The Project Development Facility Application
Writing the Winning Proposal
This application form and instructions are for Nigerian entrepreneurs and Business Development Services providers to access the Project Development Facility (PDF), a United States Agency for International Development in Nigeria (USAID | Nigeria) initiative designed to spur investment along the Lagos-Kano-Jibiya (LAKAJI) transport corridor. It contains everything you need to create a compelling application that can be approved and funded by the PDF. More information on the type of assistance available is provided below, however much of PDF funding will be used to pay for up to half of the cost of specific consultancy services. In this document, consultants that provide such advisory services are referred to as Business Development Services (BDS) providers.
USAID | Nigeria seeks to stimulate economic growth in Nigeria in non-oil sectors through the Nigeria Expanded Trade and Transport Project (NEXTT). NEXTT promotes investment along the LAKAJI Corridor in agribusiness and infrastructure, taking advantage of the natural trade corridor that is made up of the eight states from the Ports of Lagos to the Nigeria-Niger border. NEXTT is the administrator of the PDF funds, and is responsible for receiving and processing applications, facilitating an application committee’s review, and implementing approved funding requests.
The process of applying for and receiving PDF assistance is simple and straightforward:
1. You will approach the NEXTT Project with an overview of your request. The overview can be communicated through a completed “Expression of Interest” form, a letter with details of the request or a one-on-one meeting between you and NEXTT team members. If you are filling in the application form, you will have already passed steps 1 and 2, which are only detailed to clarify the process.
2. The NEXTT Team will review your request to be sure it is in alignment with the goals of the PDF fund. The PDF fund is intended to result in investment along the eight states of the LAKAJI Corridor. It is focused on either agribusiness investment in any part of the value chain or in corridor infrastructure that can improve the movement of goods along the corridor.
3. Once NEXTT is satisfied that your request is in line with the objectives of the PDF, you will be invited to apply for funding using this application form. The application is made up of four sections (as detailed below) and can be completed using the soft copy of this document or in a completely separate proposal.
4. Once you complete the application, you submit it to NEXTT for a basic review of the application for completeness. The Case Manager can advise you on what would enhance your application in the eyes of the Review Committee, to ensure you make the best case possible for funding.
5. Once you and the NEXTT Team are satisfied with the final application, NEXTT’s PDF Manager then conducts a thorough analysis of your application. This analysis may include:
· Fact checking
· A visit to existing or proposed facilities
· Background checks on the company and/or company sponsors
· A review of the industry
· Other due diligence as necessary[1]
6. NEXTT will present the fully reviewed application to a Review Committee consisting of economic growth leaders in government, parastatals, and the private sector for recommendations. The Review Committee can choose to either reject the application, return it to you for more information, or recommend that it be funded by NEXTT. The Committee reviews applications monthly.
7. Should the application be approved for funding, you will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the NEXTT Project. This outlines both parties’ roles and responsibilities during the services that are being provided with PDF funding. (In the case of an application with a pre-selected BDS provider, the agreement will be among NEXTT, the BDS provider, and the investor.) NEXTT will also ask you to agree to provide details of your investment on a quarterly basis after PDF funds have been awarded.
8. If you are not already working with a BDS provider or are seeking services beyond what they can offer, NEXTT will begin its procurement process for the services you have requested. NEXTT may invite you to be on the selection committee for the service provider, depending on the nature of our assistance.
9. Depending on what is agreed between you and the NEXTT Project, NEXTT will take a role in overseeing the quality of the work provided by the service provider.
Completed applications are due by the 10th of the month in order to be considered by the Review Committee. If there are too many applications in one month, it is possible that yours might be deferred until the following month; we will inform you if that becomes necessary.
Winning Proposal
NEXTT and the Review Committee are looking for opportunities to assist people like yourself to make investments along the LAKAJI Corridor that will employ women and youth, that will export goods and/or replace imported goods, that will facilitate other investments, that will add value to goods presently being exported in raw material form, or that will reduce the time and cost to transport goods along the corridor. Your ability to convince NEXTT and the Review Committee that the PDF funding you are requesting will ultimately lead to such an investment is the key to being approved.
There are four sections of the application:
1. Tell us about yourself – This is your opportunity to describe your capabilities, your history, and your understanding of the business venture you are proposing to make. When we review your application, we will be asking whether you have what it takes to make this investment and run the business successfully. If you have been in business for long, you can demonstrate your abilities through your past financial statements. If this is a new business, you will have to demonstrate that you and your management team have the experience to run the business that you are proposing. If you already have a BDS provider, please include their contact information as well as some basic detail about their background and capabilities. However you choose to present yourself in this section, it is critical that you leave no doubt in the mind of the reviewers that you are well within your capabilities to make this investment.
2. Tell us about your investment – This section is where you make the case that your business is feasible and bankable. First you should describe your business and the industry in which you intend to operate. Can the market accommodate your products? Do you have a place to sell them? Then you should describe the investment itself. How much is it? (Estimate if you do not have the details yet.) How will you finance it? Where will you locate it? Where will you get your raw materials? How will you manage and train your staff? How will you make money? What are the biggest risks? How have you planned for them? Give as much detail as possible to convince the reviewers that this business will work and that you can get the financing to get started. In short, the Review Committee cannot recommend NEXTT to fund a business that ultimately won’t be able to get financing or get started.
3. Tell us about your PDF request – This is where you make the case for why you need assistance from the PDF. How will the fund help you? What will be your contribution to the assistance? (Reviewers will look for at least 50% matching, although some of the contribution from the investors can be non-cash, in-kind contributions.) What is the timeline for the project and its associated activities? In some cases, you might need assistance to refine your plans, prepare a business plan, assess a market, or conduct some other research that will assist you in making the investment. Alternatively, you might be seeking assistance with the investment in the form of training your staff, meeting the non-salary costs of recruiting international experts, or having ongoing technical assistance with your operations. While your business may likely be a very successful venture, the reviewers want to know that their fund is going to be an integral part of making you successful. Please note that the request must be for a specific project or projects that will help catalyze your proposed investment; the project will not directly fund the investment itself.
4. Tell us about the impact of your anticipated investment – What is your vision of success? This is the part where you get to tell us about your long-term plans for your company beyond this particular investment. What will the increased capacity of your operation be? What will your expected sales/exports be as a result of the investment? How will the investment reduce the time or cost to transport goods along the corridor? Also, this is the place where you can talk about the social impact of your business—how many women will you employ? How many youth will you employ? You can talk about any extraordinary efforts you are taking to ensure that there is no negative impact on the environment. You can discuss the follow-on impact that your successful business will have on your suppliers (particularly if small-scale farmers).
The following form should be considered a guideline for your application; please present your proposal in the manner in which you think you are most likely to succeed. Our Case Managers will be happy to assist you in this regard.
Marc Shiman
Chief of Party
NEXTT Project.
July 6, 2015
Application Guidelines
Section 1 – You and Your Company
1. Company or organization name and description:
· Date of Inception:
· Shareholders:
· What services or products do you provide:
· Financial Statements for past 3 years (if applicable)—Please attach as an annex
2. Do you have a BDS provider? If so, please describe their details, including contact information.
3. Qualifications of applicant to implement the business.
· Describe your team and its ability to run the business.
· Describe your team’s knowledge of your market and experience in the industry.
· If already in business, provide details of the operation, including where applicable:
o Sales volumes:
o Current sales by buyer location:
o Production costs:
o Assets and liabilities:
o Investment in training:
4. Provide information on any existing relationships with your suppliers and purchasers of your products/services.
5. References: Please provide names and contact information for three business references.
Section 2 – Your Investment
1. Describe the planned investment.
· What will the business do
· How will the business operate and from where
· Describe the demand for the planned goods/services
· Describe why this business will work
2. Describe the financial requirements of the investment?
· How much funding is required?
· Indicate how will these funds be obtained by answering the questions below. If this information is not yet available, provide an indication of how you think the investment can be financed.
o How much will you borrow, from where (bank, investor, etc) and what are the loan terms?
o How much will you contribute to the investment and in what form (land, machinery, cash, etc)?
· Indicate how these funds will be allocated across the planned investment using the following table. Provide estimates if information is not available and add further detail below the table as necessary.
Type / Purchase Amount / Value ($) / Already Owned? (Y/N) / % from Applicant / % from FinancierLand
Buildings
Existing Plant and Machinery (leave blank if greenfield investment)
Plant and Machinery Expansion
Working Capital
Other Required Investment(s)
3. Describe the risks involved in the investment and how they will be managed.
4. Please attach as an annex pro-forma financial statements.
Section 3 – Your PDF Request
Note that the PDF will only provide 50% of the cost of the assistance being requested. The applicant will need to meet 50% of the cost itself.
1. Describe what the PDF funding will be used for.
· How will it contribute to the success of the proposed investment?
· What will the timeline for the implementation of the PDF project be?
2. Total amount of PDF funding requested (applicants will need to match this amount):
3. Please provide your best estimates for how you wish to use the PDF Funds in the table below.
Item (i.e. business plan, feasibility study, environment impact assessment, etc.) / Anticipated Cost / % from Applicant / Preferred Service Provider (if applicable)4. Do you have funds for your share of project’s costs? If not, how will you obtain them?
5. Please attach as an annex a detailed work plan (including GANTT chart or timeline with expected monthly progress). If you are a BDS provider, please also include a detailed project budget specifying PDF and investor contributions.
Section 4 – The Impact of Your Investment
1. Expected results of your investment.
· Please specify what results you think the planned investment will achieve and explain how they are relevant to the NEXTT project goals of increased agribusiness exports, increased investment along the LAKAJI Corridor, and/or reductions in time or cost to trade goods along the LAKAJI corridor.
· Please specify how the PDF-funded project will contribute to the overall investment, the industry in general, or other investments along the corridor.
2. Involvement of females and youth in project:
· If already in business, provide number of employees, including number of women and youths employed.
· Please provide estimates of increases in total employment and employment of women and youths following the investment.
3. Involvement of SMEs and/or small producers. Please describe how the investment will directly involve small businesses/producers and how they will benefit from that involvement.
Section 5 – Certification and Signature
I certify that the information contained in this application is true to the best of my knowledge. I understand that NEXTT reserves the right to cancel any agreement or award in which it finds false representation.