Individual Consultant for Rapid Market Scoping Study

Background

SNV Netherlands Development Organisation has been working in Vietnam since 1995, and is committed to reducing poverty by catalysing environmentally sustainable solutions for the poor in agriculture, energy, water & sanitation, and REDD+. SNV is engaged in the agriculture sector implementing Value Chain, Inclusive Business and Climate Change adaption and Mitigation activities.

In Vietnam, SNV manages the Inclusive Business Accelerator (IBA, https://iba.ventures/), the first one-stop shop in Vietnam for various services needed by businesses which include low-income groups in their operations. We use innovative acceleration models to make the businesses investor-ready. Our scope of services including: Market Intelligence & Opportunity Identification, Business Design & Readiness, Investor – Investee Match making, Impact Measurements & Scalability.

Solar Parabola Domes are brought to farmer groups in Vietnam, Myanmar and Indonesia under WeCare project - Economic Transformation through Food Security, co-financed by KfW, DEG and Covestro Thailand, implemented by Covestro Thailand in cooperation with ASSIST. In Vietnam, WeCare has developed 3 models in Binh Phuoc (pepper), Dong Thap (chili) and Long An (dragon fruit).  To further drive the growth of these models in the country, there is strong need to create synergistic collaborations with relevant partners, creating a local community, who can either help take pilots to scale or start generating new applications for the Base of Pyramid (BoP) markets.

In addition to the existing pilots, there is need to gain deeper understanding of new market potentials, partners and opportunities for low-cost solar-power dryers and cold storage products in Vietnam, especially on the demand side, in Vietnam. We are recruiting a consultant for this study.

Market Study Objectives

The Market Study will provide rapid scoping/mapping information about market potential and challenges for low-cost solar-power dryers and cold storage products, especially on the demand side, for BoP group in Vietnam. It will seek to identify key market players and potential players in the solar drying and cold storage sectors in Vietnam. The study will put forward emerging opportunities and recommendations of solar drying and cold storage products which will bring significant increases to value-added to agricultural products and income of people in the Base of the Pyramid.

Methodology and Scope of Work

The Market Study will avail itself in both secondary and primary sources, through desk research and in-depth interviews as applicable, and will provide client organisation with detailed, updated, relevant and reliable quantitative data and qualitative information.

The consultant will coordinate with the Team coordinator to conduct the desk research and interviews with potential partners to explore partnership opportunities and input into the final Study Report.

Deliverables

The final output of the consultancy will be a comprehensive Study Report in English summarizing

  • Market overview of solar dryer and mini cold storage products in Vietnam and an analysis on potentials and challenges for these products in Vietnam. The overview should cover a brief analysis on:
    • Key players: users, suppliers, producers, buyers, and price range of solar dryer and mini cold storage products
    • Technology and current usage of solar dryer and mini cold storage products
    • Hurdles in marketing (including but not limited to product development, installation, sale, ect.) of solar dryer and mini cold storage products in Vietnam, especially hurdles to market them to local farmers;
  • A detail list (including their contact details) of key market players and potential partners including but not limited to
    • Post harvest companies
    • Fresh fruit exporting companies
    • Agricutural machinery trading companies
    • Cold storage manufacturers and/or distributors
    • Solar dryer manufacturers and/or distributors;
    • Any other relevant companies;
  • Initiatives to enter and develop solar dryer and mini cold storage products in Vietnam up to date including information of supporting organizations, project activity, location and supported produces; and
  • Some potential emerging opportunities.

The draft desk research report should be shared with the Team coordinator and IBA Team for input before finalization.

Data collected during the study, and the analysis, should be included in the body of the Report or in Annex. Any bibliographical or other source of secondary information should be quoted in detail in a List of References at the back of the Report.

The Report should systematically mention and provide details of the institutions, organizations and people who have been the sources for gathering data or qualitative information, or the key informants for drawing conclusions and formulating recommendations.

Duration

The Market Study is expected to be completed latest by June 25th 2017. The budget of the Market Study will be offered as a package.

Desk study: 3 days
Report finalization: 2 days

Qualifications

  • Graduate degree in Economics, Social Science, Business or any other related areas;
  • Having a good understanding on value chain development approach and market access for small farmers under market-based mechanism;
  • Being fluent in research methodologies (quantitative and qualitative methods);
  • Being able to deliver the committed outputs on time;
  • Having excellent analytical skills and report writing skill in English;
  • Having experience in agricultural sub-sector analysis and Market Study is an asset;
  • Understanding on solar dryer sub-sector is an advantage.

Application procedures

Individual consultant(s) are invited to submit a competitive proposal for this assignment, including:

  • Brief technical proposal to conduct the assignment (understanding, summary approach, and draft work plan should be included);
  • Brief financial proposal;
  • Relevant qualifications and past experience.

Email to [email protected] by 17:00 on 12th June 2017 or by post to SNV Netherlands Development Organization

Address: 3rd Floor, Building D, La Thanh Hotel, 218 Doi Can Street, Ba Dinh Ha Noi, Viet Nam; Tel: 84-4 38463791   Fax: 84-4 38463794
With the title: “Rapid Scoping Study for Inclusive Business Markets”

Job Details
Organisation Name: 
SNV - Netherlands Development Organisation
Application Deadline: 
Mon, 2017-06-12