Food Retail Industry Challenge Fund

1. Food Retail Industry Challenge Fund

2. What is FRICH? • Food Retail Industry Challenge Fund • competitive challenge fund funded by DFID • challenges the private sector to increase Africa – UK food trade • Supports innovative projects that improve market access for African products • aims to raise awareness among UK consumers and expand consumer demand in the face of concerns about food miles, environmental conservation, labour standards and food safety

3. What is a Challenge Fund? • competitive process through which grants are made to businesses in response to proposals to overcome a particular challenge • designed to develop new public-private partnerships to combat poverty • Builds on the strengths of private sector – creativity, speed of response, delivery capability

4. What is a Challenge Fund? • co-fund projects with grant recipients normally funding most of the costs and at a minimum 50 per cent • work by tipping the investment decision to test new ideas from a “no-go” to a “go”. • backs projects and not individual firms, institutions or organisations • their strength is in triggering innovation

5. Why are we doing it? • 7 out of 10 Africans depend on agriculture • several million people rely at least partly on sales of fruit, vegetables, cocoa, coffee, tea and other agricultural commodities to the UK. • positive developmental impact of an increase in trade • UK shoppers spend about £1 million every day on food products from Africa. • farmers find it hard to meet buyers’ exacting standards

6. What will FRICH do? • FRICH will award grants to: • encourage investments at different points along African supply chains • test new supply chain initiatives that deliver development benefits to farmers and bring more information about those farmers to their customers. • encourage the development of business models with a much wider applicability across Africa.

7. Progress to date • The 1st round of FRICH generated 25 concept notes. 11 of these have been asked to prepare a full proposal • Key organisations progressing to the next stage are: • Supermarkets: Co-op, Sainsburys, Tesco, Waitrose • Brands: Finlays, Bettys and Taylors, Yeo Valley, Liberation Nuts, Cafe Direct • Not-for-profits: TWIN, Africa Now, Comic Relief, Rainforest Alliance, LEAF

8. How does it work? • grants of up to £250,000 will be given to innovative projects (up to 50% of total project value). • FRICH is a performance grant with payments triggered by milestones • FRICH targets food products from Africa (North of RSA and South of the Sahara) • Applications made through competitive bidding rounds

9. Application process • Stage one: submit a concept note (3 page maximum) • how the project will meet the challenge • what constraints will be addressed • the essence of the innovation • organisations and beneficiaries to be involved • impact and outcomes – how will this project get products on the supermarket shelf • estimated project budget • Stage two: submit a full proposal

10. Eligibility Criteria • private sector for-profit organisation must lead • UK retailer or retail brand must be involved • FRICH supports projects and not organisations • innovation (new: products, services, marketing, business models, supply chains) • potential for commercial sustainability • cannot be funded commercially • risk sharing – at least 50%

11. Who evaluates? • Independent Advisory Committee: • experts in UK retailing • experts in African agriculture / African business • Management – Nathan EME head a consortium of companies (Euro PA and Associates, ERM, Concept Fruit) working under contract to the DFID. • The management team are not involved in the decision making process and, as a result, are available to provide guidance in concept note preparation

12. Frequently Asked Questions • What products? • All food products are eligible. A considerable number of round 1 applications were focused on tea and coffee and we would encourage applications from other product areas. • Type of organisation? • A for profit private sector organisation must lead. Bids can include a number of partners who will contribute to implementation. A UK retailer or retail brand must be involved. • Type of project? • All projects should have the potential for commercial sustainability. A considerable number of round 1 projects focused on organic products and fair-trade. We would encourage applications in other areas.

13. Frequently Asked Questions • Length of project? • All projects approved as part of round 2 should have a maximum duration of 2 years • Up front payments? • Payments will be made upon reaching agreed milestones. Payments will be reimbursements of funds spent by the project partners • Right of appeal? • The Advisory Committees decision is final. There is no right of appeal. • Can we try again? • Organisations may put forward more than one concept note. If the project does not reach proposal stage, the company may submit a concept note for another project in the next round.

14. Timeline • 28 February 2009 – deadline for submission of round 2 concept notes • End March 2009 – Advisory Committee review • End March 2009 – call for proposals for successful applicants. • Spring/Summer 2009 – rolling review and evaluation of proposals once received.

15. Further help and information • All application forms and further guidance can be found on the FRICH website at www.frich.co.uk • FRICH Contacts: • Mark Thomas, FRICH Project Director mthomas@emergingmarkets.co.uk • Kerry Hamilton, FRICH Project Manager khamilton@emergingmarkets.co.uk • Telephone: +44 20 7538 3111