Livcd Annual Program Statement (Aps) - Grants, Co-Investments, And Public-Private Partnerships Component

Announcement Type: Annual Program Statement Issuance Date: October 1, 2014 Final Closing Date: September 30, 2015 Submit Concept Papers to: LIVCD Grants Team Confidence Center, 1st Floor, Dimitri Hayeck Street Horsh Tabet, Sin El Fil Email: Grants_Livcd@dai.com Office Phone: + 961 1 485 619 To Interested Applicants: The full Annual Program Statement, including all terms, and conditions is available by sending an email to: Grants_LIVCD@dai.com. Competition for this APS will be open for one year. Additional APSs will be issued by LIVCD for subsequent years. DAI may choose to fully fund or incrementally fund the selected application(s). The number of awards and amount of available funding is subject to change and DAI reserves the right to make no awards as a result of this APS. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded Lebanon Industry Value Chain Development (LIVCD) Project is soliciting grant, co-investment, and public private partnership (PPP) applications for an Annual Program Statement (APS). LIVCD is a five-year project, implemented by Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI) that aims to support the improvement of economic stability in Lebanon, especially in rural areas to improve incomes and livelihoods. The project works to increase the competitiveness of selected value chains expand Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), including farm and agribusiness operations that can compete in selected markets, improve market and business linkages between those firms and other actors throughout the value chain, increase productivity and quality, and expand export opportunities. LIVCD completed an initial six month assessment and selected the following value chains to focus on: 1. Pome Fruits (Apples and Pears) 2. Stone Fruits (Avocado and Cherries) 3. Grapes 4. Olive Oil 5. Rural Basket of Products (honey, free range eggs, high value crops, thyme, pine nuts, and potentially other items) to improve food security income, and support household level producers 6. Processed Foods (such as household processing for small-scale food processers of products related to value chain commodities) 7. Rural Tourism and Handicrafts LIVCD also works on cross-cutting components that have linkages with value chain activities, such as Access to Finance, Communications, Capacity Building, and Market Intelligence. LIVCD partners with the private sector to select and develop fully functioning, competitive value chains in order to increase incomes of the rural population, as well as rural, peri-urban, and urban businesses, including, but not limited to, farmers, agro-processors, input suppliers, transporters, exporters, small businesses, service providers, retailers, and other entities involved in rural wealth creation. Entirely market-based, the project will work throughout Lebanon outside of Beirut, to raise the competitiveness of the selected value chains.