Job Description

Posted on October 21, 2020

OVERVIEW
Prospero Zambia works with intervention partners in the small livestock, fruits and vegetables and legumes sectors to address market constraints that hamper sector growth, competitiveness and opportunities for SMEs. These constraints include:

Capital:
Access to investment and working capital finance severely constrains the growth potential of SMEs throughout food and agricultural value chains. Innovative solutions around capital accessibility and provision for SMEs would have an inordinate impact on job creation and growth.

Capacity:
Management capacity is an issue facing many production, value-adding and processing businesses in Zambia. Lack of knowledge and understanding of cultivation practices limits the potential for smallholder farmers to diversify into new crops.

Connections:
Poor physical (cross border) infrastructure and service provision (e.g. transport logistics and cold chain facilities) limit the potential of producers to access end-consumer markets including regional and international markets. Lack of cooperation between potentially complementary businesses further restricts business growth.

Compliance:
Changing regulations, policy uncertainty (e.g. import and/or export bans) and limited understanding of domestic and international food safety standards and market preferences further deter local business growth.

Prospero is seeking strong, commercially-oriented investment concepts under the following sub-sectors.  Innovative business ideas that address one or more of the above-listed constraints will be prioritised:

1.    Small Livestock (goat, sheep, fish and pig value chains)
Prospero is soliciting investment concepts to develop a fully functional small livestock value chain spanning input supply to local and export markets. We are particularly interested in innovations related to the following:

Improvement of local small livestock genetics, local breed development, small livestock animal husbandry services and the promotion of inclusivity within the sector by linking small, emerging and commercial breeders.
Development of innovative aggregation and distribution solutions to improve access to the following markets for local breeds and small livestock for meat and other products. Innovations especially on wholesale markets and auction facilities will be considered.
Scale up of commercial value addition and processing capacity to increase the availability of local small livestock products in retail markets.
Developing innovations throughout the value chain to increase exports of small livestock products into regional and international markets.
The following questions may be useful in helping to develop your investment concept:

What are the main challenges in the small livestock sector that prevent the sector from being more competitive? How is your product or service addressing these challenges?
How could rural community integration in the small livestock sector economy benefit your business or make the sector more competitive?
What type of income opportunities can you create as a business for small and medium enterprises including entrepreneurial or emerging farmers?
How can you work together with other players in the small livestock value chain or supply chain that can benefit your business and also make the sector more competitive?
How can the breed markets and small livestock (meat and milk) markets become more accessible to smallholder farmers?
What are the main challenges inhibiting businesses to export their small livestock into regional and/or international markets? What solutions can you develop as a business to enhance your profitability and competitiveness to be able to enter the export markets.
2.    Fruits and Vegetables (tubers, fresh fruits and vegetables)
Prospero is soliciting investment concepts to improve the competitiveness of Zambian producers to service local markets as well as increase their international exports.  We are particularly interested in innovations related to the following:

Inclusive and commercial nursery development for the production of high value fruit and vegetable seeds and seedlings and access to new varieties that are in demand both locally and internationally.
Development of innovative aggregation and distribution solutions to improve access to markets for smallholder farmers such as out grower models, wholesale solutions and niche or artisanal retail markets.
Development and scale up of commercial value addition and processing capacity of fruits and vegetables for local and export markets.
Development of export supply chains to enable fruit and vegetable products to be exported to regional and international markets.
The following questions may be useful in helping to develop your investment concepts:

What are the main challenges in the fruits and vegetable sector that prevent the sector from being more competitive? How is your product or service addressing these challenges?
How could rural community integration in the fruits and vegetable sector economy benefit your business or make the sector more competitive?
What type of income opportunities can you create as a business for small and medium enterprises including entrepreneurial or emerging farmers?
How can you work together with other players in the fruits and vegetable supply chain that can benefit your business and also make the sector more competitive?
How can the fruits and vegetable markets become more accessible to smallholder farmers?
3.     Legumes (groundnuts, common beans, soya)
Prospero is soliciting investment concepts to increase access to improved legume seed varieties to enhance production and value addition opportunities in local and international markets. We are particularly interested in innovations related to the following:

Increased local availability of improved legume seed varieties through innovative research and development and certification solutions to improve compliance to the market requirements.
Innovative solutions for the inclusion of local legumes and grains in animal feed production.
Development of innovative aggregation and distribution solutions to improve access to markets for smallholder farmers such as out grower models, wholesale solutions and niche or artisanal retail markets.
Development and scale up of commercial value addition and processing capacity of legumes for local and export markets.
Development of export supply chains to enable legume products to be exported to regional and international markets.
The following questions may be useful in helping to develop your investment concepts:

What are the main challenges in the legume sector that prevent the sector from being more competitive? How is your product or service addressing these challenges?
How could rural community integration in the legume sector economy benefit your business or make the sector more competitive?
What type of income opportunities can you create as a business for small and medium enterprises including entrepreneurial or emerging farmers?
How can you work together with other players in the legume value chain or supply chain that can benefit your business and also make the sector more competitive?
What are the main compliance issues that are limiting the development of the local seed industry? How is your product or service addressing this challenge?
How can legume markets become more accessible to smallholder farmers?
What are the main challenges inhibiting businesses to export their legumes into regional and/or international markets? What solutions can you develop as a business to enhance your profitability and competitiveness to be able to enter the export markets.
CRITERIA
Prospero provides financial and/or technical assistance support to private sector companies willing to co-invest in innovative and scalable solutions that:

address key sector constraints and have strong commercial foundations
could help build companies’ ability to (eventually) attract commercial impact investment
improve climate resilience and nutrition through inclusive business models (focus on women and youth) within each of the three sub-sectors.
support the establishment of value-chain consortiums in specific geographic areas to achieve scalable business growth and create a competitive agriculture sector with significant development impact.
create and/or sustain quality jobs and income opportunities for low-income Zambians and/or marginalized populations (women, youth, people with disabilities and rural populations).
Competitive project submissions should be built on the following criteria:

Projects should be both commercially and sustainability-oriented to ensure applicants’ commitment to the partnership.
Applicants should display sufficient capacity (technical, managerial and financial) to implement the proposed project successfully.
Proposed projects should clearly address at least one of the Food and Agriculture sector constraints in a logical and evidence-based way.  The project does not need to necessarily address every constraint, but it needs to be clear which market challenges are being faced by MSMEs within the specific value chain.
Projects should introduce some level of innovation – a new product, service or business model – as a means to address the market challenge.
Provided all criteria are met, projects that are likely to deliver greater outcomes and in which the partner(s) contributes a larger proportion of the total project budget will be more competitive for funding. This will be assessed and judged internally by the Prospero team.
Provided all criteria are met, applicants that are able to leverage additional funds – the applicants’ own contributions and/or third-party funds – will be viewed favourably.
Projects that are likely to generate benefits for women, youth, disabled persons, and /or rural populations are strongly encouraged.
Projects that positively contribute to nutrition and/or climate change mitigation/ resilience/adaptation are also encouraged.
Applicants should be able to demonstrate existing and relevant experience regarding their proposed project and possess relevant and valid trading licenses and/or permits.
All proposed projects should have a maximum duration of 18months. There is no minimum duration. Longer-term partnerships (i.e. longer than 18 months) should be presented in a phased approach.
Prospero is looking for innovative, high-impact projects that will benefit relatively large numbers of Zambian individuals and MSMEs. Competition for funding is likely to be high, so be advised that only those projects that meet most of the selection criteria, provide the best value-for-money and have a high-impact will be considered. Funding is not guaranteed.
GRANT FACILITIES
Prospero’ grants are both cost-sharing and reimbursable. Any financial contribution we make towards a proposed investment project is limited to a maximum of 50% (with one or two very specific exceptions) of the assessed ‘eligible project budget’. All grant awards will be inclusive of applicable taxes and will be paid in either ZMW or GBP.

What does ‘cost-sharing’ mean?
Cost-sharing requires potential grantees and, if relevant, other third-party organisations to share the costs of project implementation with Prospero. A cost-share is a portion of the total project costs that will be paid by the grantee and includes all contributions, both cash and in-kind (excluding in-kind labour), that a grantee makes towards a project. Funding sources will need to be clearly stated in the budget.

For successful applications, Prospero’s grant contribution to the overall project budget will be assessed according to the quality of the proposal and the grantees capacity and ability to invest their own funds and/or resources. The final grant amount will depend on the nature of the project, negotiations with Prospero and the successful verification of all contributions. In all cases, Prospero will want to leverage as much partner contribution as possible so please be realistic as you develop your proposed project budget. Prospero is unlikely to fund any project with no partner contribution.

What does ‘reimbursable’ mean?
Although Prospero provides up to a 50% financial contribution towards a proposed project, this amount is not provided upfront, but is instead reimbursed to grantees throughout the course of the project, subject to the achievement of mutually-agreed upon milestones. These reimbursements will be made according to an agreed payment schedule (which will be stated in the contract) and only after the grantee has submitted sufficient documents to verify expenses. Potential grantees are expected to have the capabilities to fund project activities upfront, for which they will be reimbursed by Prospero, and must demonstrate a stable financial history.

Types of grant facilities available
The following grant facilities are available under the Food & Agriculture sector:

Grant Facility
Description
Technical Assistance
Prospero contributes to a partner’s costs of accessing specialist technical expertise during the design and/or implementation of the project.
Business Innovation
Prospero contributes to projects that have identified innovative commercial opportunities in order to incentivise investment in innovation and offset some of the associated risks.

Grant facility amounts
Grant Facility
Prospero contribution (Indicative range)
Technical Assistance only
£5,000 to £50,000

Please contact Prospero prior to submission for proposals outside of the indicative range.
Business Innovation (this can include some technical assistance)
£5,000 to £100,000

Please contact Prospero prior to submission for proposals outside of the indicative range.
BUDGET PREPARATION
Please keep in mind the following when preparing your budget:

Allowable Expenses
Reasonable and actual costs related to project implementation, not including those in the Unallowable List. Vehicles are only allowable in very specific circumstances where need is clearly justified, and other transportation options are not reasonable or do not make commercial sense. Prospero retains the right to decide which of the costs are allowed.
Unallowable Expenses
Purchase/rent of land or property, medicines not appearing on WHO’s Essential Drugs List, CFCs, pesticides with persistent organic pollutants banned by the Stockholm Convention, anything related to tobacco production, luxury goods, or military/security equipment or services
Value for Money
Please keep in mind strict value for money principles as you develop your project budget. Include only costs relevant to implementation of the proposal project.

Eligible project costs
Project Set-up Costs
Allowable expenses incurred to start-up the project such as technical assistance costs, input costs, installation costs, training, etc.
Project Capital Expenditure
Total amount of funds required by the company to acquire or upgrade fixed assets (such as buildings, equipment) or upgrade land/property. This excludes vehicles except in very specific circumstances.
Project Operations
Total amount of funds required by the company for day to day operations such as advertising, branding, etc.
Other Allowable Costs
Any other allowable expenses that are necessary for project implementation but do not fit into the above categories.
Note on Labour
Outside short-term expert technical assistance, labour costs are unallowable. Prospero will not subsidise general labour costs.
Note on Business Services
Prospero does not pay temporarily for business services that can be provided by the market or subsidise businesses that should be operating on a commercial basis.
ELIGIBILITY AND APPLICATION GUIDELINES
Who can apply for a grant from Prospero?
Registered and tax-compliant for-profit organizations are eligible to apply. Individuals are not eligible.

All applicants must meet three basic conditions:

Zambian registered legal entity: All applicants must be registered with the appropriate authority as a legal entity in Zambia.
Tax registered and compliant: All applicants must be able to demonstrate that they are registered for tax and are in compliance with tax obligations.
Authorised business activity: All applicants must possess any relevant sector licenses or permits for their proposed business project.
Post-revenue: All applicants must be post-revenue and have a minimum trading history of 2 years. *If your organization has been operational for less than two years, but is post-revenue and your proposed project fulfills all other criteria, then email us at grants@prospero.co.zm for further consideration.
How to apply
Step 1: Interested applicants should fill out the form below in full.

Step 2: After the form has been submitted, applicants will promptly receive an email containing further application instructions, including templates to be completed.  If the email does not appear in your inbox, please check your spam or junk folder.

Please take note of the following:
Concepts will be accepted on a rolling basis starting from 28 August 2020 and ending on 31 October 2020. Concepts will be reviewed on a first-come, first-reviewed basis.
Prospero reserves the right to close the grant facilities at any time. Please follow our social media pages for updates in the event this occurs:
Facebook: @prosperozm
Twitter: @prosperozm
LinkedIn: Prospero Zambia
Prospero will review each application and feedback will be provided to all applicants. Concept submissions that do not include ALL required documents WILL NOT be reviewed. Prospero’s decisions on concept applications are final.
If a concept submission is successful, the applicant will be invited to submit a full proposal. Further guidance on the proposal submission process will be provided at this stage.
For any questions or clarifications on the above, please email grants@prospero.co.zm.