Market assessment for supporting Green Value Chains in Africa  

Description

The Investment Mobilization Collaboration Alliance (IMCA) is a unique international coordination mechanism that utilizes an innovative public-private partnership approach to support blended finance vehicles, and catalyze private capital for climate action into emerging markets and developing economies at scale and speed.

IMCA is planning a new funding collaboration, or “window” for blended finance to mobilized private capital investments focused on Green Value Chains in Africa (GVCA). The aim is to support the greening of energy transition value chains and promote local economic development in Africa. IMCA’s participating partner countries and organizations are keen to mobilize private capital into these energy transition value chains to: (1) Improve key ESG and impact dimensions in value chains supporting renewable energy installation, efficient resource usage, and waste management, and (2) promote economic growth for local communities through the onshoring of key steps in the value chain, such as materials processing. The funding window plans to provide blended finance towards asset management actors through eg. loan guarantees, grants and technical assistance, structuring, legal, and other costs supporting fund/platform operations. To determine the most effective strategy and identify potential entities to support, IMCA is hereby commissioning a market assessment.

Objective

The market assessment must provide the IMCA window with a recommendation on the most effective way to support the greening of energy transition value chains and promote local economic development and job creation in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

To do so, the assignment must identify the following:

1. Which segments of the energy transition value chain should the window target for maximized impact additionality and financial additionality of a IMCA blended finance window?
2. Are there experienced asset managers available at the required scale and capacity within the SSA?
3. What are the current ESG standards used in the main value chain sectors in SSA, and can these align with the impact standards commonly applied in development assistance?

Scope of work

The consultants are expected to carry out a combination of desk research, key informant interviews, review of existing literature and research to complete the following:

1. Identify which segments of the energy transition value chains present the greatest opportunity for climate and development impact through private capital mobilization while ensuring financial additionality. The consultant should address this objective through quantifying the opportunity set for greening energy transition value chains, identifying the opportunities and bottlenecks for onshoring to SSA higher-value activities within the energy transition value chains. This assessment should use criteria such as potential additional local value creation and tax revenue, job creation per segment of the value chains – eg. Materials processing, materials recycling, green industrial manufacturing etc.
   
   
2. Identify experienced asset managers available at the required scale and level of capacity within the SSA to map any possible existing ecosystem of financing platforms and funds that can be supported and scaled further through the IMCA window. The consultant should develop a list of existing or possible near-investable funds and investment platforms based on a set of criteria based eg. On investment strategy fit with objective 1 analysis, level of experience and capacity within SSA, investment and impact track record as fund manager etc.
   
   
3. Identify the current ESG and impact standards used in the green energy transition value chains industry in relation to objective 1 and determine potential integration with impact standards commonly applied in development assistance. The consultant should identify appropriate industry ESG and impact standards to be included by IMCA’s blended finance window, and identify gaps in terms of ESG and impact practices between IMCA participating partners and the value chains industry standards commonly used.

A full analysis of the three objectives and final recommendations on future steps must be presented in a final report.

Expected deliverables

The consultants are expected to deliver a proposed implementation plan for completing the scope of work, a draft report including a summary of interviews and desktop research, as well as a final report. The final report must include, but not be limited to, the objective descriptions 1-3 in the scope of work section above. The draft report should outline the structure and the expected overall narrative of the final report considering objective 1-3. A powerpoint presentation summarizing the findings must accompany the draft report outline as well as for the final report. The presentation will be used by IMCA participating partners in external communication.

Team Composition

The Contractor and team must possess the following minimum qualifications:

• Proven experience and knowledge in conducting market assessments for financing across energy transition value chains in Sub-Saharan Africa and preferably also globally
• Established knowledge of networks for asset managers, asset owners, and investors operating in climate and transition finance. This must adhere to conflict of interest considerations where all possible conflicts must be stated a priori to the work.
• Experience in development finance combined with ESG and impact metric frameworks in emerging and developing markets
• Capacity to execute on a short timeline of two months
• Fluency in written and spoken English by all team members required; additional language fluency strongly preferred    

Timing

The intended commencement date is the 10^st of September 2024 and the contract will conclude on the 7^st of November, 2024.

Estimated level of effort: 700-1,000 hours of work

Budget: Maximum of 1,000,000 DKK net of VAT

Deadline for application

22-08-2024 at 15:30, Danish time

Interested Consultants can request to get the instructions prepared for applicants by e-mail to the Contact person stated below

Contact point Office for Green Diplomacy and Climate

Contact person Jesper Hilsted Andersen

Contact e-mail [email protected]

Criteria for selection