Consultancy - Developing Private Sector Fundraising Strategy for SNV Vietnam

Consultancy - Developing Private Sector Fundraising Strategy for SNV Vietnam

Background

SNV Netherlands Development Organisation is a non-profit, international development organisation founded 50 years ago, and now operating in 39 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Our global team of local and international advisors use their expertise in Agriculture, Renewable Energy, Climate Change and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene to contribute to solving some of the leading problems facing the world today. We work with local partners to equip communities, businesses and organisations with the tools, knowledge and connections they need to increase their incomes and gain access to basic services – empowering them to break the cycle of poverty and guide their own development.

SNV has been working in Vietnam since 1995, and currently has over 80 national and international staff. SNV Vietnam’s team works hand-in-hand with communities, government agencies and businesses, in some of the remotest and poorest areas of the country, to strengthen their capacity to effectively reduce poverty. SNV Vietnam operates from a head office in Hanoi and is present in more than 50 out of 63 provinces in Vietnam.

For decades, SNV has developed and leveraged market-based solutions and innovations to accelerate economic development opportunities for the low-income segment. SNV developed and pioneered the Inclusive Business (IB) approach as a comprehensive pro-poor market-based solution developed with the direct participation of the private sector stakeholders, including an alliance with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) since 2006.

To date, SNV has successfully supported approximately 200 inclusive business endeavours (with both MNCs and domestic companies) in sectors such as agribusiness, mobile banking, energy, tourism, infrastructure and basic services, health, ICT, renewable energy, textiles and others. SNV’s IB offering was developed with the private sector market as the client for revenue generation in mind, however we have also applied our methodology to work with donors and NGOs interested in developing public-private partnerships.

In Vietnam, SNV manages two large donor-funded inclusive business programmes, the Vietnam Business Challenge Fund (www.vbcf.org.vn) and the Inclusive Business Accelerator (https://iba.ventures/), both of which focus on helping SMEs operating in Vietnam design and implement business plans, bring like-minded business partners and investors together and deliver economic and social impact at scale. SNV Vietnam also applies elements of our inclusive business approach to our programmes in agriculture, renewable energy, WASH and REDD+.

SNV Vietnam is seeking an experienced consultancy firm or individual(s) to advance its offering as detailed below.

Objectives

Under the supervision of and with the direct support of the Country Director and Business Development Manager:

1. Review SNV Vietnam’s current service offerings in all four sectors and their relevancy for the domestic and international private sector.

2. Review and map priorities and activities from national and international corporations on corporate social responsibility (CSR), inclusive business, impact investing, and shared value in Vietnam.

3. Based on the outcomes of objectives 1 and 2, develop a private sector fundraising strategy for Vietnam, including recommendations on priority companies and partnerships, product and services, marketing/communications strategy, staffing etc.

4. Assuming satisfactory completion of objectives 1-3, directly support SNV Vietnam to sign one or more contracts with a private sector company to carry out activities related to CSR, inclusive business, impact investing or shared value.

Activities

1.1 Review published and internal materials on relevant SNV Vietnam programmes to gain an understanding of our work and approaches and also the suitability of our external materials for a private sector audience.

1.2 Interview relevant staff including Country Director, BD Manager, and select Programme Managers.

1.3 Interview select staff from SNV Vietnam’s current private sector partners to understand the strengths and weaknesses of SNV’s approach and service offerings and what additional services they would like to be receiving.

2.1 Carry out desk research on current and potential CSR, inclusive business and shared value activities of national and international corporations in Vietnam.

2.2 Identify, contact and interview key private sector convening organisations and associations in Vietnam.

2.3 Based on activities 2.1 and 2.2, develop a representative list of private sector companies working in SNV’s sectors, and through a combination of desk research and interviews develop brief profiles on each company covering the following topics:   

• Current and planned CSR, inclusive business, impact investing and shared value  activities in Vietnam;
• Motivations for these programmes – e.g. primarily branding/marketing, or meeting concrete business need such as value chain strengthening;
• Current NGO partnerships, and the role of the NGO partner in their programmes;
• Interest in developing additional NGO partnerships, and the suitability of SNV’s service offering to meet their needs;

3.1 Prepare a private sector strategic fundraising plan for SNV Vietnam, covering at least the following topic areas:

• Recommendations on priority companies to target based on sector and needs alignment;
• Recommendations on key convening organisations, associations and partners that will help to improve SNV’s access to private sector companies
• Recommendations on improving product and services as well as our communications approach with the private sector, e.g. language, presentation style, outreach tools etc.;
• Recommendations on staff needs to pursue and implement private sector programmes;
• Recommendations on additional external services needed, e.g. design, web services, event planning etc.

4.1 Assuming satisfactory completion of activities outlined above, directly support SNV Vietnam to sign one or more contracts with a private sector company to carry out activities related to CSR, inclusive business, impact investing or shared value. “Direct support” should constitute substantive involvement beyond simply brokering an introduction, e.g. support with developing/delivering pitch presentation, contract negotiations etc. Successful negotiation of contract(s) will result in additional results-based finder’s fee for the consultant to be determined during contract negotiations for this assignment. 

Deliverables

• Detailed work-plan
• Detailed approach for the assignment
• 10 private sector company profiles as described in activity 2.3 above
• Private sector fundraising strategy report as described in activity 3.1 above
• One or more private sector contracts signed, with minimum value of to be negotiated.

Time Frame

• Final workplan and detailed approach within 30 days
• Company profiles within 90 days
• Fundraising strategy within 150 days

Initial contract period for 150 days. Assuming initial deliverables are satisfactory:

• At least one private sector contract signed by Q2 2016
• Additional activities as needed to be negotiated during implementation

Qualifications

• Team member(s) with MBA or equivalent qualification;
• Demonstrated track record in private sector fundraising, public-private partnerships and inclusive business on behalf of international development and/or humanitarian organisations;
• Demonstrated experience in business planning and strategic communications;
• Demonstrated expertise in the Vietnamese private sector context, including relevant networks and knowledge;
• Previous private sector experience highly desirable; 
• Knowledge of one or more of SNV’s technical areas of focus – agriculture, renewable energy, WASH or climate change – is highly desirable;
• Good understanding of field realities in emerging markets; ability to link different sectors (private sector, government and NGOs);
• Excellent spoken and written English required; knowledge of Vietnamese desirable

Proposals

Consultancy firms or individual consultant(s) are invited to submit a competitive proposal for this assignment, including:

• Technical proposal to conduct the assignment (understanding, team structure and profiles, summary approach, and draft work plan should be included)
• Cost proposal: Budget with breakdowns on items and units per component. The proposal must be inclusive of taxes and expenses considering that the coordination team from SNV will be based in Hanoi, Vietnam.
• Relevant qualifications and past experience, including CVs and at least 4 references.

Please submit your proposals and questions to Manoli Strecker, Business Development Manager, at [email protected]. Full technical and cost proposals must be received by August 17, 2015.