Business Service Providers

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS FOR BUSINESS SERVICE PROVIDER FOR SMEs & COOPERATIVES

BACKGROUND

MEDA is an international economic development organization whose mission is to create business solutions to poverty. Founded in 1953 by a group of business professionals, MEDA partners with the poor to start or grow small and medium-sized businesses in developing regions around the world.

In the Philippines, MEDA is implementing its five-year Resilience and Inclusion through Investment for Sustainable Agriculture (RIISA) initiative. It strives for more resilience and inclusive economic growth for women and men cacao smallholder farmers (SHFs) in Mindanao, Philippines, through strengthened cacao market systems supported by investment

To achieve the ultimate goal of economic prosperity for smallholder farmers in the cacao sector, MEDA-RIISA is responding to address the cacao market systems barriers through investments to cooperatives and SMEs that are aligned with
Gender, Environment, Social, and Governance (G-ESG) considerations; mobilizing investments that are focused on G-ESG
for SMEs and financial intermediaries (FIs); strengthening the capacity of project clients and business service providers in areas such as GESI, Human rights (HR), and ECC.

strengthening the capacity of cacao cooperatives and smallholder farmers (SHFs) in environmentally sustainable and inclusive farming and business practices; and improving key enabling environment actors’ awareness of ESG practices in the cacao market system.

To achieve the ultimate goal of economic prosperity for smallholder farmers in the cacao sector, MEDA-RIISA is responding to address the cacao market systems barriers through investments to cooperatives and SMEs that are aligned with Gender, Environment, Social, and Governance (G-ESG) considerations; mobilizing investments that are focused on G-ESG for SMEs and financial intermediaries (FIs); strengthening the capacity of project clients and business service providers in areas such as GESI, Human rights (HR), and ECC ; strengthening the capacity of cacao cooperatives and smallholder farmers (SHFs) in environmentally sustainable and inclusive farming and business practices; and improving key enabling environment actors’ awareness of ESG practices in the cacao market system.

In strengthening the capacity of SMEs and cooperatives to improve their business performance as a function of governance in G-ESG, the project provides business finance training and mentoring as well as support to increasing project clients’ understanding and application of data-driven decision making in managing their cacao business to achieve their business objectives. To realize this, RIISA seeks to engage a BSP that will deliver the following outputs: 1) conduct of experiential learning business finance training; and 2) provide specific and tailored-coaching sessions to target project clients’ business finance needs. These are expected to contribute to the following project outcomes: a) increasing the integration of gendered, environmental, social and governance (G-ESG) considerations into the operations of businesses and financial intermediaries serving small and medium enterprise (SME) and cooperatives in the Mindanao cacao market system; b) improving environmentally sustainable and inclusive farming business performance with small scale producers; and c) improving the practice of actors and stakeholders to promote gendered-ESG best approaches in the cacao market system in the Philippines.

SCOPE OF WORK

MEDA seeks business service providers (BSPs) who specialize in investments, financing and institutional capacity strengthening to provide experiential learning training on business finance and transformational data-driven solutions to improving business performance of targeted cacao SMEs and cooperatives involved in the RIISA project to meet their desired business growth and impacts. The engagement is expected to;

a) provide need-based understanding and financial data-driven solutions to existing business growth barriers.

(b) provide coaching sessions that will help targeted RIISA clients change their mindset and apply the recommendations from the coaching sessions.

c) provide real business cases related to G-ESG considerations that can encourage the targeted clients to take actions to achieve their business objectives.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• • Work with MEDA-RIISA relevant staff to design an experiential and transformational learning workshop that could address business and market system barriers to achieve business growth among the targeted RIISA clients.

  • Conduct, facilitate, and deploy relevant experts and seasoned financial/business advisors during the workshop to conduct coaching sessions with the RIISA clients.

  • Prepare and submit
    an activity report for this engagement.

DELIVERABLES  and PAYMENT ARRANGEMENT

There will be two major payments applied. The first is for the design of the workshop and second is for the submission of activity report as shown below:

Task 1              Inception Meeting to discuss workplans and assignment details

Deliverables    Signed contract and conduct of inception meeting

Timeframe       July 21, 2025

Payment %     40%

Task 2             Conduct business finance workshop with coaching sessions that integrate G-ESG

considerations and address

business and  market system barriers to achieve business growth

Deliverables    Activity Report

Timeframe       August 4-8, 2025

Task 3             Based on MEDA’s comments on the progress report, make revisions, and submit the final report

Deliverables    Final Activity Report

Timeframe       August 22, 2025

Payment %     60%

Qualifications & Selection Criteria

A. Generic and Mandatory:

• Legally registered in the Philippines and been providing business services to cooperatives or SMEs for at least three years.
• RIISA Project prefers to partner with BSPs that have presence or existing business services in Davao Region.
• BSP and staff are not involved in terrorist, illegal or criminal activities, including but not limited to drug, arms or sex trafficking, money laundering, violation of women’s rights and human rights.
• BSP does not appear on the US, UK, UN, or EU lists of terrorist organizations.
• Local and financially stable organization/company. Need to provide 2-3 years audited FS.
• Can immediately deploy experts/services and be able to finish the deliverables within eight (8) months

B. Specific Expertise:

• Demonstrated expertise and experience in delivering business development services to cooperatives and SMEs in partnership with market system actors who have commercial interest to support the smallholder farmers.
• Experience in providing technical assistance to cooperatives and SMEs in achieving business growth and objectives, and meeting environmental, social, and governance considerations and standards.
• With technical knowledge on either of the following: cooperative and MSME governance; gender equality, social inclusion, and human rights; social entrepreneurship; cacao market system development; environmentally sustainable agriculture practices; improving investment readiness and business performance.
• Preference is given to the proponent that can provide technical assistance and non-financial support to cacao cooperatives, micro-small and medium and large companies on integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into their business operations, and to financial intermediaries serving micro and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and cooperatives.

Funding

• Funding will be discussed once an applicant is identified successful in the initial stage of assessment and selection.

Application Procedure

Interested BSPs to send application to MEDA via email at RIISA_Submissions@meda.org and cc: CNavacilla@meda.org  with the PROPOSAL as attachment, by 5:00pm on July 15, 2025. Please indicate “BSP Business Finance for Cooperatives or SMEs” in the subject line of your email.

Applications will be reviewed by a committee of MEDA staff. Qualified BSP will be selected and announced by July 18, 2025. Upon selection of BSPs, MEDA will enter into a contract for engagement.

The proponent shall follow the prescribed proposal format below and submit an electronic copy of the following information.

Contact Information

1. • Organization’s Legal Name:
   • Mailing Address:
   • Main Contact Person and Title:
   • Telephone:
   • Email address:
   • Website, if available (Facebook, twitter):
   • SEC/CDA/DTI Registration Number:

2. Proposal Outline

   • Introduction (maximum half page): provide understanding of the ToR and how your organization or company can respond to the ToR’s requirements. Proponent to add a brief explanation on their motivation to partner with MEDA.
   • Capability Statement (maximum of one page):
     • Briefly describe your organization’s business services, in relation to the expertise required by this ToR, in the last three years with specific information on the beneficiaries, contracting company/organization, and the results of your engagements.
     • Briefly describe the financial position of the organization/company.
     • Please include the contact details (contact person, phone, and email) of at least three (3) organizations/companies/cooperatives who can speak to the capability and credibility of your organization.
     • Describe the qualifications of the personnel who will possibly be involved in the engagement.

• • Proposed Methodology (maximum of one page).
    • Describe how the proponent will implement the identified and agreed A2F strategies and plan to ensure the deliverables in Section 3 are achieved within August 2025 given any restrictions.
    • Discuss the workshop methodologies to facilitate change of mindset among the target RIISA clients to act on addressing the identified business and market systems barriers based on the results of the experiential and transformational learning sessions.

• Proposed Work Plan (maximum of one page). Outline the activities, timeline, expected outputs, resources and the expertise needed.

• Estimated Cost of the Engagement (in matrix format): Itemized cost and unit, and total cost.

• Annex:

  • SEC Certificate of Incorporation or DTI Certificate of Registration or CDA Registration, 2025 Business Permit, and BIR Certificate of Registration
  • Audited Financial Statement for the past two to three years.
  • CV of BSP staff or experts to be deployed or who will work on this engagement.
  • Work sample/s of BSP and the assigned staff

MEDA welcomes and encourages applications from all genders, backgrounds, religions, cultures, nationalities and abilities. Accommodation is available on request for candidates with disabilities taking part in the selection process.

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