Overview
The Caribbean Climate Smart Accelerator (CCSA) has applied for financing from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) towards the cost of Consultancy Services for Development of a Caribbean Blended Finance for Resilience Fund and intends to apply a portion of the proceeds of this financing to eligible payments under a contract for which this invitation is issued. Payments by CDB will be made only at the request of CCSA and upon approval by CDB and will be subject in all respects to the terms and conditions of the Financing Agreement. The Financing Agreement prohibits withdrawal from the financing account for the purpose of any payment to persons or entities, or for any import of goods, if such payment or import, to the knowledge of CDB, is prohibited by a decision of the United Nations Security Council taken under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations. No party other than CCSA shall derive any rights from the Financing Agreement or have any claim to the proceeds of the Financing.
CCSA, the Executing Agency, now wishes to procure consultancy services for Consultancy Services for Development of a Caribbean Blended Finance for Resilience Fund.
The Caribbean Blended Finance for Resilience (CBFR) is an opportunity to address one of the systemic issues impeding the transition to resilient and sustainable energy in the Caribbean region. The concept was born during the 2019 iteration of the Island Resilience Action Challenge, where it was voted as the winning solution to the critical issue of lack of access to appropriate financing, tabled by the forum participants. Over the course of 2020, the winning taskforce, which included members from the winning group, as well as, other sector stakeholder volunteers, worked assiduously to develop the proposal from idea to concept and, after presenting the proposal to industry leaders in November 2020, was awarded the Impact Award at the 2020 iteration of the Caribbean Renewable Energy Forum.
The CBFR is proposed as a regional blended financial instrument for sourcing equity, impact investment, mezzanine, debt and a risk mitigation window for climate-resilient infrastructure projects, with a focus on sustainable energy. The purpose of which is to promote energy security, resilience and environmental sustainability in the Caribbean, catalyse investment and entrepreneurship in clean energy, and to contribute to stable and sustainable energy prices. The fund will aim to support both public and private sector climate-resilient infrastructure investments and recovery or ‘building back better’ strategies.
The objective of the consultancy is to validate and build on the work done by the task force to date, in order to create a viable proof of concept for CBFR, as well as, define the activities to be completed and associated funding requirements to achieve full operationalisation.
The consultant firm will aim to achieve the following key objectives:
(a) Confirmation of a fund structure and size most appropriate to satisfy the regional demand and attract investment in the fund;
(b) Preparation of a Business Plan, including financial models; and,
(c) Preparation and implementation of a fund development strategy and action plan to secure investment and achieve full operationalisation.
The duration of the assignment is expected to be for a period of twelve months.
CCSA now invites interested eligible consulting firms to submit Expressions of Interest for the provision of these consultancy services.
Eligibility
Instructions
In the assessment of submissions, consideration will be given to technical competence, qualifications and experience, local and regional experience on similar assignments, and existing commitments. Key Experts will not be evaluated at the shortlisting stage.
All information must be submitted in English. Further information may be obtained from the first address below between 9am to 5pm hours Monday to Friday.
Expressions of Interest must be submitted via email to the first address and copied to the second address via email below no later than close of business Barbados time Monday 31st May 2021. Submissions shall include a cover page displaying the name and address of the applicant and shall be clearly marked “Expression of Interest – Consultancy Services for Development of a Caribbean Blended Finance for Resilience Fund”
Following the assessment of submissions, a short-list of not less than three and not more than six applicants will be provided with full terms of reference and invited to submit technical and financial proposals to undertake the assignment. CCSA reserves the right to accept or reject late applications or to cancel the present invitation partially or in its entirety. It will not be bound to assign any reason for not short-listing any applicant and will not defray any costs incurred by any applicant in the preparation and submission of Expressions of Interest.