Fairtrade certified producer organisations in Africa and the Middle East. The figure below illustrates the producer organizations’ location and their production output.

FTA works through regional networks which enable our members to have a strong voice in the governance and management of the organization. FTA has four (4) regional networks – Western Africa Network (WAN); Southern Africa Network (SAN); Eastern & Central Africa Network (ECAN); and the Middle East and North Africa Network (MENA).

A robust MEL framework measures and tracks FTA’s primary focus of championing decent livelihoods and living incomes & wages for farmers and workers across its region. For more information about FTA and its social impact work, visit https://fairtradeafrica.net/about-fairtrade/

INTRODUCTION

Fairtrade Africa is embarking on operationalizing its 2021-2025 strategic plan. One strategic pillar of this strategy is product and market development. This pillar’s purpose is to develop and implement commercial models that will grow demand for Fairtrade products in the South and existing North markets while improving the producer’s ability to access markets with a diverse base of quality and value-added products. Interventions in products and market development will not only grow the volumes of products sold on Fairtrade terms but will also ensure better the value proposition to various actors along the supply chain.

Fairtrade certified products can be identified through Fairtrade Marks. Fairtrade Mark(s) are all individual trademarks and certifications marks worldwide that protect the original design of the black core logo which are owned by Fairtrade International. The Fairtrade Mark(s) may be used under a respective license agreement on consumer-ready products, including Packaging and Promotional Material, for the following use scenarios, namely

(i) Single-ingredient and composite (multiple ingredients) food products where every ingredient is certified under the Fairtrade Standards (e.g., a coffee pack);

(ii) Composite food products containing both certified and non-certified ingredients (e.g., a chocolate bar);

(iii) Non-food composite products containing both certified and non-certified components (e.g., cosmetics, cotton and gold etc);

(iv) Non-food products processed or manufactured under specific supply chains supervised by the Assurance Providers (e.g., shoes, sports balls and textile products, which are certified according to the textile standard etc).

An overview of the Fairtrade Marks, including its various use scenarios and corresponding designs as well as a list of all registered and pending Fairtrade Marks worldwide, is available at https://www.fairtrade.net/about/fairtrade-marks].

A market scoping study (Phase one) is underway. The purpose of the market scoping consultancy is to quantify the size of the business in the categories FTA plays in. The marketing scoping study prioritized the following clusters:

West Africa Cluster

Nigeria

Ghana

Ivory Coast

Cameroon

East and Central Africa Cluster

Kenya

Uganda

Democratic Republic of Congo

Tanzania

North Africa Cluster

Morocco

Egypt

Ethiopia

Algeria

Southern Africa Cluster

South Africa

Angola

Zambia

Madagascar

ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION

Phase two of the study involves designing and testing commercial models that will be responsive to the markets in the producer network countries (see the producer networks https://www.fairtrade.net/about/producer-networks). The source of the products will be from Fairtrade Africa producers. The targeted products for this exercise include but not limited to cocoa, coffee, bananas, flowers, wine, tea, fresh and dried fruits, nuts, sugar, honey, herbs & spices

DELIVERABLES

Detailed commercial models that will be prioritized for testing and scale-up.

1. Practical commercial models to increase market access for both raw and finished products.

a. Enablers and barriers of success for each model should be exhaustively outlined as well as the delivery mechanisms/strategies.

b. Indicative implementation costs over a 3-year period for each model should be documented.

1. Proposed monetization avenues of the Fairtrade marks in the commercial models for target products should be appropriately matched (both upstream & downstream. Demand and supply value chain analysis will be useful). The monetized benefits should be linked to producer social, economic and environmental investments.

MILESTONE TRACKER

1. Inception stage

a. Inception meeting with the client

b. Methodology/approach alignment

1. Information and data collection preparation

a. Access granted to relevant internal data

1. Design work

a. Data / Information collection and immersion with key stakeholders.

b. Continuous review and consultation

c. Progress reporting to management teams (virtual)

1. Testing and validation of models
2. Detailed commercial modelling report, findings and recommendations for scale-up.

PROPOSED TIMELINES

The assignment is projected to begin in March 2021 and be ready to test approved models from April 15, 2021.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATION

· Masters’ degree in a relevant area;

· Demonstrable experience in market access/market development commercial work across various markets in Africa.

· Good understanding of global agricultural supply chains

· Extensive experience in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry

· Knowledge and experience in distribution, marketing and product development of ethical and sustainably branded products

· Strong command of written and spoken English, with demonstrated ability to produce well-written documents, in the clear, concise and correct language.

· Bilingual capabilities will be an added advantage.

PROPOSAL FORMAT

· The technical proposal should comprehensively detail:

o Understanding of the assignment

o Proposed approach and methodology to deliver the assignment

o Execution plan with specific days per task

o CVs of all members of the consultancy team, including a description of foreseen roles and responsibilities for each consultant;

o Evidence of relevant/similar assignments delivered over the past 5 years. [This will be treated as confidential and only used for the purposes of quality assurance].

· Detailed financial proposal in EURO, inclusive of all applicable taxes. This proposal should be milestone based.

o For organizational applicants, a tax compliance certificate must accompany the application

EVALUATION CRITERIA

· Technical Evaluation – 70%

· Financial Proposal – 30%