USAID Southern Africa Trade and Investment Hub (USAID TradeHub)
Request for Application (RFA)
No.: RFA-SATIH-PRE-21-0009
Synopsis of the Request for Application (RFA)
DAI, implementer of the USAID-funded Southern Africa Trade and Investment Hub (the USAID TradeHub) funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), invites private sector actors active in the financial services sector to submit technical and cost applications to address the technical assistance as contained in the full RFA. Organizations are not required to have had previous awards with the USAID TradeHub but entities should in one way or another be already active in the ecosystem the USAID TradeHub has been supporting.
This is a summary of this Notice of Funding Opportunity. To Request the full RFA including submission instructions email [email protected]. The subject line must include the RFA number listed below.
| RFA No. | RFA-SATIH-PRE-21-0009 |
| USAID Prime Contract Number: | Issued Under USAID TradeHub USAID Contract No. AID-674-C-16-00004 |
| Issue Date | December 01, 2021 |
| Title | Support the USAID TradeHub financial ecosystem service providers to undertake business development investments to improve and increase their product offering. |
| Issuing Office & Email | Southern Africa Trade and Investment Hub Email: [email protected] |
| Deadline for Receipt of Questions | December 13, 2021 by 10:00 hours (Central Africa Time) |
| Deadline for Receipt of Proposals. | January 03, 2022 by 15:00 hours (Central African Time) |
| Point of Contact | Please submit all questions and completed proposals to [email protected] |
| Anticipated Award Type | Grants – fixed amount or cost reimbursement depending on substance of proposed activities. |
| Eligibility | This competition is limited to South African organizations. |
| Basis for Award | Award will be made to responsible applicant whose application offers the greatest value to DAI, cost and other factors considered. |
Program Description
I. Overview
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Southern Africa Trade & Investment Hub (USAID TradeHub) project is a six-year trade and investment facilitation project, currently in its sixth year of implementation. The USAID TradeHub’s objectives include increasing sustainable economic growth, global export competitiveness, and trade in targeted Southern African countries. In order to achieve these objectives, the USAID TradeHub works with partners from across the region to increase exports from South African countries to South Africa and the United States, boost the flow of capital and technology from South Africa to other Southern African countries.
The purpose of this Request For Applications (RFA) is to award up to three grants (from US $50,000 to $225,000) to organizations to contribute to the results related to increasing investment (capital and technology) from South Africa into priority countries in the region. The USAID TradeHub will provide selected partners assistance through a grant support agreement by enhancing their business models to ensure that these business models are able to fully respond to the needs of small and medium regional export firms, exporting to South Africa or the U.S., or firms seeking specific trade related technology transfer (e.g. labelling, branding, laboratories). The USAID TradeHub anticipates that all grants issued as a result of this RFA, if any, will have a period of five months from January 31, 2022 through June 30, 2022.
Specifically, grants are being offered in the following three areas (one in each category)
- Increased Small Business Enterprise (SME) export trade on a digital trade platform. USAID TradeHub seeks to receive proposals on methods to improve SME trade on digital platforms.
- Improving SME investability in an organization through a digital platform
USAID TradeHub seeks proposals to help firms improve investor and export readiness, i.e. improving governance structures while, reducing transaction costs and improving investor confidence, particularly to SMEs seeking funding below $1 million.
- Financial education through a digital platform.
The grant applicant will develop and advance financial education products for export firms seeking access to finance and investment. The educational products should be interactive financial learning material across diverse cultures in the languages of English and Portuguese and disseminated through a digital platform.
Please refer to the Program Description under Section D of the full RFA for a complete statement of goals and expected results.
Pursuant to 2 CFR 700.13, it is USAID policy not to award profit under assistance instruments such as grant awards. However, all reasonable, allocable, and allowable expenses, both direct and indirect, which are related to the grant program and are in accordance with applicable cost standards (2 CFR 200 Subpart E for all US-based and for non-US based non-profit organizations, and the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 31 for all for-profit organizations), may be paid under the grant.
Subject to availability of funds, the USAID TradeHub intends to make available grant assistance of between $50,000 to $225,000 for each grant, up to three grants. Note there is a 25% cost sharing requirement for each grant. See #8 Cost Sharing Requirement in Section A of the full RFA. A maximum of $600,000 in total will be made available for this RFA in the form of fixed priced/amount or cost reimbursement awards. DAI reserves the right to fund any or none of the applications submitted.
Thank you for your interest in this Funding Opportunity and Please request the full RFA by email at [email protected]