SLP in action

An investor in multiple agribusinesses throughout Africa requires all its investees to be compliant with international standards in managing environmental and social impacts, which include strict standards for procurement of service providers. Although the investor had an existing network of service providers, they often had trouble finding providers with the specialist expertise and local connections required by their investees.

The SLP helped the investor fill the gap in recruiting local service providers for one of their investees. By offering Terms of References on the SLP, the investee received a number of strong proposals to fulfil the work that met the investor’s standards for procurement processes.

The investee hired highly qualified service providers for specialized projects that required both a range of technical expertise and an in-depth understanding of the local context in a matter of weeks – a task that often takes months. Working with the SLP and its expert Support team provided further assurance to both investor and investee that the projects and providers would be in compliance with best practice and international standards.

An international agribusiness based in Tanzania relies on a large network of smallholder farmers to provide high quality produce. To equip its growing number of farmers with the necessary support and inputs, this business needed to hire local experts to implement a new, more localized farmer support model.

The SLP helped the business develop a Terms of Reference for a project to develop “Centres of Excellence”, using farmer champions to provide additional support via localized offices that provide training and inputs to farmers in the region. This strategy required service providers familiar with local farmers and their social context, as well as expertise in diverse skills from financial modelling to community engagement.

Because service providers submit proposals on the SLP through standardized templates, the platform streamlines the process of finding and hiring the right expertise. The business was able to save weeks in contracting service providers for this and two other projects, allowing the company to move more quickly in improving relationships and productivity with its outgrower communities.

A regionally-based service provider with offices in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda typically generates new work through word of mouth. Finding projects to expand the organization’s impact is time consuming and diverts resources away from its core mission of alleviating poverty.

In responding to a number of Terms of References on SLP, the service provider registered and submitted a proposal using the site’s forms.

By working with a major business in the region, the service provider was able to expand its impact to hundreds of smallholder farmers. The SLP helped them apply their expertise beyond donor-funded projects, reach new constituencies, and deepen their impact through a new partnership.