Investment Readiness Support For A Local Champion In Cameroon

WORLD BANK GROUP
International
Finance Corporation (IFC)
Local Champions
Initiative (LCI)
TERMS OF REFERENCE (ToR)
INVESTMENT
READINESS SUPPORT FOR A LOCAL CHAMPION IN CAMEROON
A. PROJECT BACKGROUND
AND OBJECTIVES
The Local Champions Initiative (LCI), launched by IFC in 2022, aims to
strengthen promising domestic companies (“Local Champions”) operating in
fragile and frontier markets across West and Central Africa. Through technical
assistance, coaching, and capacity-building interventions, the LCI program
supports these companies in enhancing transparency, adopting improved financial
management practices, strengthening governance, and preparing for potential
investments from IFC or other development finance institutions (DFIs).
The Cameroon Local Champions Initiative aims to strengthen the investment
readiness and knowledge of identified, high-potential companies “Local
Champions” in the Manufacturing, Agribusiness, and Services (MAS) sectors, with
the goal of facilitating access to IFC financing, external private sector
capital, and other types of funding sources.
Over a three-year
implementation period, the project expects to achieve the following by project
completion
and within 2 years post-completion:
·
Increase IFC’s pipeline of investable opportunities by enabling Tier 1
companies to meet IFC investment criteria, leading to both firms adopting
improved procedures, policies, or standards, leading to IFC-facilitated
financing and private capital mobilization.
·
Build the capacity of Tier 2 and Tier 3 companies by enhancing their
performance and access to capital
A Cameroon-based
integrated agribusiness, headquartered in Douala, has been preselected as a
Nearly-Investment-Ready (Tier 1) Local Champion. The company operates across
aquaculture and natural juice production, alongside other agri-food activities.
It requires targeted technical assistance (TA) to address remaining gaps and
finalize key investment-readiness deliverables.
These terms of reference are intended
to recruit the Consulting firm (“the Consultant”) that will execute the TA to complete
the investment files.
B. SCOPE OF WORK
The Consultant will assess the Company’s needs,
current situation, and key prerequisites required to achieve its financing
objective. On that basis, t
he TA shall support during around 4/6 months the
selected Champion company
company through the following activities:
1.
Initial
Documentation Review
Prior to commencing the feasibility study, the Consultant shall confirm
with IFC and the company which sub-sector(s) or investment project is the
subject of the analysis. This shall be documented in the Inception Report.
The Consultant will conduct a structured review of the documents provided
in order to assess their quality, completeness, and usability. This phase will
help identify missing documents, inconsistencies, and the first documentary
improvements required to support the assignment
2.
Feasibility
Study of the Proposed Related Project
The
Consultant will conduct a comprehensive feasibility analysis, including:
Governance
and performance monitoring assessment: ownership and shareholding
structure (including any related-party arrangements), board composition
and independence, internal controls and audit function, anti-corruption
and integrity compliance, and existence of a conflict-of-interest policy.
Market,
demand (local, regional, international) and competitive assessment
Operational
and technical feasibility (including production capacity analysis, supply
chain mapping (raw material sourcing, cold chain logistics), technology
and equipment assessment, and post-harvest loss analysis
Regulatory,
environmental and social considerations: food safety certifications (e.g.,
HACCP, ISO 22000), sector-specific regulations for aquaculture in
Cameroon, CEMAC trade regulations for regional export ambitions, and
environmental permitting requirements.
Bankability
and financing assessment
Project
risks and mitigation measures
Tax, legal and
corporate compliance assessment
Regulatory
and environmental considerations. This should be expanded to specify:
A
structured feasibility report will be produced.
3.
Preparation of Investment File
The
Consultant will prepare a complete, IFC-ready investment package including:
Strategic plan and investment
rationale
Detailed project
description and schedule
Financial
projections and assumptions
Scenario and
sensitivity analyses
Socio-economic and
environmental impact assessment
Collateral and guaranteed
structure
Risk assessment and
mitigation matrix
4.
Financial
Documentation and Bankability Enhancement
4.1.
Historical Financial Statements (SYSCOHADA)
Update the existing past
three (3) years of financial statements under SYSCOHADA.
Perform analytical
review
Consolidate data, or
consolidated financi