Support for the Development of the Early Stage Innovation/ Venture Capital Ecosystem

Country:Regional
Business sector:Financial institutions
Project number:67244
Funding source:EBRD Shareholder Special Fund
Contract type:Consultancy Services
Notice type:Invitation for expressions of interest (CSU)
Issue date:28 Nov 2016
Closing date:16 Dec 2016 at 17:00 London

Background: The Knowledge Economy Initiative ("KEI") of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development ("EBRD" or the "Bank") aims to guide the Bank in identifying, investing in and implementing projects and policies needed to support the development of the knowledge economy and improve competitiveness through innovation. The lack of venture capital ("VC") and the under-development of the VC ecosystem in the EBRD region is considered to be a significant hindrance to innovation and the development of the knowledge economy. Thus, one of the key objectives of the KEI (under its Small Technology-Based Companies Stream) is to ensure the continuity of, and access to, the chain of financing from angel support, early stage and growth stage to later stage in order to allow smaller innovative companies to bring their ideas, new designs and products to the market.

To address the lack of VC and the under-development of the VC ecosystem in the EBRD region, the Bank has been supporting the development of early-stage innovation through three investment channels:
•individual investments in VC funds;
•direct co-investments via the Venture Capital Investment Programme ("VCIP");
•and through the launch of the Early-Stage Innovation Facility ("ESIF"), i.e. a facility dedicated to investments in early stage VC funds.

Furthermore, the Bank has been supporting the development of the early-stage ecosystem through selected technical co-operation assistance ("TCs") with the objective of aligning the regulatory environment relevant to early-stage investment with best international practices (as part of the Bank’s Baltic Integrated Approach to the development of VC/private equity in the region).

Although the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean region (Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia) has a significant potential to develop the VC ecosystem (with Jordan being an emerging VC hub for the region), more efforts are needed to significantly scale-up the Bank’s investments in the region.

In this context, the EBRD seeks to engage a consultant (the "Consultant") to explore how to further increase its support for the development of the VC ecosystem in the region, with a particular focus on the SEMED region. Through external expertise the Bank will aim to develop recommendations on how to maximize its transition and development impact and scale up its activities further to mainstream the VCIP across the EBRD and the Bank’s region, and support the Bank in implementing those recommendations (the "Assignment").

Assignment Description: Supporting the EBRD VCIP Team, the Consultant will develop recommendations on how to maximize the Bank's impact of VC investments and support further implementation of the VCIP. Specifically, through the Assignment, the Consultant will:
•Market analysis and mapping of the VC ecosystem: Map the state of the VC ecosystem in the EBRD region (in particular in the SEMED region), with the main focus on identifying the potential for the Bank’s involvement in further supporting the development of the ecosystem through investments and other activities.
•Coordination and outreach: Identify the key stakeholders in the VC ecosystem. Support VCIP outreach activities to establish partnerships with key stakeholders, including supporting the organisation of ecosystem building / skills transfer events, as well as internal and external communications strategy to reach out to partners and target investment companies.
•Project development and implementation support: Assist the VCIP banking team with project development and implementation by carrying out analyses related to the VCIP projects with the goal to determine opportunities for new VC transactions, develop project proposals and other relevant documents, and support the implementation of the projects.
•Support for the implementation of the NCI project in Jordan: Support the effectiveness of the ongoing implementation of the National Centre for Innovation (NCI) in Jordan.

Status of Selection Process: Interested individual experts are hereby invited to submit expressions of interest.

Assignment Start Date and Duration: The Assignment is expected to start in Q1 2017 and has an estimated overall duration of 30 months.

Cost Estimate for the Assignment: EUR 280,816 (exclusive of VAT). Travel expenses and associated per diem allowance as required by the Assignment have been included in the above amount. No extension is envisaged to this Assignment.
The Consultant must determine whether any VAT would be chargeable on the services and the basis for that determination, without taking into consideration the special status of the Bank as an IFI and state this to the Bank in their response to the Invitation for Expressions of Interest. To the extent that a Consultant incurs input VAT on goods and services purchased in connection with the provision of services (e.g. VAT on airline ticket) which is not otherwise recoverable by the consultant from the local tax authority, the gross cost to the consultant of such expenses shall be treated as a reimbursable expense.

Funding Source: It is expected that the Assignment will be funded by the EBRD Shareholders Special Fund. Please note selection and contracting will be subject to the availability of funding.

Eligibility: There are no eligibility restrictions. Individuals or consulting firms interested in nominating an expert from any country may apply.

Consultant Profile: Individual services are required. The Consultant shall be an expert preferably with three or more years of previous professional experience in:
•Venture capital/private equity investing, investment banking, or top-tier asset management/consulting firm where technology sector was a focus or business development function within a technology corporate;
•Investment-related market research and analysis;
•Project development and management through the full project life cycle.

BA/BS degree in business, investment, economics, finance, technology, or other relevant field is required, Master’s degree or equivalent practical experience preferred.

Professional fluency in English, including written proficiency and good communication skills, is essential. A commitment to work in a dynamic and highly collaborative environment is necessary.

Familiarity with the EBRD region of operations is highly desirable; work or study experience in the region, especially in the SEMED region, will be considered an advantage.

Working knowledge of French and Arabic will also be considered an advantage.

Submission Requirements:
In order to determine the capability and experience of experts seeking to be selected for this Assignment, the information submitted should include the following:

1. Cover letter (max. 2 pages) summarising why the expert believes to satisfy the requirements as defined in the above section Consultant Profile.
2. CV (not exceeding 4 pages) which should include full descriptions of responsibilities carried out, not just a job title, including information on contracting entity/client, project location/country, duration (mm/yy to mm/yy), expert months provided (if different from duration) , main activities, objectives.
3. Completed Consultant Declaration Form and Contact Sheet, the template for which is available from the following web-link:
http://www.ebrd.com/pages/workingwithus/procurement/notices/csu/contact_sheet.doc.

Expressions of Interest should be submitted in English electronically through e-Selection, to reach the Bank not later than the closing date. The complete expression of interest (including cover letter, CV, declaration and contact sheet etc.) shall be one file (pdf) to be uploaded to eSelection. The EBRD reserves the right to reject applications of experts submitting more than one file. Only if the permissible file size (4 MB) is exceeded, the Consultant may split the expression of interest into further files.

Bank Contact Person:
Sophie Medert
Technical Co-operation
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
One Exchange Square
London EC2A 2JN
Tel: + 44 20 7338 7371
e-mail: MedertS@ebrd.com (submissions should be sent through eSelection and NOT to this email address)

Notes:
•The selection will normally be made from responses to this notification only. Consultants will not be asked to submit a proposal. Expressions of interest will be evaluated by the Evaluation Committee and a shortlist of candidates will be established.
•The Evaluation Committee intends to interview the shortlisted candidates as part of the selection process. All individual consultants with a combined score of 75% or more of the total marks available for criteria 1 and 2 will be invited to interview (criterion 3). It is expected that interviews will be held in January 2017 at the Bank’s HQ in London, or via video-conference/Skype. Invitations will be issued to interviewees at least 5 working days prior to these dates. Please note that all and any costs incurred by the Consultant in connection with attendance to interviews will not reimbursed by the Bank. Candidates not selected for interview will not be considered further.
•The highest-ranked Consultant after interview will be invited to negotiate the contract, subject to availability of funding.
•The shortlist criteria are:
1)A degree in business, investment, finance, economics, technology, or other relevant field – 10%
2)Previous professional experience in private equity/venture capital investment and related market research / analysis – 40%
3)Interview and suitability for the role – 50%
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