USAID/Nepal Grant: Advancing Economic Growth and Food Systems through Private Sector Partnerships

Through this Addendum to the 2020-2022 Global Development Alliance (GDA) Annual Program Statement (APS) No. APS-OAA-21-00001 (the GDA APS), USAID/Nepal aims to engage more effectively with the private sector to remove constraints to inclusive, broad-based economic growth, and catalyze trade and investment to build a more diversified and vibrant economy. To achieve this, USAID/Nepal seeks to form partnerships with private sector actors to address development challenges through enterprise-based solutions, improve the investment climate, and accelerate innovation. Through this Addendum, USAID/Nepal will partner with businesses that operate within the food system to better align with ongoing efforts to improve agricultural productivity and efficiency. 

This GDA APS addendum seeks to solicit private sector partners whose businesses are equipped to advance USAID/Nepal’s aims to address climate change by delivering innovations in the following areas:

1. Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA): CSA is an approach that seeks to transform agricultural systems through sustainable agricultural intensification, climate change adaptation, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. In Nepal, CSA is an important way to build the resilience of farming communities to climate change. Potential partners may contribute to advancing CSA technologies and services at an appropriate scale for smallholder adaptation, and/or by seeking to create system-wide effects.
2. Improved Food Safety and Reduced Food Loss and Waste (FLW): In Nepal, poor food safety and food quality negatively impact nutrition, constrain opportunities for trade, and accelerate food loss and waste. A lack of food safety and food quality, especially for animal sourced foods and other perishable items, reduces the desirability, consumption, and utilization of nutrient dense foods. Food safety risks also make it difficult for Nepal to meet SPS requirements for agricultural exports, and discourage private sector investment in trade. Improving food safety and food quality will help to reduce FLW by building capacity to systematically manage risks, and by improving the marketability of nutritious agricultural products in domestic and international markets. Improving food safety and food quality and reducing FLW in Nepal depend on building stronger market linkages and efficiencies within value chains that shorten the time between harvest and consumption, along with strategic investments in infrastructure and processes designed to better preserve agricultural products. 

Under this addendum, USAID/Nepal will only issue awards to a local partner, defined for this addendum according to the laws of Nepal, as an entity which: 

• Has its principal place of business or operations in Nepal 
• Is majority owned and controlled by individuals who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of Nepal
• Is managed by a governing body, the majority of whom are citizens or lawful permanent residents of Nepal  
• If it has projects, offices, and/or registration in other countries, key management decisions are taken by the office located in Nepal
• Entity cannot be a United States-based organization

Private sector partners may be local or international, but partnership with the Nepali private sector is preferred. Eligible private sector entities include:  

• Private for-profit, commercial entities such as a business, corporation, small or medium enterprise or private firm;
• Private equity or private financial institutions, including banks, micro finance institution, private investment firms, mutual funds, private equity funds and insurance companies; 
• Private business or industry associations; 
• Cooperatives;
• Private foundations affiliated with for-profit, commercial entities; or
• Private foundations affiliated with non-for-profit and/or philanthropic goals. 

Through this Addendum to the 2020-2022 Global Development Alliance (GDA) Annual Program Statement (APS) No. APS-OAA-21-00001 (the GDA APS), USAID/Nepal aims to engage more effectively with the private sector to remove constraints to inclusive, broad-based economic growth, and catalyze trade and investment to build a more diversified and vibrant economy. To achieve this, USAID/Nepal seeks to form partnerships with private sector actors to address development challenges through enterprise-based solutions, improve the investment climate, and accelerate innovation. Through this Addendum, USAID/Nepal will partner with businesses that operate within the food system to better align with ongoing efforts to improve agricultural productivity and efficiency. 

This GDA APS addendum seeks to solicit private sector partners whose businesses are equipped to advance USAID/Nepal’s aims to address climate change by delivering innovations in the following areas:

1. Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA): CSA is an approach that seeks to transform agricultural systems through sustainable agricultural intensification, climate change adaptation, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. In Nepal, CSA is an important way to build the resilience of farming communities to climate change. Potential partners may contribute to advancing CSA technologies and services at an appropriate scale for smallholder adaptation, and/or by seeking to create system-wide effects.
2. Improved Food Safety and Reduced Food Loss and Waste (FLW): In Nepal, poor food safety and food quality negatively impact nutrition, constrain opportunities for trade, and accelerate food loss and waste. A lack of food safety and food quality, especially for animal sourced foods and other perishable items, reduces the desirability, consumption, and utilization of nutrient dense foods. Food safety risks also make it difficult for Nepal to meet SPS requirements for agricultural exports, and discourage private sector investment in trade. Improving food safety and food quality will help to reduce FLW by building capacity to systematically manage risks, and by improving the marketability of nutritious agricultural products in domestic and international markets. Improving food safety and food quality and reducing FLW in Nepal depend on building stronger market linkages and efficiencies within value chains that shorten the time between harvest and consumption, along with strategic investments in infrastructure and processes designed to better preserve agricultural products. 

Under this addendum, USAID/Nepal will only issue awards to a local partner, defined for this addendum according to the laws of Nepal, as an entity which: 

• Has its principal place of business or operations in Nepal 
• Is majority owned and controlled by individuals who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of Nepal
• Is managed by a governing body, the majority of whom are citizens or lawful permanent residents of Nepal  
• If it has projects, offices, and/or registration in other countries, key management decisions are taken by the office located in Nepal
• Entity cannot be a United States-based organization

Private sector partners may be local or international, but partnership with the Nepali private sector is preferred. Eligible private sector entities include:  

• Private for-profit, commercial entities such as a business, corporation, small or medium enterprise or private firm;
• Private equity or private financial institutions, including banks, micro finance institution, private investment firms, mutual funds, private equity funds and insurance companies; 
• Private business or industry associations; 
• Cooperatives;
• Private foundations affiliated with for-profit, commercial entities; or
• Private foundations affiliated with non-for-profit and/or philanthropic goals. 

Through this Addendum to the 2020-2022 Global Development Alliance (GDA) Annual Program Statement (APS) No. APS-OAA-21-00001 (the GDA APS), USAID/Nepal aims to engage more effectively with the private sector to remove constraints to inclusive, broad-based economic growth, and catalyze trade and investment to build a more diversified and vibrant economy. To achieve this, USAID/Nepal seeks to form partnerships with private sector actors to address development challenges through enterprise-based solutions, improve the investment climate, and accelerate innovation. Through this Addendum, USAID/Nepal will partner with businesses that operate within the food system to better align with ongoing efforts to improve agricultural productivity and efficiency. 

This GDA APS addendum seeks to solicit private sector partners whose businesses are equipped to advance USAID/Nepal’s aims to address climate change by delivering innovations in the following areas:

1. Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA): CSA is an approach that seeks to transform agricultural systems through sustainable agricultural intensification, climate change adaptation, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. In Nepal, CSA is an important way to build the resilience of farming communities to climate change. Potential partners may contribute to advancing CSA technologies and services at an appropriate scale for smallholder adaptation, and/or by seeking to create system-wide effects.
2. Improved Food Safety and Reduced Food Loss and Waste (FLW): In Nepal, poor food safety and food quality negatively impact nutrition, constrain opportunities for trade, and accelerate food loss and waste. A lack of food safety and food quality, especially for animal sourced foods and other perishable items, reduces the desirability, consumption, and utilization of nutrient dense foods. Food safety risks also make it difficult for Nepal to meet SPS requirements for agricultural exports, and discourage private sector investment in trade. Improving food safety and food quality will help to reduce FLW by building capacity to systematically manage risks, and by improving the marketability of nutritious agricultural products in domestic and international markets. Improving food safety and food quality and reducing FLW in Nepal depend on building stronger market linkages and efficiencies within value chains that shorten the time between harvest and consumption, along with strategic investments in infrastructure and processes designed to better preserve agricultural products. 

Under this addendum, USAID/Nepal will only issue awards to a local partner, defined for this addendum according to the laws of Nepal, as an entity which: 

• Has its principal place of business or operations in Nepal 
• Is majority owned and controlled by individuals who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of Nepal
• Is managed by a governing body, the majority of whom are citizens or lawful permanent residents of Nepal  
• If it has projects, offices, and/or registration in other countries, key management decisions are taken by the office located in Nepal
• Entity cannot be a United States-based organization

Private sector partners may be local or international, but partnership with the Nepali private sector is preferred. Eligible private sector entities include:  

• Private for-profit, commercial entities such as a business, corporation, small or medium enterprise or private firm;
• Private equity or private financial institutions, including banks, micro finance institution, private investment firms, mutual funds, private equity funds and insurance companies; 
• Private business or industry associations; 
• Cooperatives;
• Private foundations affiliated with for-profit, commercial entities; or
• Private foundations affiliated with non-for-profit and/or philanthropic goals.