WEECAP CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST
Prequalification of Business Development Service Providers
Program: Women’s Economic Empowerment through Cashew Processing Program (WEECAP)
Countries: Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau
Issued by: Winrock International
Publication Date: August 30, 2026
Submission Deadline: October 30, 2026
1. Purpose of the EOI
The WEECAP consortium is launching a Call for Expressions of Interest (EOI) for qualified Business Development Service Providers (BDSPs) operating in Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, or Guinea-Bissau. This EOI aims to establish a diverse pool of service providers that can be mobilized based on the specific needs of enterprises in the cashew sector, particularly women- and youth-led enterprises.
Selected organizations will join WEECAP’s network of Business Development Service Providers (BDSPs) and may be engaged to support pre-identified enterprises through targeted technical assistance assignments. This is not a solicitation for an immediate service assignment, but rather a flexible mobilization mechanism adapted to identified needs.
2. Background
WEECAP is a regional initiative implemented in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation. It aims to stimulate inclusive growth in the cashew sector. The program supports job creation, enterprise development, and capital mobilization, with particular attention to young women and men.
To this end, WEECAP is establishing a pool of prequalified Business Development Service Providers (BDSPs) capable of supporting actors across the cashew value chain in the following areas:
- Improving the competitiveness, productivity, and performance of cashew processing SMEs;
- Strengthening the supply chain, including through cooperative structuring, development of commercial relationships, and securing the supply of raw cashew nuts;
- Providing cross-cutting services that promote economic inclusion, innovation, capacity strengthening, and sustainable enterprise development.
See Annex A for a detailed overview of this strategy.
3. Profiles Sought
Eligible entities may include firms, associations, or individual consultants with demonstrated experience in the following areas:
| Service Lot | Area of Intervention | Expected Services |
| Lot 1 | Industrial Diagnostics and Competitiveness | Technical diagnostics, industrial audits, bottleneck analysis, process optimization, and productivity improvement. |
| Lot 2 | Technical Assistance for Processing | In-factory technical assistance, process optimization, improvement of whole-kernel yield, loss reduction, by-product utilization, and energy efficiency. |
| Lot 3 | Quality, Food Safety, and Certification | HACCP, GMP, GHP, AFI, BRCG, Halal, Kosher, FSSC 22000, SMETA, internal audits, certification readiness, and traceability systems. |
| Lot 4 | Skills Development | Development of training modules, coaching, training for operators, supervisors, managers, maintenance and quality staff, women’s leadership, and youth employability. |
| Lot 5 | Industrial Maintenance | Preventive and corrective maintenance, maintenance plans, equipment reliability, electrical, mechanical, and pneumatic maintenance, as well as utilities. |
| Lot 6 | Diversification & Innovation | Supply-chain structuring, new product development, by-product utilization (CNSL, cashew apple, shells), technical assistance, packaging, product innovation, and commercialization. |
| Lot 7 | Cashew Apple and Other By-Product Development | Organizational diagnostics, supply-chain structuring, technical assistance, governance, formalization, professionalization of cooperatives, improvement plans, and commercialization. |
| Lot 8 | Traceability and Compliance | Establishment of traceability systems, producer geolocation, digitalization, QR codes, and lot/batch management. |
| Lot 9 | Logistics and Flow Management | Inventory management, warehousing, transport, logistics planning, flow optimization, and logistics cost reduction. |
| Lot 10 | Producer Productivity | Good agricultural practices, harvesting, drying, storage, nut quality, and reduction of post-harvest losses. |
| Lot 11 | Business Development and Market Access | Business matching, market development, commercial negotiation, contracts, market intelligence, and export. |
| Lot 12 | Economic Inclusion and Job Creation | Youth integration, women’s economic empowerment, inclusion of persons with disabilities, entrepreneurship, and workforce integration. |
WEECAP particularly encourages applications from Business Development Service Providers (BDSPs) that meet one or more of the following criteria:
- BDSPs with demonstrated experience supporting industrial processing enterprises, or that demonstrate the capacity and commitment to work with actors in rural areas;
- Women- and/or youth-led or majority-owned enterprises;
- BDSPs with demonstrated experience in the economic inclusion of women, youth, and persons with disabilities;
- Organizations with a local presence or operational network in the project’s intervention areas.
4. Selection Process
Phase 1: Prequalification — Applications will be evaluated based on:
- Technical and/or financial expertise
- Experience in inclusion (support to women and youth)
- Geographic coverage and presence in the countries covered by the WEECAP program
- Demonstrated results with SMEs or cooperatives (ideally in the cashew sector)
Evaluation Note: Applications will be assessed based on the relevance of services, inclusion experience, operational capacity, and demonstrated results. Geographic balance and diversity among the profiles of Business Development Service Providers (BDSPs) will also be taken into account.
Phase 2: Co-design — Preselected Business Development Service Providers (BDSPs) will progressively be invited to co-develop Terms of Reference (TORs) with enterprises identified by WEECAP. These Terms of Reference (TORs) will serve as the contractual basis for future BDSP service assignments.
5. Application Package
Applicants must complete the form in Annex B and provide the following documents:
- A narrative presentation describing the proposed services, experience, and results achieved
- CVs of key team members
- An organizational profile or overview of areas of operation
- Examples of support provided to women- or youth-led enterprises
- Client references
- Information on availability and mobilization capacity
- An indicative fee schedule (per day or by type of service). This schedule is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a binding rate commitment.
- (Optional) Impact indicators: estimated number of enterprises supported, financing mobilized, and share of women/youth beneficiaries
6. Submission Instructions
Submit all required documents by email to: weecap.subcontract@winrock.org
Email subject line: “EOI – Business Development Service Provider (BDSP) Network – [Name of Your Organization] + Lot No. XXXX”
Annexes:
- Annex A: Strategic Overview of the Business Development Service Provider (BDSP) Mechanism
- Annex B: Application Form and Checklist
- Annex C: Merit-Based Evaluation Grid