Details

Background
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Ministry of International Business and Industry (MIBI), the Barbados Investment & Development Corporation (BIDC) and the Clean Tech Cluster Barbados (BLOOM) are jointly implementing the Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded project “Strategic platform to promote sustainable energy technology innovation, industrial development and entrepreneurship in Barbados”. The project contributes to the implementation of the National Strategic Plan 2005-2025, which aims at making Barbados a “green circular economy” and the “most environmentally advanced green country in Latin America and the Caribbean”. The Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE) is an executing partner of the project.
The development of a “clean-tech market” in Barbados requires an equilibrium between demand and local supply of green quality products and services. However, currently the capacities of the local private sector to deliver these products and services are limited. Barbadian clean-tech businesses and start-ups face manifold barriers related to policy and regulation, knowledge, capacity, as well as access to R&D, quality infrastructure and finance. Moreover, there exists only a very limited coordination and cooperation within the sector.
Therefore, the GEF Project aims to strengthen the local supplier-side and the creation of an enabling environment for clean-tech entrepreneurship and innovation. Specifically, the project:
  • establishes a national public-private policy dialogue platform to promote coherent demand and supplier-oriented cross-sectoral policies, regulations and incentives;
  • establishes the BLOOM – Clean Tech Cluster Barbados, which will act as one-stop shop and provide customer-oriented services to its members (e.g. information exchange, training, applied R&D, entrepreneurial support, shared facilities, matchmaking and networking, lobbying & advocacy, fund raising, joint tendering & sourcing, joint project, product and patent development, market intelligence and export promotion);
  • promotes joint ventures between the cluster members and entrepreneurs, investors, venture capitalists, financiers in the Caribbean, other SIDS and internationally (incl. the diaspora);
  • creates an entrepreneurship facility which will provide various financial/insurance products for the commercialisation innovative business ideas and industrial up-grading;
  • contributes to the creation of qualification and certification frameworks for personal, products and services and provide targeted training to current and future members of the cluster;
  • supports also the efforts of the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (CCREEE) to establish a regional program on sustainable energy and climate technology innovation and entrepreneurship for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). The CCREEE is situated in Barbados.
Objectives and deliverables of the assignment
The GEF project has achieved laudable progress. With support from UNIDO, the Barbados Cleantech Cluster (BLOOM) has become fully operational in 2020. It is hosted by BIDC and has already established a broad range of international partnerships. It has also launched its incubation program, which offers mentoring services to a number of clean-tech businesses and start-ups. The BLOOM website is available at: www.bloomcluster.com. Further information on the GEF-UNIDO project is available at: https://open.unido.org/projects/BB/projects/150123.
The strengthening of public-private dialogue, the creation of an enabling policy and regulatory framework and the enhancement of quality infrastructure for clean-tech products and services, were identified as important fields of intervention of the GEF project. These areas were identified as major barriers for the further uptake of market demand and the expansion of local clean-tech manufacturing and servicing. Further details are available in the barrier analysis included in the CEO Endorsement Document and the undertaken Sustainable Energy Industry Market Assessment (SEIMA).
In the mentioned areas, the envisaged GEF project activities include the establishment of a public-private dialogue platform, the organisation of regular policy dialogues and the development of proposals to improve supplier-oriented policies, legislation, incentives and quality standards. In this context, UNIDO and its partners are seeking consulting support from a qualified company or institution. The contractor will work closely with MIBI and BLOOM/BIDC, which are the final direct beneficiaries of the consulting services. Moreover, the contractor will coordinate with relevant international partners (e.g. UNDP, IADB, IRENA), including the Partnership for Action on Green Economy (PAGE).
The assignment requires the coverage of a broad range of clean-tech products and services in the energy and environmental sector  (e.g. renewable energy, energy efficiency, waste disposal, treatment and recycling, circular economy) and related business models. The sector is also closely attached to the growing field of industry 4.0 solutions (e.g. digitalisation, artificial intelligence, internet of things, cyber-physical systems, robotics, big data and new visualisation models).
Bidders are requested to submit their proposals no later than 22 March 2021, 17:00 hours, CET, by registering on the UNIDO eProcurement Portal (https://procurement.unido.org). In case of technical difficulties, please contact UNIDO Help Desk at procurement@unido.org. Further information is available in the attached terms of reference and https://www.unido.org/resources-procurement/procurement-opportunities.  
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