CASSAVA GROWER,MAIZE,SORGHUM,MILLET FARMER LET PARTNER TO OBTAIN THE WEST AFRICA FOOD MARKETS (WAFM) GRANT.
If you are CASSAVA GROWER,MAIZE,SORGHUM,MILLET and you are CAC incorporated with past 3 years financial performance let us do business,we at Dansaki Nagropreneur can not do it alone,to tap up to GBP 1,000,000 Grant from UK donor. We have the secret. We are to specialize on cassava processing. Call 08032521991 or send us empty mail with the subject WAFM GRANT to oyelamiadekunle@gmail.com Note: no money involve. It is for serious minded people.

WHAT IS THE WEST AFRICA FOOD MARKETS (WAFM)?

The West Africa Food Markets Pilot Programme (WAFM) is a five-year DIFD-funded initiative implemented by a Palladium-led consortium of partners (Palladium, Carana Corporation, KPMG, and Saana Consulting).


Challenge fund


The Challenge Fund aims to invest in business models that will strengthen national and regional trade for targeted staple foods: maize, millet, sorghum and cassava. Businesses or companies are invited to bid based on rules that are set and publicized. These rules cover eligibility, the bidding process and how bids will be evaluated. To maintain transparency, ensure fairness and integrity and maximise efficiency, four separate bodies administer the process and decide on who gets funding. These are: the Challenge Fund Management Team (CFMT), the Internal Review Committee (IRC), the Independent Assessment Panel (IAP), and the Programme Steering Committee (PSC).

The intention is to get funds to businesses or companies that truly need them and can use them effectively. The funds are to help the companies realize the broader aims of the programme, which are to increase availability of staple foods, increase purchasing power of farmers and consumers in food-insecure regions of the Sahel as well as their resilience to hunger and malnutrition during the regular hungry seasons and periodic shocks.

WAFM Challenge Fund runs competitions for for-profit private companies only. These companies are invited to submit proposals outlining the business idea or concept for which they are applying for funding.

Funding Round 2: What are we looking for?

The WAFM Challenge Fund seeks to fund companies that stimulate cross-border trade in staplefoods through core business activity. Alongside the overall criteria, WAFM is looking to fund business models in Round 2 that aim to achieve one or more of the following objectives:

Increase processing and supply chain capacity in collaboration with smallholders
Increase trading capacity in collaboration with smallholders
Support the application of ICT interventions that address supply chain concerns
Increase warehousing capacity across all countries with inventory credit/warehouse receipts

Please clearly state which of the above objectives your company / project will achieve. Please note applications will be marked on the strength of the proposal and do not necessarily need to cover more than one of the above objectives.

Fortified Staplefood Products: To meet with the overall WAFM objectives we encourage applications that include producing, processing or trading fortified staplefood products.

Applying

Project Concept Note submission

At the beginning of each competition, the Programme Management Unit (PMU) launches a call for Project Concept Notes (PCNs) and publicises it.

The PCN is a short summary of the business idea proposed and its commercial viability, the capacity of the company to implement the idea, the innovative nature of the idea and its potential impact. The call for concept notes details the objective of the competition, the particular type of projects expected and the Evaluation Criteria to guide the applicants.

Concept Note review and short-listing

Once the PCN have been submitted, they pass through a three-step selection process with the most promising selected to fully develop their proposal. This process is managed by the WAFM Challenge Fund Management Team and its Internal Review Committee.

Eligibility

The eligibility check is carried out based on the following five (05) criteria listed and discussed in the manual, with specific assigned weights:

The applicant must be a for-profit-company.
The project must focus on activities that directly or indirectly stimulate cross-border trade of staplefood commodities.
The project must be working in the target staple foods value chains (maize, sorghum, millet and cassava).
The grant amount requested must be between GBP 100,000 and GBP 1m.
There is a requirement of co-financing of at least the same amount by the applicant.
The applicant will have to meet all eligibility criteria. Ineligible applications are declined and a feedback letter sent to the applicant. Limited comments will be provided to unsuccessful applicants and they may be requested to contact the PMU where they require additional information.
Being Selected

Being selected is the first of a three-part second stage of the funding process. It is structured in 6 steps. During this stage, WAFM Challenge Fund Management Team (CFMT) engages with and visits all companies preparing proposals. The final proposals are presented to the Independent Assessment Panel (IAP) followed by the Programme Steering Committee (PSC) for approval of projects that will win the competition.

Proposal Development
Applicants of PCNs short-listed will be provided with WAFM Challenge Fund Project Proposal templates and invited to submit a detailed proposal online via WAFM website or by email and within the stipulated deadline. Guidance on proposal length and details will be provided in the template.

Business Support and Due Diligence
During proposal development WAFM will undertake a robust due diligence process involving meeting key individuals, reviewing key documentation and, if necessary and applicable, conducting walk-through testing and limited sample testing.

Alongside this process WAFM Business Consultants will undertake a visit to the company location to provide technical support in proposal development. This will include reviewing your business plan, governance structure and other management requirements. This process is as much an assessment as it is an opportunity to provide recommendations to strengthen your proposal.

Submission, Evaluation and Selection
Once submitted, applicant proposals will be reviewed against key criteria and presents completed proposals to an Independent Advisory Panel (IAP). The IAP then evaluates the applications and makes a recommendations to the UK AID Project Steering Committee for projects to receive funding. This decision will include approval for funding, alongside terms and conditions for each selected project.

Evaluation Criteria

Cross-border trade: The project must facilitate and/or undertake trade along the following trade corridors: Ghana-Burkina Faso, Nigeria-Niger, and must involve production and/or marketing of maize, cassava, sorghum and millet.

Innovation: The project must demonstrate innovation and should have the potential to be scaled up.

Development Impact: The ultimate beneficiaries of the project must be poor farmers in WAFM countries and consumers who will benefit from reduced or more stable prices for staple food. Given WAFMs interest on women beneficiaries, projects are required to disaggregate data on their beneficiaries by gender.

Additionality: The applicant must demonstrate that without WAFM funding, the project is unlikely to take off, or it may happen but at a reduced scale.

Being Awarded

Once awarded funding, successful businesses are informed and will receive guidelines on the process leading to the finalisation of the contract and fund disbursement. They will also be invited for an Induction Workshop prior to contract signing. The contracting process is followed by reporting and disbursement of funds.

Induction workshop
The induction workshop introduces post-award processes and procedures, particularly claiming and accounting process as well as progress reporting, monitoring and measurement of development impact. It also provides an opportunity for grantees to network and share lessons.

Contracting Process
The contracting stage officially commences when the PSC has approved the project proposal for funding. Grantees will each be given a grant agreement template to review terms and conditions, including the contract period, the disbursement schedule and the obligations to commit to by the grantee in terms of reporting and adherence to the terms of the contract. Depending on the amendments an applicant will request on the terms and conditions of the grant agreement, a revised agreement may need to be submitted to the PSC for approval.

Disbursement Process
The Fund Manager facilitates this process while Palladium actualises disbursements. Grantees report on project progress as they request a disbursement in line with the disbursement schedule agreed with the Challenge Fund Manager during contracting. Not more than 35% of approved funds per project will be released in a single disbursement. In addition, not more than 65% of funds approved will be disbursed in the first year. Exceptions to these rules will have to be approved by the PSC.



The project leaflet is attached here for download. Good Luck!