RFI 72018223RFI00001 - New EG_Albania RFI.pdf

Subject: Strengthening Albania's Food Supply Chain Reference Number: RFI No. 72018223RFI00001 Issuance Date: March 8, 2023 Closing Date: March 21, 2023 Closing Time: 16:00 Central European Time Responses to: Urime Abdyli at uabdyli@usaid.gov and Florentin Emini at femini@usaid.gov

Dear Interested Parties:

The United States Government, represented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Regional Office of Acquisition and Assistance, is seeking input from interested organizations and individuals who may provide comments, opinions and recommendations in response to the questions outlined in this Request for Information (RFI) announcement.

This is a RFI issued solely for information and planning purposes. This is not a Request for Proposals (RFP) or a Request for Applications (RFA) and is not to be construed as a commitment by the U.S. Government (USG) to issue a Solicitation or Notice of Funding Opportunity, or ultimately award a contract or assistance agreement, or to pay for any information voluntarily submitted as a result of this RFI.

Responses to this RFI shall not be portrayed as proposals or applications, and will not be accepted by the USG to form a binding contract or agreement. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. It should be noted that responding to or providing comment on this RFI will not give any advantage to any organization in any subsequent procurement or funding.

Submission is strictly voluntary. USAID will not provide feedback or responses to questions submitted in response to this RFI and no proposals or resumes will be accepted or considered.

Respondents are not required to respond to all questions but may choose to do so.

Thank you for your feedback.

Annexes:

1. Annex A - Section I - Request for Information.

2. Annex B - Draft Requirements Document.

mailto:uabdyli@usaid.gov mailto:femin@usaid.gov

Annex A:

Section I - Request for Information

Request for feedback

Within the Competitiveness Led Economic Growth context, USAID/Albania is interested in responses to the following questions:

Technical:

1. Do you have any general feedback or recommendations on the Annex B draft requirements document as a whole?

2. Are the results as described in the theory of change clear and appropriate for the objective as articulated? Is anything missing or not essential?

3. In your previous experiences delivering similar and relevant services, what approaches/methods were most effective and sustainable to promote the overall ability of a country’s economy to produce products and services of high value and standards?

4. What are the most effective ways to encourage the creation and uptake of innovative approaches to the challenge of developing a value chain around a high-value product or cluster of products that contributes to sustainable upgrading of the selected sector as a whole?

5. Is focusing on one product or cluster of related products a viable approach given the identified challenges and opportunities?

6. Are there other criteria you recommend to be considered with respect to Food Product Selection as described in Section III.1 of the Activity’s scope in Annex B?

7. Are there other specific efforts that should be considered under Value Chain Design and Formation as described in Section III.2 of the Activity’s scope in Annex B?

8. What would be the most adequate results to be measured to demonstrate the overall success of the proposed approach?

9. This project will require a number of specialized skills that require alliances and partnerships. What type of partnerships and/or alliances do you foresee as necessary to effectively and successfully carry out the tasks?

10. Are there gaps or other issues in the proposed approach that would impede achieving the stated objectives?

11. What methods have been successfully used in the past for this type of activity to minimize start up and assessment periods at the outset? What is the shortest period you consider viable–considering the wealth of materials and reports that already exist on these topics for Albania?

Expertise, Capability, & Expression of Interest:

1. In your previous experiences delivering similar and relevant services, what approaches/methods were most beneficial under the agricultural and competitiveness sector?

2. To what extent does an activity like this align with your organization's goals and mission?

How?

3. What specific capacities does your organization bring to addressing the activity objectives?

4. What is your experience in working in Albania and in this region?

5. What other entities or organizations are well situated to add value to or implement aspects of the envisioned scope of work in Annex B? Include their mailing address, contact information, websites, and/or any other meaningful information related to these entities or organizations.

6. What are the names, affiliations, area of expertise, and contact information of subject matter experts or individuals who would bring knowledge, know-how, credibility, and expertise to the envisioned scope of work in Annex B? To the greatest extent possible, include sufficient information to understand the value they would add to fulfilling the stated objectives and how to contact them.

II. Response Submission Instructions

All comments must be submitted electronically in English to Urime Abdyli via email uabdyli@usaid.gov and Florentin Emini via email at femini@usaid.gov with the subject line: RFI No. 720118223RFI00001 - Strengthening Albania's Food Supply Chain by the date listed on the cover letter.

All documents submitted must be .pdf or .doc format. The submitted information must not exceed 15 pages, including annexes/attachments. Do not send zip files.

Respondents are not required to answer all questions but are encouraged to respond to any and all question(s) for which they have knowledge, experience, or ideas. Please number your responses to correspond with the questions in this RFI.

mailto:uabdyli@usaid.gov mailto:femini@usaid.gov

Reference: RFI#72018223RFI00001 Organization Name:

Point of contact name and contact information:

Size and type of organization, including U.S. small businesses or other status if applicable (optional, when applicable):

Legal registration status in Albania (optional, when applicable):

Respondents may submit:

● responses to some or all of the questions in the RFI; and

● documents, if any, that support the answers to the RFI Questions as attachments.

The collected information will be used to determine the level of interest and will not be released publicly. By responding to this notice, there will be no advantage to any entity or organization.

The submitted documentation and content thereof becomes the property of USAID and will not be returned.

This announcement is not to be construed as a Request for Proposals or Notice of Funding Opportunity. It does not commit USAID to reply to information received, or to later publish a request for applications, or to award an agreement based on this information. Furthermore, it does not commit USAID to pay for any costs incurred in response to this RFI. Only the information requested above will be considered.

ANNEX B

Annex B consists of a draft requirements document.

I. Activity Purpose

Context In July 2022, the Council of the European Union officially launched accession negotiations with Albania. A requirement for accession is a functioning market economy and the capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces of the Union. A lack of entrepreneurial and technological know-how, significant levels of informality, unmet investment needs in human and physical capital, and persistently low spending on research and development are hindering a competitive market economy in Albania. Agriculture is the second largest sector of the Albanian economy, but, despite Albania’s favorable climate, growing domestic market, and proximity to importers of food products (Western Balkan neighbors, Italy, Greece), Albania produces very few high-value processed goods for domestic market consumption or for export. This activity will capitalize on the opportunity to drive competitiveness of the economy by leveraging Albanian strengths and existing resources to invest in and brand high-value, Albanian-made processed agricultural product(s).

Goal Catalyze the establishment of a competitive food value chain around appropriate a high-value, processed food product or cluster of related products; demonstrate/consolidate an effective model for producing and delivering high-value, high-quality food products, increase domestic production/consumption of Albania brand products; and connect Albania’s food industry with tourism, regional markets, and beyond.

This initiative will bring and properly communicate the following advantages:

● Advance/accelerate EU accession: Improving Albania’s economic competitiveness will accelerate EU accession by improving capacity of Albanian business to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the EU.

● Scalable impact: A proven profitable model will present an irresistible value proposition for the private sector, which can apply the capacity building to other products or value chains.

● Address outmigration: A more competitive economy, with good paying jobs and opportunities for entrepreneurial initiatives, will directly address one root cause of outmigration in Albania.

● Potential to leverage resources: USAID experience with economic competitiveness activities indicates that there is great potential for leveraging private sector resources.

● Ability to influence: USAID has been an effective and respected donor in the agriculture and agri-processing sector, which will further boost effectiveness prospects.

● Complement EU/other donors assistance: This activity will complement the activities of other donors without duplicating. It will build on fundamental strategic investments by other donors and improve the absorptive capacity for EU funding in food processing and agribusiness sectors, which is among the lowest in the region.

● Albanian partners are committed: Public and private sector partners are committed and represent a resource and possible asset. This sector represents the cross-section of the most-requested types of programming for USAID.

II. Background and Problem Statement

USAID’s Europe and Eurasia Bureau’s 2021 Monitoring Country Progress analysis underscores that Albania is still a relatively poor country with low per capita income, high poverty, and a small, uncompetitive export sector. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reports that there are five major constraints to a more dynamic Albanian economy: (1) the country needs new growth drivers to accelerate the structural transformation of the economy and boost productivity; (2) the tradable sector needs more investment, diversification, and upgrading; (3) lack of skills affects growth and productivity; (4) institutional and administrative barriers limit domestic and foreign investment; and (5) the large infrastructure gap deters investment, especially large manufacturing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Additionally, entrepreneurial and technological know-how is low, as is research and development spending, and there is very limited utilization of innovation in business. This results in low export diversification and inadequate import substitution ability, thus increasing vulnerability to external shocks.

Albania has not yet sufficiently leveraged its proximity to EU markets and membership in the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA). For example, Kosovo, Montenegro, and North Macedonia export to CEFTA at least twice as many goods as Albania.

Agriculture is a fundamental sector for sustainable development and poverty reduction and is an important sector for Albania’s economy. The World Bank reports that agriculture, forestry, and fishing added 17.1% to Albania’s GDP in 2021 and was 36% of total employment in 2019.

Albania has significant agricultural and food production potential due to its agricultural traditions and related talents, its long growing season, and its fertile land and plentiful water.

Albanian fresh fruits and vegetables, for example, are of high quality and can be produced in large quantities, thus generating important inputs for producing high-value food products. The agri-food sector has also been identified as one of the potential drivers of the country’s economic growth and development - the Government of Albania (GOA) underscored strengthening a sustainable and competitive agri-food sector within rural development priorities under its new National Strategy for Development and European Integration. There are growing domestic and regional markets and demand for such products, in the Balkans as well as in international markets in proximity and beyond.

Albania has opportunities in food processing, due to its fertile land, good climate, and growing domestic market, as well as its proximity to other important EU markets. Albanian fresh fruits and vegetables are of high quality and represent important input when seen in the context of producing high value food.

Yet, food processing does not represent a driver of the economy in Albania. There are very few successful processors and there are many Albanian food products in the domestic market.

Albanian food products are almost entirely distributed through informal distribution channels (small shops, farms, green markets, etc) without any significant presence in the existing retail distribution network. Exports of processed food from Albania are almost nonexistent.

The Albanian food sector has not yet realized its potential and embraced the opportunity to position Albania in the global market as a producer of high-value, branded food products.

Although a European Mediterranean country, unlike the others from that group, Albania does not enjoy the broader visibility of its food products. It is still unclear where on the global food market map Albania belongs as no defined characteristics are associated with Albanian food products. Thus, export to high-consuming markets such as the EU and others is very low. While this is due to a variety of factors, data show that there are not enough processors and producers of food products that meet all required standards to be formally and successfully distributed in domestic and international markets.

II.1 Activity Objective

The main objective of the activity is to help Albania’s market economy to develop its capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces of the EU, thus accelerating the country's integration with European and global markets.

The envisioned intervention will choose a processed, high-value food product or a cluster of related products and brand them as high-value and “Albanian-made.” To support the creation of and support for this product, the activity will establish and support the entire value chain from basic agricultural input production to marketing and export.

Additionally, given the large potential of EU IPARD funding and low absorption capacity, the activity will increase capacity of participants in the value chain to apply for and leverage IPARD funds to maximize impact.

As a cross-cutting element, all interventions under this activity will equip and incentivize participants to transition out of the gray economy, thus helping reduce opportunities for corruption through formalization of the economy.

III. Theory of Change

For the purpose of this activity we define value chains to encompass the full range of activities and services required to bring a product or service from its conception to sale in its final markets – whether local, national, regional, or global. Value chains include input suppliers, producers, processors, and buyers, as well as the support services and enabling environments that form a dynamic market system.

Upgrading in context of this activity is defined as change, improvement or innovation that increases firm and/or value chain competitiveness in any of the following categories: Process upgrading (such as improving product quality, but defined broadly to include any changes that result in the final product being able to command a higher final price because it is more valuable to the consumer); Functional upgrading (such as moving to a new, higher value-added level in the value chain that moves the firm closer to the final consumer, requires the firm to take on new functions, and positions the firm to receive a higher unit price for the product);

Channel upgrading (such as selling into a new market channel within the value chain, or operating in more than one channel at the same time); Chain (inter-sectoral) upgrading (such as moving to a new value chain).

Theory of Change:

If an effective and comprehensive value chain is identified and if relationships within this and around this value chain are strengthened and if capacity of actors within this chain is increased;

Then at least one high-value Albanian-branded processed food product will be successfully produced and marketed and then this would catalyze private investments, increase employment, enhance entrepreneurial initiatives within the entire product category, and the food industry in general, thus contributing to increased competitiveness of the Albanian economy and its ability to face competitive pressure and market forces of the EU.

III. Activity’s scope

III.1 Food Product Selection

The product or cluster of related products must be selected based on the following criteria:

● likelihood to be recognizable as a local, unique high-value Albanian product with potential competitive advantage

● relevance in the context of domestic and international (EU in particular) markets’ trends and demand;

● potential to encourage, develop and strengthen/intensify the food industry networking within an underserved municipality or region of Albania;

● potential to produce significant externalities in the form of hybridization and spill over effects;

● potential to leverage private sector resources;

● potential to generate, aggregate, and utilize support from other donors;

● potential to engage Albanian diaspora

For example, Albanian berries are of high quality, can be produced in larger quantities, and be used as inputs for different final products. Yet almost no high-value products (using these inputs) that meet the standards and needs of high-end markets are being produced in Albania.

An example of a high-end product or cluster of products could be blueberry jam as a standalone high-value product and berry jams (to include blueberry, strawberry, and raspberry) as a cluster of related products.

Processed berry products must be considered as the potential product selected. If considered and not selected, the activity must demonstrate why another product would be more successful based on the above criteria.

III.2 Value Chain Design and Formation

The Activity will create and organize a value chain around the selected product or cluster of products. This process requires an understanding of the market system in Albania, the food industry connection with Albanian tourism, as well as end-market requirements and opportunities for products with the highest competitiveness potential domestically and beyond.

The anticipated efforts at this stage include, but are not limited to:

● Identification of all relevant participants and generation of their interest;

● Setting up a mission and vision for the value chain;

● Establishing criteria for participation in the program and “recruitment” process;

● Defining the partnership model and elaborating the concept in detail, based on the cooperation principles and comparative knowledge/advantages;

● Baseline assessment to produce quantitative and qualitative data reflecting the situation prior to the Activity interventions;

● Conceptualizing an effective model for connecting participants with different sources of knowledge from developed/relevant markets;

● Communication campaign, tailored to promoting selected food product(s).

III.3 Implementation

The Activity will apply a multi-dimensional approach to involve and leverage resources from important and relevant stakeholders in the field such as the private sector, financial institutions, innovation ecosystem players, relevant governmental bodies, academia, etc.

Although many donors are active in this sector, there is fragmentation in the assistance provided, thus impact opportunities are not yet utilized in an effective manner. The Activity will be expected to design, within its implementation approach, a comprehensive donor integration strategy to leverage and integrate other donor inputs and resources to maximize overall impact.

Given that there is a natural complementarity between food production, particularly high-value food products, and agri-tourism as well as broader tourism, the Activity must explore options to leverage this opportunity to connect and consolidate existing assets.

Also, the Activity must seek to improve gender equality within the sector in which it operates, focusing on women-owned businesses and encouraging young women entrepreneurs. Likewise, it must make a special effort to help youth see opportunities to prosper in Albania, thus addressing out-migration drivers as well.

Finally, the Activity must explore and utilize opportunities to effectively engage with the Albanian diaspora, aiming for leveraging this asset in context of the overall goal of the Activity.

[END OF REQUEST FOR INFORMATION]