REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

Agro National Corporation Pvt Ltd (AgroNat) is looking to hire a firm with relevant skills and experience to create a website, a web application, and a mobile application.

Agro National Corporation Ltd (AgroNat) is a subsidiary company of the government owned Maldives Fund Management Company (MFMC) established on 21st April 2020 with an overall mandate of developing agriculture as an economically rewarding industry in the Maldives. The Corporation will work towards enforcing objectives such as enabling an efficient supply-chain for agriculture, providing technical expertise and training to farmers, creating awareness on organic farming expanding the role of women in farming, and facilitating access to quality fertilizers across islands. The company will also aim to achieve economic targets relating to food security, import substitution, creation of jobs and improving the trade balance.

The Maldivian Government in its Strategic Action Plan devised for 2019 – 2023, had proposed to establish a dedicated State-Owned Enterprise for Agricultural Development, with an objective of revitalizing the agriculture sector as per the Blue Economy vision. Despite being an integral part of Maldivian society for ages, the agriculture sector has remained under-developed and unexposed to modern developments in farming techniques and technology. The government under its agenda for economic diversification aims to promote agriculture as a meaningful sector in the Maldivian economy.

AgroNat aims to expedite an efficient supply-chain for local agricultural products that will enable farmers to collect a fair price for their produce. Hence, the company will be purchasing locally produced fruits and vegetables from farmers and re-selling the produce to wholesale buyers. In the intermediate term, the corporation aims to work towards an import substitution policy that will reduce imports of certain locally produced crops by 50%. In the long-run, the corporation aims to pursue strategies for food security and self-sufficiency that boosts local production, facilitates value-addition in the agriculture sector, and explore overseas markets for local agricultural exports.

The Sustainable Economic Empowerment and Development for SMEs (SEEDS) project, with financial support of the Government of Japan, aims to provide economic rehabilitation to mitigate the negative impacts of the COVID-19 crisis in the Maldives. The project has the objective of increasing agriculture production and promoting food security through an approach of building entrepreneurship amongst farmers and creating a new generation of agri-businesses that are innovative, productive and practices environment-friendly agriculture. The project will also provide technical support and capacity to the Government of Maldives to conduct support services for MSMEs to adapt to the “new normal”.

The project will be implemented through partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Maldives, the Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Fisheries, Marine Resources and Agriculture (MoFMRA), Agro National Corporation (AgroNat), Maldives Fund Management Corporation (MFMC), the Business Center Corporation (BCC) and Housing Development Corporation (HDC).

The scope of work as follows:

AgroNat is looking to hire a firm or team of individuals with relevant skills and experience to create a website, a web application, and a mobile application.

Website will be the corporate website of AgroNat.

Applications: webapp and mobile app, hereafter referred to as AgroNet Application. The application allows farmers to optimize and manage farm operations and production activities. Including building an efficient supplier chain management which includes stakeholders of AgroNat such as farmers, suppliers, customers, central and regional hubs, transport providers and trainers. The AgroNat application will help in automating farm activities such as record management, data storage, real-time crop monitoring, tracking field data and weather conditions, rainfall records as well as streamlining production and work schedules until crops dispatch. Customers can place and track orders. Suppliers can offer products and services. Training service providers can use the application to provide trainings. Transport providers can manage its logistic activities within the system.

The AgroNat application will be structured and designed to provide easy access and navigation to data and records in real time. The application will technically be a portal to be accessible by farmers, suppliers, buyers/customers, transport service providers, trainers, consolidation centre and internal users.

The corporate website will be a general corporate styled website for public access that will include news, information, and resources. The website should be bilingual (Dhivehi and English), with a content management system incorporated with backend access for various users.

The AgroNat now invites eligible Firms to submit their “Expression of Interest” (EOI) for providing the services. Interested Firms should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the services along with the following documents:

• Letter of expression of interest
• Updated CV
• Attested copies of accredited educational certificates.
• Details of relevant experience regarding the assignment (with supporting docs)
• Company Profile.

The TOR for the consulting services is attached with this REOI and will also be available on the National Gazette www.gazette.gov.mv.

Only the top 5 will be invited to submit price proposal.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form to [email protected]  by 1300 hrs. Maldivian time on Thursday, September 24, 2020.