Access to finance issues for tourism linked SMEs and mid-caps in the Western Balkans Programme - Development Study

The Proposed Deadline Date has been extended until 18 January 2019 17:00 GMT.

Access to finance issues for tourism linked SMEs and mid-caps in the Western Balkans Programme - Development Study

Location:Regional

Business sector:Financial institutions

Project number:76404

Funding source:EBSF - EBRD Shareholder Special Fund

Contract type:Consultancy Services

Notice type:Invitation for expressions of interest (CSU)

Issue date:05 Dec 2018

Closing date:03 Jan 2019   at  17:00   London

Project Description: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the EBRD or the Bank) is considering developing an SMEs and Mid-caps Tourism Development Financing Programme for the Western Balkans (the "Programme") to promote an upgrade of touristic offers by SMEs and Mid-caps and through improving their access to finance and know-how, to strengthen their competitiveness and ability to create better interlinkages across the tourism value-chain.

The EBRD intends to select and contract a consulting company (the Consultant) to conduct a product development study prior to the launch of the Programme ("the Assignment").

Assignment Description: This product development study will aid in the development of the Programme and will support the EBRD and the partner financial institutions in identifying potential business opportunities that could be a basis for the Programme.

The expected outcome of the Assignment is to conduct a programme development study focusing on:

- Assessing the size and characteristics of private sector-led sustainable tourism development in the Western Balkans;

- Assisting the EBRD in structuring a Programme to address identified shortcomings, particularly focusing on access to finance issues for tourism linked SMEs and Mid-caps and technical support needed to modernize and adjust their processes and broaden their product and service offer.

The detailed scope of work and services (the "Services") are further described in the full Terms of Reference (the "ToRs") attached hereto: http://www.ebrd.com/documents/financial-institutions/access-to-finance-issues-for-tourism-linked-smes-and-midcaps-in-the-western-balkans-programme-development-study.docx.

Consultant Selection Procedure: Single stage open competitive selection. Interested firms or groups of firms are invited to submit a Technical and Financial Proposal.

Assignment Start Date and Duration: The Assignment is expected to start in the first quarter of 2019 and has an estimated overall duration of six (6) months.

Cost Estimate for the Assignment: EUR 150,000 (exclusive of VAT).
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 anticipated that the contract will be financed by the EBRD Shareholder Special Fund. Please note that Selection and contracting are subject to the availability of funding.

Eligibility: There are no eligibility restrictions based on the consultant's country of origin.

Consultant Profile: Corporate services are required. The Consultant will be a firm with relevant experience in implementing similar assignments, preferably in the Western Balkans region or a similar context. Experts provided by the firm must have extensive professional experience in the tourism sector and SME and mid-caps finance. Knowledge of local languages, operating environment, financial/banking and tourism sectors will be essential.

The Consultant's expert team is expected to include the following key experts (the 'Key Experts'):

Key Expert 1: Project Manager/Senior Expert, with preferably 10 years of experience in:
- Managing the implementation of similar projects in emerging markets and similar operating environments;
- Fluent English and local languages are essential.

Key Expert 2: Senior Expert(s) with:
- Extensive knowledge and experience (preferably 7-10 years) in the tourism sector;
- Fluent English and local languages are essential.

Key Expert 2: Junior Expert(s) with:
- Extensive knowledge and experience (preferably 5-6 years) in the Western Balkans region;
- Fluent English and local languages are essential.

Submission Requirements: Interested consultants are now invited to submit a completed Technical and Financial Proposal as per the standard templates and instructions available at this link: http://www.ebrd.com/documents/procurement/single-stage-package.docx. Interested Consultants should make themselves familiar with these Standard Templates, Standard Instructions and Conditions of Contract in preparation of their proposals.

1. The Technical Proposal shall be submitted in English electronically via eSelection not later than the Closing Date, as one single PDF file. The technical proposal should not exceed 20 pages excluding the Declaration Form and CVs (Form 1- TP 1 and Form 1 – TP 6).

2. The Financial Proposal (Form 2 – FP 1 and FP2) shall be submitted in English separately by email only to the Bank Contact Person. Consultants are reminded of the requirement to ensure the confidentiality of the Financial Proposals.

A Technical Proposal that contains elements of a Financial Proposal shall be declared non-responsive. A Financial proposal submitted together with the technical proposals via eSelection shall be declared non-responsive.

Bank Contact Person:

Viv Lewis-Headlam (Mrs)
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
One Exchange Square
London EC2A 2JN
e-mail: lewishev@ebrd.com
For the avoidance of doubt, technical proposals should be sent through eSelection and NOT to this email address. Financial proposals should be sent to this email address and NOT through eSelection.

Deadline to Submit Clarification Questions: Via e-mail to the Bank Contact Person by close of business 19 December 2018.

Selection Method and Evaluation Criteria:

1. Technical Proposal Evaluation Criteria
(a) Firm's previous project experience in similar assignments (30%)
(b) Quality of the methodology proposed for the Assignment (30%)
(c) CVs of the Key Experts (40%).

The minimum technical score (St) required to pass is 70.

2. Opening of Financial Proposals
After the technical evaluation is completed, only the submissions which score 70 or above of the total marks available for the technical criteria will be eligible to have their financial proposals opened.

3. Combined Technical and Financial Evaluation
The lowest evaluated Financial Proposal (Fm) is given the maximum financial score (Sf) of 100. The formula for determining the financial scores (Sf) of all other Proposals is calculated as follows:

Sf = 100 x Fm/ F, in which "Sf" is the financial score, "Fm" is the lowest evaluated Financial Proposal, and "F" the price of the Proposal under consideration.
Proposals are then ranked according to their combined technical (St) and financial (Sf) scores using the weights (T = 80; F = 20) T + F = 100 as follows: S = St x T% + Sf x F%.

Important Notes:

1. The proposal validity period is 120 days from the deadline date for the receipt of submissions. During this period, the Consultant shall maintain its original Proposal without any change, including the availability of the Experts, the proposed rates and the total price.
2. The selection will be made from the Proposals received in response to this notification only, on the basis of the submission requirements and selection criteria set out in this Procurement Notice. The highest-ranked Consultant will be selected and invited to negotiate the contract, subject to availability of funding.
3. Any updates of and clarifications on this procurement notice shall be announced as updates on this notice, without any other notification. In the event of changes consultants will need to download the updated versions. Consultants are required to periodically check the notice for updates. Failure to take the updates into account while preparing the Proposal may result in disqualification or penalties to the scores in the evaluation.