United States Agency for International Development (USAID), REDSO/ESA, USAID/REDSO/ESA, Unit 64102, APO AE 09831-4102

R -- UGANDA PRIVATE ENTERPRISE SUPPORT, TRAINING AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT SOL Uganda 1152-96-0001 Contact Point, Richard Webber, Internet Address:RWebber@USAID.GOV, Tel: 011-254-2-751613, Ext. 2297, Contracting Officer, Francis A. Donovan, REDSO/ESA, Nairobi, Kenya, Telephone: 011-254-2-751613, Ext. 2348, Fax No. 254-2-743204. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Uganda plans to issue an RFP which will lead to the award of a performance-based contract to assist micro, small, and women owned enterprises (MSME's) thereby supporting Uganda's economic expansion. It is envisioned that this purpose and goal will be achieved through three mutually reinforcing areas: 1) MSME financial services and interventions, the microenterprise interventions will consist of three major sub-components. The first will include a competitive local grant program designed to support organizations providing financial and non-financial services to microenterprenuers. The second will assist organizations develop the institutional capacity to effectively offer financial and non-financial services to microenterprenuers. The third will develop a competitive grant program to assist technological innovation and skills training within specified subsectors. 2) Policy and regulatory reform by removing constraints on business. The policy and regulatory reform (PARR) component will focus on reducing ''second-tier'' policy and regulatory constraints which inhibit or slow the creation and/or expansion of private businesses. The project will assist the Government of Uganda (GOU) to assess and overcome the identified policy and regulatory barriers. The links between this component and the other town components of PRESTO will be close and deliberate, with the latter two providing input to this component. 3) The strengthening of business associations. The Business Associations Initiative (BAI) will empower the private sector by helping business associations to work with their members and government to improve the business environment and offer the kind of support services that are demanded by a vibrant private sector. Business Associations (BAS) play an important role in identifying and lobbying for needed policy and regulatory reforms and in delivering non-financial services to micro-and small-scale enterprises. Assistance should be provided to selected associations which are best able to fulfil this role. The BAI will also strengthen an existing, but nascent, private arbitration mechanism for smaller businesses and support the development of a credit reference bureau. The proposed contract will be a cost type for a four year period. USAID's funding for the project is approximately $10 million. USAID encourages the participation to the maximum extent possible of small businesses in this activity as contractors or subcontractors. In addition, prime contractors are required to set aside no less that ten (10) percent of the total value of the award for subcontracts with Gray Amendments entities (firms including women-owned, historically Black colleges and universities, U.S. colleges and universities with forty (40) percent or more Hispanic American students, and minority private voluntary organizations) in accordance with part 19 of the FAR and part 726 of the AIDAR. It is anticipated that the prime contractor will make maximum use of these concerns. All other selection criteria being found equal, the participation of such concerns may become a determining factor for selection. The RFP issuing date is expected to be no earlier that 15 days after publication of this notice. This CBD notice can be viewed and downloaded using the agency gopher. The gopher address is GOPHER.INFO.USAID.GOV. Select USAID procurement and business opportunities from the gopher menu. The RFP text, once issued, can be downloaded via anonymous file transfer protocol (FTP). The FTP address is FTP.INFO.USAID.GOV. Logon using the user identification ''anonymous'' and the password is your e-mail address. Look under the following directory for the RFP: pub/OP/RFP/UGANDA961/uganda961.rfp. Receipt of this RFP through INTERNET must be confirmed by written notification to the contact person above. It is the responsibility of the recipient of this solicitation document to ensure that it has been received from INTERNET in its entirety and USAID bears no responsibility for data errors resulting from transmission or conversion processes. The solicitation document will be sent to you on a 3.5 inch diskette using Wordperfect 5.2, unless you ask specifically for a hard copy. Requests for the solicitation document may be sent to REDSO/ESA by mail, telex or facsimile, or downloaded through Internet (but see above). Requests must include a point of contact and the exact mailing address. We do not assume responsiblity for verifying the requestor's address. (0023)

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