Request for Information (RFI) - Financing Ghanaian Agriculture Project (FinGAP)

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION USAID/Ghana is seeking to gauge the level of interest and capabilities of implementing partners, private investors, financial intermediaries and other interested parties for a new project aiming to facilitate private-sector led investment in the agriculture sector. A draft concept note is attached to this Request for Information. Responses to this RFI are not binding on the U.S. Government and do not obligate USAID to issue a Solicitation, nor does it commit USAID to pay any cost incurred in the review, response and information exchange process. Brief Project Description USAID/Ghana, through the U.S. Government Feed the Future Initiative (www.feedthefuture.gov), will work with the Government of Ghana (GOG), development partners, and private investors to increase the competitiveness of rice, maize and soya value chains in the north of the country. The agriculture sector will be transformed and modernized by creating commercial agricultural systems that increase productivity, establish stronger value chain commercial arrangements and attract private sector investment. USAID is designing a new activity, the Financing Ghanaian Agriculture Project (FinGAP), to facilitate investment in the agriculture sector in Ghana that will complement other Government and donor programs aimed at expanding commercial agriculture. USAID/Ghana will support the identification and realization of private investments important to modernization of the rice, maize, and soya value chains, to the benefit of rural entrepreneurs and smallholder producers engaged in out-grower schemes and contract farming arrangements. Investments supported could cover both production and processing activities as well as ancillary businesses. To achieve both social and economic returns, partnerships with private sector actors will be established to support transactions which are commercially viable and demonstrate high social impact. FinGAP will provide a comprehensive and integrated approach to facilitating agriculture related investment, engaging a broad range of Ghanaian financial intermediaries in providing agricultural financing, alongside an option for direct financing of targeted investment deemed critical to USAID's Feed the Future (FTF) strategy. Requested Information: USAID invites parties interested in partnering with USAID as part of this activity, as well as prospective borrowers/investees under FinGAP, to submit comments as well as expressions of interest (EOI). EOIs could include some or all of the following information: introduction to your business model; nature of proposed partnership with USAID; strategic fit and linkages to USAID/Ghana's FTF strategy (found here ); economic/financial viability; anticipated outputs/outcomes of the proposed partnership. USAID/Ghana also invites the larger development community to review and comment on the attached draft concept note. Feedback on foreseen implementation modality and exit strategy would be especially appreciated by October 17 th . These comments will be helpful as we finalize this project scope. The type of implementing instrument has not been determined yet. Exchanges of Information All exchanges of information relating to this Request for Information (comments, concerns and /or Expressions of Interest (EOI) must be submitted to Martina Wills, Regional Contracting Officer and Frederique Rakotoarivelo, Senior Acquisition and Assistance Specialist at [email protected] and copy [email protected] via email with subject "FinGAP RFI" no later than October 17, 2011 at 4:00 p.m. (Accra Local Time). Contracting Office Location USAID/Ghana receives contracting services from the Regional Office of Acquisition and Assistance located at USAID/West Africa, No. 24 Fourth Circular Rd, Cantonments, P.O. Box 1630, Accra, Ghana.