Terms of Reference. The Programme is focused on three outcomes:

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1 Terms of Reference For engagement of external consultancy and expertise to organise B2B meetings on Biofach 2018 with EU companies, as part of export promotion in Macedonia Introduction Swisscontact is business-oriented Swiss foundation for international cooperation and development. In Macedonia, Swisscontact implements two programs that contribute towards export promotion of local businesses: IME Programme and SIPPO. Increasing Market Employability Programme The Swiss Embassy Programme Increasing Market Employability IME in Macedonia aims on market development that leads to improved access to decent employment and income opportunities for youth and young women in particular. The duration of the project is The Programme is focused on three outcomes: Outcome 1: Enterprises in Tourism & Hospitality, Creative Industry and Green Economy grow by expanding the existing market and accessing new market opportunities; Outcome 2: Access to improved services (skills support functions, financial services) is enhanced for enterprises in the three sectors; Outcome 3: The policy and regulatory framework is more conducive for private sector growth in targeted sectors. Green jobs reduce the environmental impact of enterprises and economic sectors, ultimately to levels that are sustainable. According to ILO, green jobs are central to sustainable development and respond to the global challenges of environmental protection, economic development and social inclusion. According to the UNEP and ILOs definition Green Economy is divided in 10 sectors. This classification is used during the process of assessment translated in Macedonian context, so according to that, green economy is consisted of Sustainable Buildings, Organic Agriculture, Sustainable Fisheries, Renewable Energy, Sustainable Forestry, Sustainable Tourism, Sustainable Transport, Recycling, Water management and Clean Industry. Through previously chosen criteria in three different segments enabling environment, supply and demand side of the sub-sector, two main sub-sectors were pre-selected in the Green Economy sector: Organic Agriculture and Sustainable Building. Organic Agriculture and Trade and Sustainable Wild Collection are important part for the development of rural economy. In the EU there are approximately 12 million farmers with a further

2 4 million people working in the food sector. The farming and food sectors together provide 7% of all jobs and generate 6% of the European gross domestic product. On the other hand the EU market for organic products grows approx. 10% per year which is the biggest increasing rate in the whole EU economy. Swiss Import Promotion Programme SIPPO The Swiss Import Promotion Programme SIPPO is a well-established mandate of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) within the framework of its economic development cooperation. As for the new investment phase ( ), SIPPO is carried out by Swisscontact, a business-oriented Swiss foundation for international development cooperation. Swisscontact collaborates with sub-contracting (BHP Brugger & Partner, HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation) and cooperation partners (IPD, CBI, IHA) to strengthen its worldwide service delivery and capacity building. SIPPO promotes sustainable and inclusive trade thereby building on its core values respect, partnership-based cooperation and integrity as established by its code of conduct. The overall objective is to integrate developing and transition countries into world trade. Targeted export promotion services delivered through Business Support Organizations BSOs strengthen the competitive position and facilitate market access and exports of companies in partner countries to Switzerland, the EU and regional markets. SIPPO shifts to a more systemic market approach by putting BSOs (instead of individual companies) in partner countries into the centre of the programme to provide professional last mile services for exporting companies. Background information of the organic agriculture Agriculture plays an important role in the economy of Republic of Macedonia and has a share of 18% in total employment and of 9.7% in GDP. Organic Agriculture in 2012 was 1.19% of the total agricultural areas. There is no data about the contribution of Organic Agriculture to the national GDP. Organic Agriculture The organic agriculture in Macedonia sector was initially introduced in The sector has been increasing over the past 10 years, and reached a peak in Organic Agriculture did see a slight decline in production since This is partly due to the Governments reduction in subsidies available to organic producers, but mostly due to a weak drive in raising awareness of the benefits of naturally produced products by the private sector, resulting in an underdeveloped domestic market. Since 2014, the sector has once again been highlighted as an important part of the rural economy, and the government subsequently allocated 140 million to support rural development, which includes organic agriculture and the number of organic operators shows continuous growth. Since then, the number of certified organic operators was experiencing stable annual growth raising to

3 533 organic farmers and hectares organic certified land in 2016 in accordance with the EU legislation governing organic farming. Planted on around 1,000 ha, organic cereals were the main product in 2016, followed by fodder crops on around 750 ha and fruit production on 422 ha. Almost 85,000 organic livestock was produced, with sheep breeding accounting for 80% of the overall livestock production. The number of organic beehives reached 7,760. However, there is no available data for the organic production segregated by the type of products. In the last few years, Macedonia has seen an increasing trend in the consumption of organic products, especially in Skopje. According to the local companies interviewed the organic food market and organic sales via the Internet or via door to door delivery is facing an increasing trend. Domestic consumers are not adequately informed about the benefits of organic production. Very few promotional activities exist and most products are placed on the shelves of supermarkets without indicating that they are organic except product labels themselves. According to the local consumer groups there is an increased interest by customers who are willing to buy organic food in Skopje and would be prepared to pay higher prices for these products. IME and SIPPO are important acters in the suport of the promotional activities in Organic Agriculture. As part of the export promotion activities, participation on Biofach in February 2018, it is planned to support Macedonia organic operators during their participation on the fair. For this purpose Swisscontact Macedonia is looking of International consultants to deliver following assignment. Profile of Consultant and Support Structure The assignment is carried-out by an international consultant with more than 10 years of experience in the natural ingredients and organic products sector with the following characteristics: - Good knowledge of the natural ingredients and organic products sector in the context of Balkan region, with extensive understanding of the regional organic agriculture and natural ingredients outlook, possibilities and obstacles is desirable; - Long-standing experience in trade promotion between Balkan countries and Switzerland/Germany/ Europe; - Good network within the European/ German/ and/or Swiss importer community; - In-depth sector knowledge and long-standing experience, also country knowledge and experience in the specific sector; - Experience with the situation of transition countries; - Excellent written and oral skills (German and English); - No conflict of interest against counterparts, partner organizations of target groups (e.g., importers, wholesalers, ). Objectives and Scope

4 The key objective of the assignment is to support export promotion of Macedonian Organic operators during the Biofach 2018 by engaging international consultant to support the Macedonian companies, as a joint cooperation between Swisscontact programmes, IME and SIPPO implemented in Macedonia, Specific objectives is: The international consultant to link Macedonian companies with EU buyers and support them in organizing at least 20 targeted meetings during Biofach in February Deliverables This section describes the activities and deliverables that are expected from the Consultant in order to meet the set objectives. The intervention will cover all steps of the two-phase approach, and the international consultant will be supported by the IME Green Economy Sector Manager, IME Green Economy Sector Facilitator and SIPPO Export Promotion Manager throughout as well as prior/after the mission. Phase Project Staff Consultant Deliverables 1 Organize meetings for Macedonian companies on Biofach 2018 Identify local companies for the B2B meetings Provide feedback to the consultant Schedule at least 20 meetings with potential buyers from EU Agenda for the meetings and short description of the companies (9 days) 2 Reporting (1 day) Provide feedback to the consultant Develop Mission report from the assignment Prepare Mission report with recommendations and future steps Location Meetings during Biofach will be organised in Nuremberg, Germany. Staffing, timeline and budget This section describes the staffing for the assignment and the timeline for the completion of the preparation, assignment, and follow up activities. The assignment period is in total duration of 10 days. The total remuneration does not include the costs for local transport during the fair.

5 The tentative schedule is proposed as follows: Activity Date Location Paid working days Organization of the meetings prior the fair Home office/ field visits 9 Reporting Home office 1 Total days 10 Application and submission of offer Please submit your offer not later than January 17, 17:00 CET at ime@swisscontact.org with a subject line offer for B2B meetings at Biofach. The offer should contain gross amount for the assignment and company profile (for legal entities) or a CV (for individual experts) and a reference list.