Description of the Project

SokoFresh provides first-mile cold storage solutions to smallholder value chains bundle additionality including fresh produce aggregation, transportation, and linkages to end markets with competitive prices for farmers. SokoFresh cooling-as-a-service operates in the following fruit and vegetable value chains; mango, avocado, banana, and French beans in Murang’a, Kitui and Makueni counties of Kenya.

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SokoFresh’s progression to the Land Use facility for debt financing of the DFCD will be informed significantly by concrete actions in setting up E&S management systems in its journey towards being investment-ready. Several E&S management frameworks need to be formulated with adequate financial and human capital allocations for their implementation arrangements with regular monitoring and reporting.

A desktop preliminary assessment of SokoFresh’s environmental and social risks and impacts based on its business model indicates risks and impacts that are of environmental and social in nature. The DFCD Origination Facility technical support on E&S will be benchmarked against the industry-leading IFC Performance Standards in categorizing and managing SokoFresh’s E&S risks.

Objective

The requested services are to support SokoFresh Agri Innovations East Africa Ltd. in the graduation from the origination facility and progress to the Land Use Debt Facility. DFCD’s environmental and social due diligence indicates that the investment will have impacts which must be managed in a manner consistent with the below described reference framework.

Reference Framework

The reference framework will be:

• SokoFresh’s ESMS policies and procedures
• IFC Performance Standards including relevant IFC industry sector guidelines
• World Bank Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) including EHS guidelines
• UNGP for businesses and Human Rights
• UN Principles for Responsible Investing
• Voluntary framework standards that apply to sustainable agriculture produce supply chain e.g. Fairtrade Standards, Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Standard 

Team

The assignment has to be carried out by suitably qualified independent environmental and social assessment expert, with appropriate background and experience in the sector and region.

Scope of Work and Tasks

The scope of work comprises the independent assessment of all material environmental and social aspects of the project, within the framework stipulated in Section [3].

Specifically, this work will entail:

• Review county, national and international environmental and social (including occupational health and safety) legislation and regulatory compliance.
• Review SokoFresh’s environmental and social programs and management systems, and implementation, and assess compliance with / benchmark them against the Reference Framework;
• Review processes, procedures and the institutional capacity of SokoFresh to manage environmental and social risks and impacts in accordance with Good International Industry Practice (GIIP), as defined by the IFC Performance Standards and the World Bank Group EHS Guidelines (both General and Industry Sector guidelines.
• Assess the capacity of SokoFresh to comply/operate in accordance with/develop a Project in accordance with GIIP, identifying gaps to compliance and recommending actions as necessary with implementation prioritisation.
• Reviewing and, where necessary, recommending improvements to the Environmental and Social Assessments (ESAs) and Gender Assessment and their proposed environmental and social management plans
• Perform site visits to assess the implementation of SokoFresh’s environmental and social management systems and plans and the adequacy of the Company’s management practices against the Reference Framework;
• Identify opportunities for value addition through environmental and social improvements and initiatives.
• Prepare an Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP) and Gender Action Plan describing the actions to be implemented to achieve compliance with the Reference Framework within a reasonable timeline.
• Conduct a review to identify from publicly available information sources if there are any potential environmental and/or social issues, including, sectoral associations standards, regulatory compliance requirements, NGO advocacy campaigns, or media articles that may lead to reputational risks to the Company.

The assessment will comprise Five tasks:

Kick-off Meeting:

• The Consultant will organise a kick-off meeting involving SokoFresh and Enviu, to align on project timeline, schedule, deliverables and goals.

E&S Documentation Review:

• The consultant will review SokoFresh’s ESMS documentation covering its company policies, procedures, and standards that they have in place for the management of Environmental and Social Risks Impact. In addition, a review of relevant Kenyan legislation, policies & regulations at the national and county government level that have a bearing on SokoFresh regulatory compliance on environmental and social safeguards will be done as well.

Site Visit: 

• The Consultant will undertake ground truthing of SokoFresh operations by conducting a site visit that will include field surveys to collect primary and secondary data on E&S assessment of potential risks and impacts. This will include stakeholder engagement and grievance redress mechanisms in the form of Free Prior and Informed Consultations (FPIC)with local community stakeholders including community administrators, opinions leaders and marginalised groups leaders i.e., local women, youth & PLWD leaders. An assessment of gender equity and inclusion in the smallholder farmer out-grower contract partnership with SokoFresh

ESA & GA; Assessment of the Company’s capacity and track record:

• The consultant will review SokoFresh’s ability to assess and manage environmental and social (E&S) risks and opportunities, focusing on focuses on the internal processes, practices, capacity and accountabilities that underpin the successful assessment and management of E&S issues.

Preparation of the deliverables (see Section [6]):

The Consultant will prepare the deliverables as described below.

Reporting and Deliverables

The Consultant will provide:

•  Preliminary Summary of Principal Findings – shortly after the conclusion of the site visit, the Consultant will provide a concise back-to-office report focusing on principal findings and identified risks, impacts and opportunities. A meeting/conference call will be scheduled between SokoFresh, Enviu and the Consultant to discuss the principal findings and the timeline for the preparation of the ESDD report; and
• Environmental and Social Assessment & Gender Assessment Report – the Consultant will provide a detailed report fully reflecting the scope of work.  Where compliance gaps with the Reference Framework and/or opportunities for value addition through E&S improvements have been identified these will be presented in Environmental and Social Action Plans and Gender Action Plan, Grievance Redress Mechanism, initial stakeholder engagement plan.

Additional Information

The proposal for the ESA & GA study should contain the sections listed below:

Scope of Work: 

The scope of work should include a description of the specific activities that will be performed in order to accomplish the required tasks identified in Section 5.  This should include any proposed site visits/reconnaissance, documents to be reviewed, interviews, etc.  If the Consultant feels that additional tasks or components within a required task are suggested or warranted, these should be stated and delineated as “Optional Tasks”.

Project team and qualifications: 

This should include the name of the principal staff members and any sub-contractors and a brief description of their role within the project team. Qualifications of staff should include relevant technical capabilities, specific previous project experience similar to this Project, specific in-country experience and knowledge, and specific language skills.

Budget and Payment Schedule:

The total cost of the contract should include all fees, travel and logistic expenses, and applicable taxes. Payments will be made to the Consultant based on satisfactory completion of milestones, e.g. (to be confirmed at the contract negotiation stage)

Closing: August 08 2022.