Overview
REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST - FIRMS
The Government of Saint Lucia (GOSL) has received financing from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) towards the cost of the MSME Loan-Grant Facility’s Project Capacity Building – Advanced Business Planning and intends to apply a portion of the proceeds to eligible payments under this contract. Payment by CDB will be made only at the request of the (GOSL) and upon approval by CDB and will be subject, in all respects, to the terms and conditions of the Loan Agreement. The Loan Agreement prohibits a withdrawal from the Loan Account for the purpose of any payment to persons or entities, or for any import of goods, if such payment or import, to the knowledge of CDB, is prohibited by a decision of the United Nations Security Council taken under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations. No party other than (GOSL) shall derive any rights from the Loan Agreement or have any claim to the proceeds of the Loan.
The Ministry of Commerce, Manufacturing, Business Development, Cooperatives and Consumer Affairs (MOC) is the Executing Agency of this Project and now wishes to procure consultancy services for Advanced Business Planning.
Saint Lucia’s status as a Small Island Developing State (SIDS) faced with continuous endogenous and exogenous shocks, the GOSL further sees the need to build resilience within the sector, developing the capacity of MSMEs to respond to future events. In this regard, it was envisaged that the proposed financing of MSMEs must be accompanied by targeted technical support and capacity-building initiatives, aimed at formalising individual MSME operations mandate is to equip MSMEs with objectives of their business plan, in keeping with the broader scope of objectives under the MSME Loan-Grant Facility.
This capacity-building assignment will cover areas of support to include Improved Business Planning, Bookkeeping and Financial Management and Business Continuity Planning.
Further details can be found in the attached Terms of Reference. The duration of the assignment is expected to be for a period from July 2024 to October 2024, but not exceeding three staff months by key experts.
The Ministry of Commerce, Manufacturing, Business Development, Cooperatives and Consumer Affairs (MOC) now invites interested eligible consulting firms to submit Expressions of Interest (EOI) for the provision of these consultancy services.
Eligibility
Consultants shall be eligible to participate if:
(a) in the case of a body corporate, it is legally incorporated or otherwise organised in an eligible country, has its principal place of business in an eligible country and is more than 50 per cent beneficially owned by citizen(s) and/or bona fide resident(s) of eligible country(ies) or by a body(ies) corporate meeting these requirements;
(b) in the case of unincorporated firms, the persons are citizens or bona fide residents of an eligible country; and
(c) in all cases, the consultant has no arrangement and undertakes not to make any arrangements, whereby any substantial part of the net profits or other tangible benefits of the contract will accrue or be paid to a person not a citizen or bona fide resident of an eligible country.
Eligible countries are member countries of CDB. Consultants are advised to review the detailed eligibility criteria detailed in Section 4 and conflict of interest provisions in Section 5 of the Procedures for Projects Financed by CDB (January, 2021) as applicable and as published on CDB’s website.
In the assessment of submissions, consideration will be given to technical competence, qualifications and experience, local and regional experience on similar assignments, financial capability, and existing commitments. Key Experts will not be evaluated at the shortlisting stage.
Interested consultant teams are required to submit their Expression of Interest using the “EOI Consulting Firms template” attached to this REOI or downloaded from the Specific Procurement Notice on CDB’s website.
All information must be submitted in English. Further information may be obtained from the first address below between 0900 hours and 1200 hours AST Monday to Friday.
Instructions
Two (2) hard copies of the Expressions of Interest must be received at the first address below no later than Tuesday, May 14th, 2024, 1000 hours AST and one electronic copy must be sent simultaneously to CDB at the second email address below. The sealed envelope containing each submission should include the name and address of the applicant and shall be clearly marked “Expression of Interest – Consultancy Services for Advanced Business Planning”. The selection method shall be Consultants’ Qualifications Selection. Therefore, following the assessment of submissions, firms shall be assessed and compared, and the best qualified and experienced firm shall be selected. Only the selected firm shall be asked to submit a combined technical and financial proposal and, if such proposal is responsive and acceptable, be invited to negotiate a contract. GOSL reserves the right to accept or reject late applications or to cancel the present invitation partially or in its entirety. It will not be bound to assign any reason for not selecting any applicant and will not defray any costs incurred by any applicant in the preparation and submission of Expressions of Interest.
Contacts
(1) Permanent Secretary
4th Floor Heraldine Rock Building
The Waterfront
Castries
Saint Lucia, W.I.